Back in 1999, when my 99 year old great-grandmother went into assisted living, my sister and cousin wanted the family to rent the house to them. I am sure it would have been a mess if anything broke, or they wanted to defer rent payments (they were both in their early 20s and wanted to live in Seattle).
Maybe would have worked out though, as the house that sold for around 200K then is worth maybe 700-800K now.
My sister and I are landlords to my mom's house in my hometown in SoCal. Tough to do from a distance (my sister is in San Diego, 200 miles away), but we manage.
The best part is that my ex-wife, my son and DIL are our tenants. Best? Did I say best? It's going pretty well, so far - like @fintail, my mom's house is 50+ years old, and has some needs. We are addressing them slowly, and my sister did establish a home warranty for major items, which we've had to use a couple of times already.
We figure the investments will pay off when it comes time to sell. It will need interior paint and carpet before it goes on the market.
As some of you may or may not know, I have been a landlord to our old house for the past 5+ years. And have wanted to stop being a landlord for approximately five of those. Given the hot market in the area of the house, I decided to give it a shot to sell it as is for cash to an investor. I got quite a bit of interest and met with two of them today. Both want the property. I don’t, however, play the bidding game. Never have and never will. So I am choosing just based on gut instinct. Hopefully I made the right choice. I will be very relieved to have something this big off my plate.
Beware of the sharks in this environment. A coworker has a house in NYC that he has been renting out and the experience has been a nightmare. From the city writing him $150 tickets for a cigarette butt in the gutter in front of the house to eviction moratoriums which one of his tenants used to avoid a year’s rent before moving out.
Now he wants to sell it and potential buyers want him to throw the remaining tenant out or take a 25% lower purchase offer. They’ve even gone behind his back offering money to his realtor to try to get them to get tenet out.
My friend doesn’t roll like that so he’s going to take a big hit to protect the tenant but it shows the cutthroat nature of the rental business.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Just got back from vacation, if you could call it that, in the upper part of the mitten in MI. Highlight was meeting a guy who could have been a character in an Elmore Leonard story, but was super nice to us. Basically, took a hit for the sake of the family. Never want to do it again.
* The advantage of owning is we don't have to lock up our possessions, we are in a place that allows dogs, all our stuff is there and we don't have to take it back and forth.
The dog part is a really good point I hadn't even considered. BUT, we do also have a cat, a bird, a bearded dragon, and 2 fish tanks, so we're not exactly free to roam. lol. I suppose the other animals only really need a once-a-day visit from someone to make sure they are alive and provide more food and water.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I returned the Panasonic 4K BD player this afternoon and picked up its Sony replacement. The return/exchange process at Best Buy was absolutely painless. I hooked it up and I could not be more pleased- and I saved $250 by going with the Sony. There are absolutely no issues with using dual HDMI outputs. I’m certain that it’s the placebo effect, but the sound and picture quality seems to be a bit better- and I can even go High End and use it to play SACDs(if any are still available). A couple of screenshots:
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Ahh, SACDs. I tried, in a very high end listening room, to hear the difference between CD and SACD, and it just wasn't there for me. I can usually distinguish between a low bitrate MP3 and a WAV file. But a well made MP3, 320k bit rate, I cannot usually distinguish from the WAV file.
Now I can readily distinguish vinyl from CD. The CD sounds cleaner, and I know my saying that will upset some people. Can't be helped, the CD sounds cleaner to me.
All of which may have something to do with my age, and the fact that you lose a lot of high frequency hearing as you age. Or perhaps it is attributable to the fact that I don't listen as critically as I did when I was younger. I was a Hi Fi nut, I subscribed to the magazines, I spent a lot money on nice equipment. I had a $350 turntable, with a $150 cartridge (back when that was a lot more money than it sounds like today) and I spent 10 minutes prepping everything before I actually played the record. These days, I like to just enjoy the music.
@roadburner, I'm glad you're happy with your setup. That's what matters, does it make you happy, give you enjoyment.
