My goal is to keep the commute under an hour, so that wouldn't really work for me. I'd also strongly prefer an existing garage of some sort- I've done the build-your-own thing before, and not ready to tackle that again.
My goal is to keep the commute under an hour, so that wouldn't really work for me. I'd also strongly prefer an existing garage of some sort- I've done the build-your-own thing before, and not ready to tackle that again.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: My goal is to keep the commute under an hour, so that wouldn't really work for me. I'd also strongly prefer an existing garage of some sort- I've done the build-your-own thing before, and not ready to tackle that again.
I'm with you there on both counts. I've done hour+ commutes in the past, was not fun for anyone. And it would have to be the most fantastic deal and the perfect house for me to remotely seriously consider a place with NO existing garage. I'll settle for a place with a far-from-ideal attached that can be used until I build a real garage, but I need someplace to put the current project to finish it up in the short term.
I just wanted to add that you can get used to most anything.
My sister used to have a house with train track running just outside her back yard (maybe 50 feet from the house). Really not much of an issue, the track wasn't that busy, but.... I was house sitting once, and I had no idea a train ran through at around 2 am. Oh boy... that scared the crap out of me (this was in earthquake country also).
You get used to stuff. I would personally enjoy living near an airport, as long as is wasn't the departure end of a major airport. I actually like airplane noise.
I lived across the street from a church for 24 years. They are the absolute best neighbors you can have because they are only there for a couple of hours a week. No noisy party until all hours of the night. No barking dogs to listen to for hours on end. They are by far the perfect neighbor. I'd consider it a plus.
Toyman01 wrote: I lived across the street from a church for 24 years. They are the absolute best neighbors you can have because they are only there for a couple of hours a week. No noisy party until all hours of the night. No barking dogs to listen to for hours on end. They are by far the perfect neighbor. I'd consider it a plus.
The perfect neighbor is no neighbor imho.
In reply to Cotton:
OK, so they aren't as good as a grove of trees. Still better they what Tuna55 is dealing with.
In reply to Toyman01:
yeah, you've got a good point there.
Datsun1500 wrote: What part of Baltimore, and what price range? There are a few deals out there if you know where to look.
We're not terribly picky, but we've been driving around and like the Carroll County area. It's quiet, rural, and the people there seem like our kind of folks. I've sort-of looked at Harford County, but getting from there to work would require using one of the B-more tunnels, and I'm not really pleased with adding that variable to my morning commute.
We've glanced at southern PA, but the commutes from there would be right at an hour, and pretty much depend on I-83. Depending on where you are in Carroll Co, you've got options for getitng in- I-70 or I-795. I'm the type of person that will listen to traffic reports and adjust my route accordingly, so I like options.
As for price range, we're limited to about 250,000 right now because we still haven't sold our house in SC. So we can only "afford" what the bank tells us we can "afford" while still paying the mortgage on the other place. Although, frankly, this is a nice contraint to have, because it means once we do sell the place in upstate SC, we'll be in a good place from a cash- flow perspective up here.
foxtrapper wrote: Personally, I'd leap at the chance these days to live next to an industrial park, just so I could peaceably do what I want, without headaches. Commercial type neighbors go silent at night, and pretty generally on the weekends. They reserve their noise and activity for weekdays, business hours generally. It's residential neighbors who have late night parties and weekend rowdiness.
Agreed. But my blue-collar neighborhood is pretty tolerant. Nobody cares about my 5 cars, temp shelter in the back yard, and lack-luster lawn care, but I do make an effort not to make too much noise after 10 pm. The main downside is the occasional open-pipe H-D cruising down my street at 2am, but even they aren't as annoying as the crotch-rockets on I-95 about a 1/2 mile away (by crow).
volvoclearinghouse wrote: We've glanced at southern PA, but the commutes from there would be right at an hour, and pretty much depend on I-83.
One of the guys in the Spitfire club works in that area and commutes from York, PA. From what I understand, many of his neighbors do as well with some even going to DC.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: As for price range, we're limited to about 250,000 right now because we still haven't sold our house in SC. So we can only "afford" what the bank tells us we can "afford" while still paying the mortgage on the other place. Although, frankly, this is a nice contraint to have, because it means once we do sell the place in upstate SC, we'll be in a good place from a cash- flow perspective up here.
Is this the right time to swoop in with my low ball offer???
I have always tried to stay as far away from Churches as possible, but I doubt that it will affect the value of the house.
spitfirebill wrote:volvoclearinghouse wrote: As for price range, we're limited to about 250,000 right now because we still haven't sold our house in SC. So we can only "afford" what the bank tells us we can "afford" while still paying the mortgage on the other place. Although, frankly, this is a nice contraint to have, because it means once we do sell the place in upstate SC, we'll be in a good place from a cash- flow perspective up here.Is this the right time to swoop in with my low ball offer???
