K Effective wrote:
Coworker of mine, he's a year older 52. They make $150-200K combined, one ten YO daughter. Wanted to build McMansion in the country, found a beautiful 4 acre spot. Sold their suburban home, guy holding the lot doubles the price (coworker's fault for no written agreement). Bye, Bye equity. Live in Grandma's empty house for a year or so trying to save for the house, family wants them out to cash out the house. So they rent elsewhere. Acting as his own General Contractor (another mistake), he gets best buddy since Kindergarten to be carpenter (his job). Bank trims his loan total back several times, so he keeps cutting down the house, originally over 6K sf. Now down to 3300sf on main level, no second story, he can afford the interest-only payments of $1400/mo., but the only way to get it built is by doing half of the trade work himself. Runs out of time and tears up suburban riding lawn mower on steroids trying to excavate the basement, so has to hire it done. That causes them to miss the window for the poured wall contractor, so he goes to next available. There is a reason why good contractors are always busy, and shitty ones are not busy. Gets caught saying he will do grade work, does not do real good quality job for flat work prep, and they pour the basement floor like it is a mini golf course, you can actually trip yourself just walking across it.
Meanwhile, at work, he tries to move up the ladder to the next level, which requires 18 months of classroom training, but rewards with 25% pay increase. He struggles with concepts in a class of 20-something engineers, and kills all his time to work on the house, as per the loan. Buddy starts framing the monster, but has other projects , too. Late november, it's about shelled in, but he has no time to roof it, ends up hiring a crew of Spanish guys, who knock out about 80%, ask to be paid and head back out of country for the winter. No way he'll get the plumbing done on time, so ends up hiring that out. He does the septic system himself with the oft-repaired lawn mower with loader and backhoe, but has to fight with county inspector on design (he loses), and trench blocks the only access for the well driller to get to the well site. Of course, the pared-down design now only included one water furnace, and they don't want to start install until the well is in and proven. He begins wiring on off hours, gets kicked out of class for bad grades. Ground froze enough to get well rig in, HVAC gets done in two weeks, now it all waits on the electric and he is behind. Builder takes six straight weeks off with no activity, no doubt working on the next project. They become fierce enemies. Now, he talks of hiring an electrician to finish the main box. Every time he hires a portion out, it seems to cost about $10K.
He says his wife went furniture shopping lat week and bought a $3400 sectional for the living room. The guys at work are constantly telling him not to skimp on the finishes, knowing that you can't try to sell an $800K house with plywood countertops and re-used plumbing fixtures. Stone work is out, all Smart siding, which is just OSB with a grain finish. Still not planned for is the 500 foot driveway and several retaining walls that need to be built, or any other landscaping. But he has a nice 3 car garage.
Poor guy is gonna lose it. In the end, he may scrimp it down to $650K mortgage, taxes may be $4K/yr, who knows what the utilities are. It's like a really slow-developing tv show every time I talk to him. There is much more I forgot to add, I know, it's already sini-like, tl;dr.
Is you friend Thomas Hayden Church and is this the plot of the second season of Divorce?
_________________
Seacrest wrote:
The menstrual cycle changes among Hassidic Jewish women was something as well.
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