As some of you may or may not know, I have been a landlord to our old house for the past 5+ years. And have wanted to stop being a landlord for approximately five of those. Given the hot market in the area of the house, I decided to give it a shot to sell it as is for cash to an investor. I got quite a bit of interest and met with two of them today. Both want the property. I don’t, however, play the bidding game. Never have and never will. So I am choosing just based on gut instinct. Hopefully I made the right choice. I will be very relieved to have something this big off my plate.
Beware of the sharks in this environment. A coworker has a house in NYC that he has been renting out and the experience has been a nightmare. From the city writing him $150 tickets for a cigarette butt in the gutter in front of the house to eviction moratoriums which one of his tenants used to avoid a year’s rent before moving out.
Now he wants to sell it and potential buyers want him to throw the remaining tenant out or take a 25% lower purchase offer. They’ve even gone behind his back offering money to his realtor to try to get them to get tenet out.
My friend doesn’t roll like that so he’s going to take a big hit to protect the tenant but it shows the cutthroat nature of the rental business.
I would expect this to be a very bad time to be a landlord. I was a landlord once for 3 years, back around 1987 to 1990. There was a collapse in the oil market, housing in the greater Houston area tanked, unbelievably. We bought a very nice house for pennies on the dollar (less than half of what it was worth the previous year). But of course we couldn't sell the old house. We considered just walking away, but we were able to rent it for enough to cover the monthly mortgage. Anything that broke (and it was an older house), we had to pay for out of pocket, but we only lost a couple of thousand over the three years.
I can tell you it was a real relief when we got out from under.
* The advantage of owning is we don't have to lock up our possessions, we are in a place that allows dogs, all our stuff is there and we don't have to take it back and forth.
The dog part is a really good point I hadn't even considered. BUT, we do also have a cat, a bird, a bearded dragon, and 2 fish tanks, so we're not exactly free to roam. lol. I suppose the other animals only really need a once-a-day visit from someone to make sure they are alive and provide more food and water.
One thing to keep in mind about a pet....well, for example a dog. When we were renting in Florida I'd say only about 5% of the places would accept you with a dog, and they weren't usually the best places to rent.
@driver100 said:
One thing to keep in mind about a pet....well, for example a dog. When we were renting in Florida I'd say only about 5% of the places would accept you with a dog, and they weren't usually the best places to rent.
But this is regarding buying a place and renting it to others when we aren’t using it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I guess but we’d have to promise not to croak in his precious bed.
jmonroe
Clearly, payment would have to be made prior to arrival
So what’s the benefit of doing that? That’s what I have to do when we go to Myrtle Beach and rent a condo for a week from total strangers. Poster buddies should get a better deal, right?
jmonroe
'15 Genesis Ultimate just like jmonroe's. '18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
One thing to keep in mind about a pet....well, for example a dog. When we were renting in Florida I'd say only about 5% of the places would accept you with a dog, and they weren't usually the best places to rent.
But this is regarding buying a place and renting it to others when we aren’t using it.
I'm not disagreeing...just saying...if you have a pet you may want to make sure the community allows pets. Also, if you want to rent to people with pets. I would rent if I needed or could use the income, but renting has risks, plus you have to pack up personal stuff if you are leaving it, and it makes your taxes more complicated.....maybe in a good way if you are writing it off. Like I say, we stayed at a rental condo in Florida that a young couple bought, they used it when it wasn't rented out, and they will own it one day and be able to stay in Florida for the winter, in a paid for home. I wish I was that wise when I was younger.
Years and years of presiding over Forcible Detainer(Eviction) dockets convinced me that I never wanted to be a landlord...
The Massachusetts Housing Court is not very sympathetic to landlords.
My friend, who owns several rental buildings, has an attorney on retainer who begins eviction proceedings for non payment of rent or lease violations as soon as 30 days after proper notice is given to the tenant. If the tenant does not vacate the property as directed she puts their stuff in storage and face the consequences in front of a judge. She fights every case and usually wins.
