The career that I've chosen has me moving every 3-4 years on average. This has it's positives and negatives. The good thing is that I have the opportunity to purchase a home every time I move. One of the frustrating things though is that I've always been stuck having to make a fairly quick decision (in the span of 1-2 weeks) on what kind of home to purchase. I've had two homes, one was a Mediterranean style 3/2 ranch with two car garage (in South Florida), and the other has been a contemporary 4/3 split-level in San Antonio. The best way for me to explain that style is "Hill Country," which seems to be the theme of those homes (concrete tile roofs, rustic but with a flair of modern, and a lot of metalwork.
One thing that I've always wanted, is a Craftsman style home. We have a TV in our office, and my colleagues usually leave it on. Invariably, they put it on the movie channel which seems to consistently play Hallmark and Lifetime movies. Nearly every one of these movies takes place in a neighborhood where the homes are Craftsman or Arts & Crafts style. To me, there's just nothing more "American" than those two style of homes. I've never liked Colonial, can't really get in Dutch Colonial (with the barn style roof), and especially don't like Federal unless you're living in DC. But Craftsman and Arts & Crafts are timeless to me.
These two styles of home have lots of stained woodwork, typically laid out in a 4-square style, and generally have a lot of custom work... to include built-ins, book shelves, and ornate fireplaces. Difference of course between Craftsman and Arts & Crafts is the level of detail. The Arts & Crafts homes have a bit more detail to them, such as "dental work" on the eves, and additional accent trim on columns, window treatments, etc. They also typically use more eccentric colors, while the Craftsman homes generally use more Earth-tones.
Anyway, I'm convinced that next move, I'm *really* going to try this time to find a Craftsman home to restore / renovate. It seems I don't really find them until after I've moved, and they all seem to be in much older neighborhoods, generally those which have really shitty school systems. Even when they are in "good" neighborhoods, the neighborhoods are generally older, and still the public schools are crappy. I'll obviously find no such home in the South East, but it seems these homes are more prevalent in the West (California, Washington, Oregon), and in the North-East...
Anyway, I'm procrastinating, and bored... but here's some pictures of what I'd consider to be a dream home to renovate / restore:
I dunno. I did a LOT of career related moving from 08 to 13. I never once looked at style.
It was a matter of location #1, then functionality to suit my needs, then budget since I had no intention of ending up house poor. They weren't meant to be permanent forever-homes so I wasn't going to worry too much about style.
Even the place we are now, it was mostly the same process to find. I had a list of requirements and housing budget, and this was the closest findable in a decent time frame.
Around here what really burns my azz is we have a sheet-ton of nice farmhouses just rotting away. Small farmer goes bankrupt or retires, and the big corporate that ends up with the place has no interest in the structure, just the crop land. It's cheaper and easier for them to just let the house rot than to do anything with it.
Over the years I've tried to get a few of them, and it's always the same "go away and don't bother us" answer.
I like the details and the craftsmanship in the homes, but the room layouts tend to ,not work today. You have to be willing to "wait" and FIND" that buyer that wants that type of thing, after you've spent money . This might not be something you can do, if your work requires quick moves and you need the home you're moving out of to sell fast. Good luck.
Spokane's South Hill is loaded with Craftsman style homes. Any painting that has to be accomplished is nearly double for outside work, and time and a half for most inside. A lot of lap and plaster, and the detail work involved increases the prices significantly for exterior work.
Gorgeous neighborhoods though. It gives you that family feeling. Google Manito Blvd. in Spokane. Pretty much what you are looking for.
Quite a few of those type homes around here but they are usually in need of a lot of work just to get central heat/air in to them as they were designed and built before A/C was common. Another big problem here for those grand homes is foundation settling whether on slab or P&B, and roof leakage All those different angles and gables do not play well with torrential rains and hurricanes...and of course the ever present termite damage They do look great tho.
I dunno. I did a LOT of career related moving from 08 to 13. I never once looked at style.
It was a matter of location #1, then functionality to suit my needs, then budget since I had no intention of ending up house poor. They weren't meant to be permanent forever-homes so I wasn't going to worry too much about style.
Even the place we are now, it was mostly the same process to find. I had a list of requirements and housing budget, and this was the closest findable in a decent time frame.
