Inspired by the House as a Fetish thread, is anyone else addicted to "Real Estate Porn"? I mean the kind of glossy, glitzy magazines showing houses that only the rich can afford. I've got my eye on a $1.095 million house on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.
(Mods feel free to emrge if you want)
No, but many people think I am. I keep getting subscriptions to Architectural Digest and other mags showing high-end real estate.
So friends, family, of you are reading this, “DON’T RENEW THE SUBSCRIPTIONS”
Peace and love.
H
"Those who plan do better than those who do not plan, even though they rarely stick to their plan." - Winston Churchill
In my previous life performing zoning code enforcement, I'd grab these mags weekly to thumb thru them and count the number of properties I had red-tagged. Building regs guy did the same thing; who ever had the fewest bought the beer that week.
A nuisance may be merely a right thing in the wrong place — like a pig in the parlor instead of the barnyard.
I imagine just one million $ would get you something like this in San Fransisco.Originally posted by BKM
I've got my eye on a $1.095 million house on Telegraph Hill in San Francisco.
I mostly "lacross" about locations rather than the house itself.
Well, it ain't quite THAT bad. But, the house will be jammed right next to other houses and apartment buildings-you got to go a long way out to find that much "open space" (We call that "sprawl", btw)
http://stevegothelf.com/
Look for "Russian Hill Charmer" You don't really have a yard, but your front door looks over a fantastic garden staircase-one of the elements of San Francisco I like.
I get my fix by tramping about all the $1million-plus homes in the annual Parade of Homes.
My wife is addicted. I throw them away whenever possible, then play dumb.
I pick up the mags every once in a while. My father is however a realtor/developer along the Lake Michigan coastline in lower Michigan and I frequent his website to see what he has on the market and some day dream of having.
At the present time I am looking at one that is a only $1.3 m, the only problem is that the garage needs to be painted. Check out a picture at.
http://www.shoresofsouthhaven.com/
and click on homes
To live on the Sound....
Actually, I never really droolover the $1 mill + stuff. Doesn't do much for me. Gotta clean the bitch, you know. And mow the lawn(yech!), and shovel the absurdly long drive. Give me something thats more sane and livable in terms of size. 2000sqft is big enough for me. Anything more and I'd get lost. I guess I'm just not so insecure that I need something as big as these places tend to be(oh, my! your 'house' is so BIG!). Even the wife feels that way about it. Hell, we can't hear eachother yell across our current house, why would we need something bigger?
You're more boring than you know.
Hello class division. You say that as if you would still do these things yourself when you can afford a million dollar home. Hire all that stuff out for working wage or less. The butler can find your wife, or the whole house intercom.Originally posted by martini
Actually, I never really droolover the $1 mill + stuff. Doesn't do much for me. Gotta clean the bitch, you know. And mow the lawn(yech!), and shovel the absurdly long drive. Give me something thats more sane and livable. I guess I'm just not so insecure that I need something as big as these places tend to be(oh, my! your 'house' is so BIG!). Even the wife feels that way about it. Hell, we can't hear eachother yell across our current house, why would we need something bigger?
I like to go visiting new housing projects in Valdivia... Last two visits are the lovely new gated comunity "suburbs" here in Valdivia... One even has a cul-de-sac layout (ie: one big cul-de-sac streched downhill with little cul-de-sac conecting to it.)
I'm a cheapskate. If I don't have to spend the money on something, I won't. Conversely, I won't hesitate to spend on bicycles, to a limit on cars, or electronics(stereo system, computer).Originally posted by ludes98
Hello class division. You say that as if you would still do these things yourself when you can afford a million dollar home. Hire all that stuff out for working wage or less. The butler can find your wife, or the whole house intercom.
You're more boring than you know.
I take this as one of the few perks in my job, going into monster homes and seeing how tacky or poorly designed they are inside.
We had one that i could have sworn was modelled after a rabbit warren. Walk two feet, turn, door, walk,, door, turn door. And it is bright yellow stucco.
Too lazy to beat myself up for being to lazy to beat myself up for being too lazy to... well you get the point....
Actually, your dream place (2000 square feet, etc) probably does describe a $1 mill plus house in the City.Actually, I never really droolover the $1 mill + stuff. Doesn't do much for me. Gotta clean the bitch, you know. And mow the lawn(yech!), and shovel the absurdly long drive. Give me something thats more sane and livable in terms of size. 2000sqft is big enough for me. Anything more and I'd get lost. I guess I'm just not so insecure that I need something as big as these places tend to be(oh, my! your 'house' is so BIG!). Even the wife feels that way about it. Hell, we can't hear eachother yell across our current house, why would we need something bigger?
For me, its not so much the size of the house and all that. I don't understand the monster house fetish, either. What I do "drool" over is artsy fartsy architecture-the open loft stuff, poggenphl cabinetry, the track lighting, all that foolish stuff. And, those eyedropping views! Plus, no traffic, because the house is on a staircase street (alley access behind)
Its this fetish value of the architecture, and the opportunity to live in one of the cooler neighborhoods in San Francisco-a City I still find fascinating-despite its immense (often self-inflicted) problems.
I'll admit to having a large collection of architecture books. I tend to like the smaller homes, though. When I'm on the road I'll sometimes pick up a copy of American Bungalow.
I don't like huge houses either... It all depends of the quality of the architect and the space optimization of the house. Details are very important, like, in the semi-suburban gated comunity I posted before, the houses have a very uncomfortable design flaw. In the 2nd floor bathroom, the toilet is placed in a very small corner, with little leg space in front of the toilet....
A house over 150 sq meters is frankly not justified, unless your family is huge... but for a family of four... 100-150 sq meters is a-ok....(mine is at about 120-130 sq meters)
I'm reminded of my search for rental houses in the Cleveland area a few weeks ago.
I saw one advertised in the Plain Dealer as a "small ranch in Waite Hill." I wasn't familiar with Waite Hill, but I got my first introduction to the place when I followed the directions to find the place. Waite Hill turned out to be one of those "gentleman's country estate" type of towns; no commercial zoning, small colonial-style street signs lettered with a serif typeface, curbless streets with no sidewalks, and monstorous homes on massive lots. From the 2000 US Census:
Median family income: $134,041
Median house value: $367,400
Owner-occupied: 100%
Here's what Realtor.com has for sale in Waite Hill.
The "small ranch" was a 2,500 square foot (about 220 square meter) custom built brick ranch, much of which was dug into the hillside of the TEN ACRE LOT it sat on. Ten acres ... that area would fit 40 or 50 houses under R-1 zoning in most normal suburbs. This house was much smaller than the surrounding houses, though; it was probably the first one ever built in the village. Three bedroom, two bathroom, stone floors and natural wood paneling throughout, a fireplace in every room ... the place looked like a hunting lodge. The house hadn't been updated since it was built in the 1950s, but still, it was damn impressive.
The rent? $1,000 a month; a bargain considering the mortgage payments most Waite Hill residents probably face. It was at the top of my price range, but that didn't bother me. The fact that I'd be the poorest person living in the only rental house in Waite Hill didn't bother me. No, it was the thought of heating this mountain lodge, and plowing a long, long driveway that was at a 30 degree angle.
Growth for growth's sake is the ideology of the cancer cell. -- Edward Abbey
Big houses I like Haciendas, they are great.
Small houses I'd like an Irving J. Gill cottage. Designed for the simple man.
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