@roadburner
Looks awesome!! I have a Sony Blu Ray and am very happy with it. I’m seriously considering pulling new cables so I can pass 4K to my projector. I feel like I’m not using its full potential.
RE:SACD I had both that and DVD-A. When hooked up with discreet 5.1 it really was a listening treat. My favorite was the Eagles Hotel California album. The way the harmonies were mixed was great.
RE: Vinyl vs CD. Different sound. Plain and simple IMO. CD is certainly more accurate but vinyl has a softer more musical quality for a lot of music. For example, I have a recent release of Chris Stapleton’s Traveler album on vinyl and it is just awesome.
@driver100 said:
I'm not disagreeing...just saying...if you have a pet you may want to make sure the community allows pets. Also, if you want to rent to people with pets.
I would rent if I needed or could use the income, but renting has risks, plus you have to pack up personal stuff if you are leaving it, and it makes your taxes more complicated.....maybe in a good way if you are writing it off.
Like I say, we stayed at a rental condo in Florida that a young couple bought, they used it when it wasn't rented out, and they will own it one day and be able to stay in Florida for the winter, in a paid for home. I wish I was that wise when I was younger.
Oh, I learned my lesson with the current rental. NO PETS ALLOWED from now on, if I ever landlord again. Apparently, i have the only pets who don’t destroy a house.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
@qbrozen as we discussed, I went through each comp on the initial insurance market evaluation and found most vehicles not available or they did not have the options that the company said that they did. One even had a frontal crash on the carfax- I wonder why that one was so cheap??
I did the same with the latest valuation and again most vehicles were not available. Only one had the options that mine did and it had the luxury pkg (massage seats and alcantera headliner) but deducting that had a value of $53345 and that was after deducting $3245 for “condition “. Most of the other vehicles that were available did not have the air suspension or 21 inch wheels , but the company said that they did. Those vehicles were at Audi dealers that even had Monroney stickers on the website. Seems kinda odd that they would outright lie.
I’m sure he is going to love my latest email.
Oh well. I suspect that I’ll get a revised valuation in a couple of days.
I get an advertisement about once a week from Alstate insurance. Today I read the one offering cheap pricing on my home. I wondered where the agency was located. It's close to Graphicguy who is on the edge of Cincinnati. I'm the third county away from this office and they're sending solicitations.
I read the fine print at the bottom which said I was receiving solicitations based on information I had previously provided. I have never, ever in my life provided info for a quote by Alstate since I have always heard they had a bad reputation on claims.
Does anyone else get mailings from Alstate frequently?
@qbrozen as we discussed, I went through each comp on the initial insurance market evaluation and found most vehicles not available or they did not have the options that the company said that they did. One even had a frontal crash on the carfax- I wonder why that one was so cheap??
I did the same with the latest valuation and again most vehicles were not available. Only one had the options that mine did and it had the luxury pkg (massage seats and alcantera headliner) but deducting that had a value of $53345 and that was after deducting $3245 for “condition “. Most of the other vehicles that were available did not have the air suspension or 21 inch wheels , but the company said that they did. Those vehicles were at Audi dealers that even had Monroney stickers on the website. Seems kinda odd that they would outright lie.
I’m sure he is going to love my latest email.
Oh well. I suspect that I’ll get a revised valuation in a couple of days.
Probably not outright lying, just laziness.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Well, we’re officially renting electric vehicles. No special designation they are just given to customers when nothing else is available. No need to bring them back fully charged but we do have a 4 day rental minimum so you’re stuck with it for that period. They have a 260 mile range and I guess they try to make sure the customer won’t be going any farther or has charging capability. They’re based at the train station where they have a 220 volt charger but not a super charger. The rental agent says he takes it home at night when it’s not out on rental.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
I have the new (to me) aluminum wheels on the 2013 F150 XL. It wound up costing more than I expected, but what doesn’t these days?