How do you feel about a 3 bed/ 3 bath home on 3 acres with a 28 x 48 garage, a 20 x 30 barn, completely surrounded by trees and so private you can pee openly just about anywhere on the property without anyone noticing? At one point I had 40 (forty) cars stashed there, and never had any trouble.
We started off at 225 and recently dropped the price down to 219. Low-balling won't work with us, though. We'd like to sell, but if we can't get the minimum we need out of it we'll rent it out until the market picks up.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: How do you feel about a 3 bed/ 3 bath home on 3 acres with a 28 x 48 garage, a 20 x 30 barn, completely surrounded by trees and so private you can pee openly just about anywhere on the property without anyone noticing? At one point I had 40 (forty) cars stashed there, and never had any trouble. We started off at 225 and recently dropped the price down to 219. Low-balling won't work with us, though. We'd like to sell, but if we can't get the minimum we need out of it we'll rent it out until the market picks up.
Just kidding mostly. We are kinda sorta in a similar situation. I am about to get my daughter's house on the market and hopefully it will sell quickly (fairly new house in a good, rapidly growing neighborhood). Then we would have to sell our house, which would be more difficult (bigger, better house in an older maxed out neighborhood). I would be a commute I would not like, but I am trying to look ahead to retirement and your house is near where I would like to be.
I've done several environmental assessments in the Baltimore area from Glen Burnie, to Randlestown, Hampstead and Hunt Valley. I used to go to Towson to do records review and liked that area, but its pretty crowded and I ssupect $$$. Baltimore is a love-hate realtionship for me. I learned they don't do things there like they do down here. I was amazed at the commuting traffic through Hampstead in the afternoon. There is a great railroad museum there.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: so private you can pee openly just about anywhere on the property without anyone noticing?
I have, in fact, peed openly in several locations about this property. So has Tunakid #1. FYI.
spitfirebill wrote:volvoclearinghouse wrote: How do you feel about a 3 bed/ 3 bath home on 3 acres with a 28 x 48 garage, a 20 x 30 barn, completely surrounded by trees and so private you can pee openly just about anywhere on the property without anyone noticing? At one point I had 40 (forty) cars stashed there, and never had any trouble. We started off at 225 and recently dropped the price down to 219. Low-balling won't work with us, though. We'd like to sell, but if we can't get the minimum we need out of it we'll rent it out until the market picks up.Just kidding mostly. We are kinda sorta in a similar situation. I am about to get my daughter's house on the market and hopefully it will sell quickly (fairly new house in a good, rapidly growing neighborhood). Then we would have to sell our house, which would be more difficult (bigger, better house in an older maxed out neighborhood). I would be a commute I would not like, but I am trying to look ahead to retirement and your house is near where I would like to be. I've done several environmental assessments in the Baltimore area from Glen Burnie, to Randlestown, Hampstead and Hunt Valley. I used to go to Towson to do records review and liked that area, but its pretty crowded and I ssupect $$$. Baltimore is a love-hate realtionship for me. I learned they don't do things there like they do down here. I was amazed at the commuting traffic through Hampstead in the afternoon. There is a great railroad museum there.
Are your daughter's house and your house in Spartanburg (from your profile)? Our SC house is in the area of Tigerville (yes, that's a real town). I believe I've posted the MLS here for it already. I'd love for it to go to someone who was a car buff, as it's a good property for that, and it'd make a great home for a retirement or get-away as well. Heck, we may want to buy it back in 30 years! I used to commute to just south of Downtown Greenville and it would take me about 35 to 40 minutes one-way, if there wasn't any bad traffic (there usually wasn't). Downtown Spartanburg is a pinch further, about 45 minutes or so. Still not a bad drive.
There's lots of areas around B-more that I like- Hampstead and Upperco are fairly pretty, and not bad drives, but are getting a bit too densely populated for my/our tastes. Same with Catonsville and Ellicott City. Even Sykesville/ Eldersburg are getting built up. I prefer not to be able to hear cars at night and prefer to be able to see stars. I realize that around here that pretty much guarantees me a minimum of a 45 minute commute. C'est la vie. When gas hits 8 bucks a gallon I'll smuggle in a diesel VW Polo.
Ever try the Hampstead commute during rush hour?
If you want to not hear cars and enjoy stars, the places you're mentioned aren't exactly the right ones. Rohrersville is great for this. In Carroll County, look north and generally to the west of Westminster. And, oddly, southern Anne Arundel County. Lots of very rural places down there, quietly tucked away around Lothian.
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