Boy, I guess I really am living in the dark ages when it comes to economics, housing costs and such!
I'm going through a bit of turmoil here -not knowing how in blazes to get something ironed out to assure I have a house to come to every day, ya know -and a friend of mine who several years ago moved down south (to the Carolinas) and I were corresponding via e-mail and she casually suggested I might want to consider selling my house here and moving down there.
So, she very kindly sent me some information about some real estate listings, thinking perhaps I might want to consider something or other along the lines of some of the properties shown in the online brochure.
All I can say is WOW!
First off, the listing is for highlands North Carolina real estate -which I gather is in/around Macon County -which apparently is in the mountain region of North Carolina. Okay -I'm lacking in knowledge here since the farthest south I've ever been -on the east coast -is to Camp A. P. Hill, Virginia -so my geographic knowledge of this is extremely limited.
But, I hate to burst my friend's bubble and the kind suggestions she had about my selling out here and moving there, but if I can't afford the place I am and have been living for the past 6 decades, I sure as heck can't afford to sell and move to some place where the least expensive unit runs around $80,000!
And, I also can't see how housing is priced as high as it is these days either for that matter.
My house here may be over 100 years old, but it's solidly built, that much is for sure. It may not be fancy and a decorator home, but it's still my home and I happen to love the old place. And what really gets me is why would I want to sell this old, but very stable house in a quaint little quiet village surrounded here by beautiful rolling hills and woods too -but this house is 1,360 square foot and many of the houses in this brochure are only around 1,000 square foot in size. Sheesh! I grump that I need more room here so how could I fit my somewhat meager belongings into that smaller amount of space then!
And pay, at the very minimum, almost three times as much for a house with 30 percent less (or thereabouts) space to it.
What really does drive the prices of housing up anyway? Is it the square footage, the landscape, the area, proximity to all kinds of conveniences, etc, better employment opportunities? I'm sorry but I have seen, even around here, houses that are old homes like mine, remodeled totally or some maybe just partially redone, that are equally attractive compared to the houses that are listed for $200,000 and up, up, up from that.
Sorry, but I guess I just don't grasp the inflation on the costs of housing today!
2 comments:
I don't understand the cost of anything anymore
we owe more on our house than we could sell for right now and that's a terrible trapped feeling
I hope things work out for us all
We've been in our house for 25 years now and in just a few years will finally have it paid off. Thankfully, when we were younger and I wanted to move to something bigger, my husband was the voice of reason and we stayed put. I'm glad now. I know so many others who are simply working to make the house payment and are locked into years more of payments. Our neighborhood has remained "nice" and we plan to stay here I guess until we can't anymore due to age, health or whatever.
And anyway, when I look around at houses and dream about living in something different, it's the old houses that catch my eye. My grandma's house had such ornate woodwork... and she lived in a working class neighborhood. Most houses had front porches and other designs that gave them character. That's what I would want if I were in the market for a different house. But I guess I'm glad I'm not.
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