I bought the 17 inch aluminum wheels from a gentleman on Craigslist for $250, which was a very fair price. He threw in the original lug nuts, but unfortunately I was not able to use them. Ford changed from a coarse thread to a fine thread on the lug nuts / studs in 2015. A new set of Gorilla lug nuts cost me $85 off Ebay ($100 on Amazon). And I did buy new TPMS sensors, about $39 on Amazon. There were a number of different sellers, and different brands, on Amazon and Ebay. I went with the best reviews for a reasonable price, and they do work. Then $120 to Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. That was a little more than I expected, but I’m not complaining. Not many places of business will welcome you when you walk in with your own parts, and Discount Tire never blinked an eye.
The used tire shop just down the street would have probably done the job for half that, but I feel better with Discount Tire. I knew the tires would be balanced properly, and they wouldn’t scuff up the new rims. I could have purchased very similar looking lug nuts for less than half the price, but from what I’ve read online the chrome will not last on the cheap lug nuts, and the Gorilla brand is highly rated.
These lug nuts are not an exact match, they are really intended for the chrome clad Ford wheels. They fit the seats on the wheels perfectly, but they stick out a little too far. No one seems to make a lug nut for these aluminum wheels in the older coarse thread, so this is as close as I could get.
Altogether, I’m pleased, and feel that it’s worth the $494.
Ahh, SACDs. I tried, in a very high end listening room, to hear the difference between CD and SACD, and it just wasn't there for me. I can usually distinguish between a low bitrate MP3 and a WAV file. But a well made MP3, 320k bit rate, I cannot usually distinguish from the WAV file.
Now I can readily distinguish vinyl from CD. The CD sounds cleaner, and I know my saying that will upset some people. Can't be helped, the CD sounds cleaner to me.
All of which may have something to do with my age, and the fact that you lose a lot of high frequency hearing as you age. Or perhaps it is attributable to the fact that I don't listen as critically as I did when I was younger. I was a Hi Fi nut, I subscribed to the magazines, I spent a lot money on nice equipment. I had a $350 turntable, with a $150 cartridge (back when that was a lot more money than it sounds like today) and I spent 10 minutes prepping everything before I actually played the record. These days, I like to just enjoy the music.
@roadburner, I'm glad you're happy with your setup. That's what matters, does it make you happy, give you enjoyment.
We visited my son and his family at their new house in MD over the holiday. It was also Mrs. Venture's birthday.
They had a dinosaur cake made for my grandson a while ago that I posted here. My wife is a Hallmark Channel fan and they got a cake made for her:
How old is that cake? It looks like it’s moldy in a few spots but I’d still eat it if it was chocolate.
jmonroe
It was fresh the day the picture was taken. It was 7 layers of chocolate with peanut butter icing between the layers.
If I knew you liked mold I would have saved you a piece.
Well, I did see green on the outside. I guess that green was part of the icing. Now, that inside, man, that is some kinda chocolate cake. Yeah, I’ll take all of what was left.
jmonroe
'15 Genesis Ultimate just like jmonroe's. '18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
I have the new (to me) aluminum wheels on the 2013 F150 XL. It wound up costing more than I expected, but what doesn’t these days?
I bought the 17 inch aluminum wheels from a gentleman on Craigslist for $250, which was a very fair price. He threw in the original lug nuts, but unfortunately I was not able to use them. Ford changed from a coarse thread to a fine thread on the lug nuts / studs in 2015. A new set of Gorilla lug nuts cost me $85 off Ebay ($100 on Amazon). And I did buy new TPMS sensors, about $39 on Amazon. There were a number of different sellers, and different brands, on Amazon and Ebay. I went with the best reviews for a reasonable price, and they do work. Then $120 to Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. That was a little more than I expected, but I’m not complaining. Not many places of business will welcome you when you walk in with your own parts, and Discount Tire never blinked an eye.