Around here what really burns my azz is we have a sheet-ton of nice farmhouses just rotting away. Small farmer goes bankrupt or retires, and the big corporate that ends up with the place has no interest in the structure, just the crop land. It's cheaper and easier for them to just let the house rot than to do anything with it.
Over the years I've tried to get a few of them, and it's always the same "go away and don't bother us" answer.
I could understand a person not caring, but If I was jumping around I'd like to get certain styles. Kinda like our car obsessions.
I dunno. I did a LOT of career related moving from 08 to 13. I never once looked at style.
It was a matter of location #1, then functionality to suit my needs, then budget since I had no intention of ending up house poor. They weren't meant to be permanent forever-homes so I wasn't going to worry too much about style.
Yeah, budget is a big deal for me too. The first house I bought... the one in Florida, it just worked out. I was a dumb kid, had no idea what I was doing, and my wife was overzealous. I was thinking more responsibly, and my wife was like... no... I want to live in the nicest neighborhood we can afford. I was looking more at smaller homes in cheaper areas, she went right for the fancy neighborhood. When we found the house, the people explicitly told us that they were not interested in renting, haha... we were so young they just assumed we were college kids. But the home was so run down that we were able to get it cheap. This wasn't a plan, it's just how it ended up. I lived in it for over 15 years with very little additional work. Then about 6 years go, I decided to totally renovate it (did the work myself so it was cheap).
When I moved to Texas, I had a bit more mind to do the same thing, but intentionally... so I sought out a good neighborhood, with a house that had good bones but was worn out. Turned out really well and I got the home for really cheap. I got the home 30% under value, and I've completely renovated it at this point except the master bathroom, which I will do next month when I get back from my business trip. So I would be looking to do the same thing.
Problem is, it seems these homes are just not in good school districts, which is important for resale value...
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Originally posted by E.Furgal:
I like the details and the craftsmanship in the homes, but the room layouts tend to ,not work today. You have to be willing to "wait" and FIND" that buyer that wants that type of thing, after you've spent money . This might not be something you can do, if your work requires quick moves and you need the home you're moving out of to sell fast. Good luck.
Yeah, that's my concern. I could always keep the house and rent it out, but unlike Florida homes... everywhere else in the country homes are made of wood and can be easily damaged. My house in Florida could have a huge fire, and all we need to do is take a pressure washer to the inside and slap some paint on it cause it's concrete (not really, but you get the point).
But yeah... the way to have a home that's desirable (other than just looks), it needs to have all the other things... good school district, good drivability to center of the city, etc. So really, I need to figure out all that before I move.
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Originally posted by Tony Kania:
Spokane's South Hill is loaded with Craftsman style homes. Any painting that has to be accomplished is nearly double for outside work, and time and a half for most inside. A lot of lap and plaster, and the detail work involved increases the prices significantly for exterior work.
Gorgeous neighborhoods though. It gives you that family feeling. Google Manito Blvd. in Spokane. Pretty much what you are looking for.
I have to see if my company has an office in that area, but I'd definitely move to that area. I love those homes...
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Originally posted by maryjane:
Quite a few of those type homes around here but they are usually in need of a lot of work just to get central heat/air in to them as they were designed and built before A/C was common. Another big problem here for those grand homes is foundation settling whether on slab or P&B, and roof leakage All those different angles and gables do not play well with torrential rains and hurricanes...and of course the ever present termite damage They do look great tho.
You're right, that seems to be a common issue with homes here in Southern Texas. The home I got was one of the few that I saw for sale that didn't have some crazy slant or problem with the slab. I'm not really looking for huge square footage, just something I can restore and be proud of. I love projects like that.
HVAC does seem to be an issue. I was watching an episode of This Old House, and they have some newer technology where they use higher air pressure, rather than large volume A/C ducts. Basically... small tubes that are 2" wide. Biggest problem would be finding where to put the air handler...
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Originally posted by steve308:
They do look great but I sure wouldn't want to paint one.
LOL, yeah...
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Originally posted by Fats:
I could understand a person not caring, but If I was jumping around I'd like to get certain styles. Kinda like our car obsessions.
Yeah, exactly. And the one thing I've learned is... unlike cars, when you put money into a home... it appreciates in value.