The used tire shop just down the street would have probably done the job for half that, but I feel better with Discount Tire. I knew the tires would be balanced properly, and they wouldn’t scuff up the new rims. I could have purchased very similar looking lug nuts for less than half the price, but from what I’ve read online the chrome will not last on the cheap lug nuts, and the Gorilla brand is highly rated.
These lug nuts are not an exact match, they are really intended for the chrome clad Ford wheels. They fit the seats on the wheels perfectly, but they stick out a little too far. No one seems to make a lug nut for these aluminum wheels in the older coarse thread, so this is as close as I could get.
Altogether, I’m pleased, and feel that it’s worth the $494.
Man, that truck is everything I’d ever want. Functional, low mileage, rust free and purchased at a bargain price to boot. It even looks nice.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Imagine how many rock chips would be on the front of that Kona. Manufacturers are going to have to get cleaver on the front ends of these electrics. With no grill , lots of surface area.
I finished setting up the main home theater last night; my 13 year old Denon HTR is equipped with the Audyssey MultEQ XT acoustical correction technology so I shut down everything in the house(my wife was at a meeting) and ran the setup using all 8 optimal listener locations. It only takes about 30-45 minutes and I was very pleased with the results. I’m happy with 7.1 so I doubt that I will upgrade my HTR unless we move or remodel again. With 110 wpc the Denon has no problem driving my Klipsch speakers at reference levels or above. It’s one of the last Denon HTRs actually built in Japan and it definitely punches above its weight.
Hopefully I won’t need to upgrade again for at least 10 years.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
I finished setting up the main home theater last night; my 13 year old Denon HTR is equipped with the Audyssey MultEQ XT acoustical correction technology so I shut down everything in the house(my wife was at a meeting) and ran the setup using all 8 optimal listener locations. It only takes about 30-45 minutes and I was very pleased with the results. I’m happy with 7.1 so I doubt that I will upgrade my HTR unless we move or remodel again. With 110 wpc the Denon has no problem driving my Klipsch speakers at reference levels or above. It’s one of the last Denon HTRs actually built in Japan and it definitely punches above its weight.
Hopefully I won’t need to upgrade again for at least 10 years.
Sounds a lot like me with my Yamaha RX-V1. I know it’s aged, but the sound quality is just awesome.
CD's? What are those? Oh, yes, now I remember, I gave all of mine to the DAV thrift store about 5 years ago.
Have you noticed how many new cars no longer have CD players? They are starting to go the way of cassette players, and before them, 8 track.
And on a more serious note, I really don't remember how long ago I gave away my last stand alone CD player. Probably shortly after I got a DVD player for my home hi-fi / HTR setup.
About the only thing I miss from the CD era was making and exchanging mix CD's.
Storage media, and the associated requirements, are a real problem in the IT field. The major oil company that I used to work for still has an unbelievable number of 10.5 inch open reel computer tapes, going back to the 70's. Paying for storage, safe climate controlled storage, is becoming quite the financial burden. And being able to recover data from various media, different tape formats, etc, is also quite the problem.
I have the new (to me) aluminum wheels on the 2013 F150 XL. It wound up costing more than I expected, but what doesn’t these days?
I bought the 17 inch aluminum wheels from a gentleman on Craigslist for $250, which was a very fair price. He threw in the original lug nuts, but unfortunately I was not able to use them. Ford changed from a coarse thread to a fine thread on the lug nuts / studs in 2015. A new set of Gorilla lug nuts cost me $85 off Ebay ($100 on Amazon). And I did buy new TPMS sensors, about $39 on Amazon. There were a number of different sellers, and different brands, on Amazon and Ebay. I went with the best reviews for a reasonable price, and they do work. Then $120 to Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. That was a little more than I expected, but I’m not complaining. Not many places of business will welcome you when you walk in with your own parts, and Discount Tire never blinked an eye.
The used tire shop just down the street would have probably done the job for half that, but I feel better with Discount Tire. I knew the tires would be balanced properly, and they wouldn’t scuff up the new rims. I could have purchased very similar looking lug nuts for less than half the price, but from what I’ve read online the chrome will not last on the cheap lug nuts, and the Gorilla brand is highly rated.
These lug nuts are not an exact match, they are really intended for the chrome clad Ford wheels. They fit the seats on the wheels perfectly, but they stick out a little too far. No one seems to make a lug nut for these aluminum wheels in the older coarse thread, so this is as close as I could get.
Altogether, I’m pleased, and feel that it’s worth the $494.
Man, that truck is everything I’d ever want. Functional, low mileage, rust free and purchased at a bargain price to boot. It even looks nice.
CD's? What are those? Oh, yes, now I remember, I gave all of mine to the DAV thrift store about 5 years ago.
Have you noticed how many new cars no longer have CD players? They are starting to go the way of cassette players, and before them, 8 track.
And on a more serious note, I really don't remember how long ago I gave away my last stand alone CD player. Probably shortly after I got a DVD player for my home hi-fi / HTR setup.
About the only thing I miss from the CD era was making and exchanging mix CD's.
Storage media, and the associated requirements, are a real problem in the IT field. The major oil company that I used to work for still has an unbelievable number of 10.5 inch open reel computer tapes, going back to the 70's. Paying for storage, safe climate controlled storage, is becoming quite the financial burden. And being able to recover data from various media, different tape formats, etc, is also quite the problem.
Are you saying my Edison Wax Cylinder recordings are not state of the art?
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Comments
Maybe would have worked out though, as the house that sold for around 200K then is worth maybe 700-800K now.
Well, the target audience for Naples Is indeed geriatric sooooooooo….
And the prime times are the times that I would want to be there soooooo….
Now he wants to sell it and potential buyers want him to throw the remaining tenant out or take a 25% lower purchase offer. They’ve even gone behind his back offering money to his realtor to try to get them to get tenet out.
My friend doesn’t roll like that so he’s going to take a big hit to protect the tenant but it shows the cutthroat nature of the rental business.
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
Highlight was meeting a guy who could have been a character in an Elmore Leonard story, but was super nice to us.
Basically, took a hit for the sake of the family. Never want to do it again.
oldfarmer50 said:
Here’s an example of the current crazy car market. I remember seeing a car similar to this one about 18 months ago for about half this price.
https://worcester.craigslist.org/ctd/d/west-boylston-1990-ford-mustang-lx-50l/7343409968.html
This should be comforting to our classic Mustang member.
That Mustang looks like a limited edition 7 UP car, so worth some money.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
I returned the Panasonic 4K BD player this afternoon and picked up its Sony replacement. The return/exchange process at Best Buy was absolutely painless. I hooked it up and I could not be more pleased- and I saved $250 by going with the Sony. There are absolutely no issues with using dual HDMI outputs. I’m certain that it’s the placebo effect, but the sound and picture quality seems to be a bit better- and I can even go High End and use it to play SACDs(if any are still available). A couple of screenshots:
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
In more prosaic news, after multiple attempts my wife and I are finally happy with our landscaping:
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Now I can readily distinguish vinyl from CD. The CD sounds cleaner, and I know my saying that will upset some people. Can't be helped, the CD sounds cleaner to me.
All of which may have something to do with my age, and the fact that you lose a lot of high frequency hearing as you age. Or perhaps it is attributable to the fact that I don't listen as critically as I did when I was younger. I was a Hi Fi nut, I subscribed to the magazines, I spent a lot money on nice equipment. I had a $350 turntable, with a $150 cartridge (back when that was a lot more money than it sounds like today) and I spent 10 minutes prepping everything before I actually played the record. These days, I like to just enjoy the music.
@roadburner, I'm glad you're happy with your setup. That's what matters, does it make you happy, give you enjoyment.
I can tell you it was a real relief when we got out from under.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
But this is regarding buying a place and renting it to others when we aren’t using it.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
Clearly, payment would have to be made prior to arrival
So what’s the benefit of doing that? That’s what I have to do when we go to Myrtle Beach and rent a condo for a week from total strangers. Poster buddies should get a better deal, right?
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
They had a dinosaur cake made for my grandson a while ago that I posted here. My wife is a Hallmark Channel fan and they got a cake made for her:
2025 Forester Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
But this is regarding buying a place and renting it to others when we aren’t using it.
I'm not disagreeing...just saying...if you have a pet you may want to make sure the community allows pets. Also, if you want to rent to people with pets.
I would rent if I needed or could use the income, but renting has risks, plus you have to pack up personal stuff if you are leaving it, and it makes your taxes more complicated.....maybe in a good way if you are writing it off.
Like I say, we stayed at a rental condo in Florida that a young couple bought, they used it when it wasn't rented out, and they will own it one day and be able to stay in Florida for the winter, in a paid for home. I wish I was that wise when I was younger.
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
P> @roadburner said:
The Massachusetts Housing Court is not very sympathetic to landlords.
My friend, who owns several rental buildings, has an attorney on retainer who begins eviction proceedings for non payment of rent or lease violations as soon as 30 days after proper notice is given to the tenant. If the tenant does not vacate the property as directed she puts their stuff in storage and face the consequences in front of a judge. She fights every case and usually wins.
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
Never blame someone else for the road that you are on.
It’s your own asphalt.
@roadburner
Looks awesome!! I have a Sony Blu Ray and am very happy with it. I’m seriously considering pulling new cables so I can pass 4K to my projector. I feel like I’m not using its full potential.
RE:SACD I had both that and DVD-A. When hooked up with discreet 5.1 it really was a listening treat. My favorite was the Eagles Hotel California album. The way the harmonies were mixed was great.
RE: Vinyl vs CD. Different sound. Plain and simple IMO. CD is certainly more accurate but vinyl has a softer more musical quality for a lot of music. For example, I have a recent release of Chris Stapleton’s Traveler album on vinyl and it is just awesome.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
Oh, I learned my lesson with the current rental. NO PETS ALLOWED from now on, if I ever landlord again. Apparently, i have the only pets who don’t destroy a house.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
@qbrozen as we discussed, I went through each comp on the initial insurance market evaluation and found most vehicles not available or they did not have the options that the company said that they did. One even had a frontal crash on the carfax- I wonder why that one was so cheap??
I did the same with the latest valuation and again most vehicles were not available. Only one had the options that mine did and it had the luxury pkg (massage seats and alcantera headliner) but deducting that had a value of $53345 and that was after deducting $3245 for “condition “. Most of the other vehicles that were available did not have the air suspension or 21 inch wheels , but the company said that they did. Those vehicles were at Audi dealers that even had Monroney stickers on the website. Seems kinda odd that they would outright lie.
I’m sure he is going to love my latest email.
Oh well. I suspect that I’ll get a revised valuation in a couple of days.
I get an advertisement about once a week from Alstate insurance. Today I read the one offering cheap pricing on my home. I wondered where the agency was located. It's close to Graphicguy who is on the edge of Cincinnati. I'm the third county away from this office and they're sending solicitations.
I read the fine print at the bottom which said I was receiving solicitations based on information I had previously provided. I have never, ever in my life provided info for a quote by Alstate since I have always heard they had a bad reputation on claims.
Does anyone else get mailings from Alstate frequently?
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
If I knew you liked mold I would have saved you a piece.
2025 Forester Limited, 2024 Subaru Legacy Sport
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I have the new (to me) aluminum wheels on the 2013 F150 XL. It wound up costing more than I expected, but what doesn’t these days?
I bought the 17 inch aluminum wheels from a gentleman on Craigslist for $250, which was a very fair price. He threw in the original lug nuts, but unfortunately I was not able to use them. Ford changed from a coarse thread to a fine thread on the lug nuts / studs in 2015. A new set of Gorilla lug nuts cost me $85 off Ebay ($100 on Amazon). And I did buy new TPMS sensors, about $39 on Amazon. There were a number of different sellers, and different brands, on Amazon and Ebay. I went with the best reviews for a reasonable price, and they do work. Then $120 to Discount Tire for mounting and balancing. That was a little more than I expected, but I’m not complaining. Not many places of business will welcome you when you walk in with your own parts, and Discount Tire never blinked an eye.
The used tire shop just down the street would have probably done the job for half that, but I feel better with Discount Tire. I knew the tires would be balanced properly, and they wouldn’t scuff up the new rims. I could have purchased very similar looking lug nuts for less than half the price, but from what I’ve read online the chrome will not last on the cheap lug nuts, and the Gorilla brand is highly rated.
These lug nuts are not an exact match, they are really intended for the chrome clad Ford wheels. They fit the seats on the wheels perfectly, but they stick out a little too far. No one seems to make a lug nut for these aluminum wheels in the older coarse thread, so this is as close as I could get.
Altogether, I’m pleased, and feel that it’s worth the $494.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
Any chance we can get interior pix with your electronic handywork?
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2015 Subaru Outback 3.6R / 2024 Kia Sportage Hybrid SX Prestige
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
Which one was Pink anyway?
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)
2017 MB E400 , 2015 MB GLK350, 2014 MB C250
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
2019 Kia Soul+, 2015 Mustang GT, 2013 Ford F-150, 2000 Chrysler Sebring convertible
@henryn - the wheels look great. The longer lugs would make it less likely that the wheels would be damaged by a wheel and tire tech, I would think.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
I finished setting up the main home theater last night; my 13 year old Denon HTR is equipped with the Audyssey MultEQ XT acoustical correction technology so I shut down everything in the house(my wife was at a meeting) and ran the setup using all 8 optimal listener locations. It only takes about 30-45 minutes and I was very pleased with the results. I’m happy with 7.1 so I doubt that I will upgrade my HTR unless we move or remodel again. With 110 wpc the Denon has no problem driving my Klipsch speakers at reference levels or above. It’s one of the last Denon HTRs actually built in Japan and it definitely punches above its weight.
Hopefully I won’t need to upgrade again for at least 10 years.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2025 Ram 1500 Laramie 4x4 / 2023 Mercedes EQE 350 4Matic / 2022 Icon I6L Golf Cart
Exactly. I’m not fixated on having the newest audio equipment; if it works I hang on to it. My Rotel CD player is 31 years old…
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
Exactly. I’m not fixated on having the newest audio equipment; if it works I hang on to it. My Rotel CD player is 31 years old…
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CD's? What are those? Oh, yes, now I remember, I gave all of mine to the DAV thrift store about 5 years ago.
Have you noticed how many new cars no longer have CD players? They are starting to go the way of cassette players, and before them, 8 track.
And on a more serious note, I really don't remember how long ago I gave away my last stand alone CD player. Probably shortly after I got a DVD player for my home hi-fi / HTR setup.
About the only thing I miss from the CD era was making and exchanging mix CD's.
Storage media, and the associated requirements, are a real problem in the IT field. The major oil company that I used to work for still has an unbelievable number of 10.5 inch open reel computer tapes, going back to the 70's. Paying for storage, safe climate controlled storage, is becoming quite the financial burden. And being able to recover data from various media, different tape formats, etc, is also quite the problem.
I still have my boxes and books of CDs. Never got around to copying them all. Could be a fun retirement project.
And I got a bunch of mix, or copied, homemade disks too. Every holiday we all pulled out new purchases and made copies of each other’s stuff b
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2021 VW Arteon SEL 4-motion, 2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech
My 2er has a CD player and you can copy a CD to the 20 gig internal hard drive.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport-2020 C43-1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica
Wife's: 2021 Sahara 4xe
Son's: 2018 330i xDrive
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
jmonroe
'18 Legacy Limited with 3.6R (Mrs. j's)