Where to Have Life As An Ex-Expat?

[OnMyWay]

12 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

A friend just shared this link from a cheap old house in Kentucky.  It has me wishing I could go buy it.  Something to consider.  Sometimes the USA is not so crazy expensive (just crazy LOL)

 

I didn't see the price on that one but I looked at others on that page.  There are some gorgeous old houses there and I have a fondness for them.  Lots and lots of upkeep costs thought. 

Oh crap, Dave, now you got me started and I have to share some pictures I just found.  I spent 10-15 years of my life working on an old house, from age 9 or so.  My parents owned the mobile home park where the Henry Gage Mansion is, in Bell Gardens, CA.  In this Wiki article, my Dad is the "ailing landlord" and he was 50% owner with my uncle.  My sister, BIL and 5 kids lived in part of the house after we restored it, and managed the mobile home park.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Gage_Mansion

When I Googled, a lot of pictures came up and one is my nephew John, recently!  He must have stopped by during a visit.  He lives in Albuquerque now but grew up in the mansion.

Drone view I have never seen.  The brown roof has probably been replaced again, but my two friends and I re-roofed almost the entire roof over the course of 2-3 years.

The house circles a courtyard.  That oval you see in the middle used to be a fish pond.  When we bought the place, it was empty.  We cleaned it up made it a fish pond again.  When renovations were completed, we had a grand opening party with lots of guests.  We bought a few hundred cheap goldfish and put them in the pond.  On the day of the party, it was a scorching day like the weather they are having now.  The fish started dying off quickly and my nephews and I had to keep scooping them out!  We made it into a rose garden shortly thereafter!

This is a view from the ballroom into the billiard room.  The blue wallpaper is original from the 1800's.  I learned to play pool in that room. This is the end of the L shaped ballroom.  If you were to look to the right, the long part of the L was huge.  We refinished all of those original wood floors.  There were 4 or 5 fireplaces that had been painted several times.  We stripped all the paint and they were beautiful wood underneath, which used clear varnish on.  I'm not sure if that one in the picture was one we worked on.  It would be a shame if some idiot painted it again.

This is a side entrance.  The window on the right is the billiard room.  The window on the left is a beautiful wood library that we used as the office for the mobile home park.

I will have to see if my family has some good pictures.  It was a grand old place!  Lots of memories!

[Jake]

3 hours ago, OnMyWay said:

I will have to see if my family has some good pictures.  It was a grand old place!  Lots of memories!

Triple LIKE Don!  It also brought memories of good times when Judy and I lived in a mobile home and trailer park at the waters edge of Lake Elsinore, CA.  It was like a glorified camping with all kinds of personalities living in close proximity of each other.  I became close friend with a gentle redneck, a truck driver (long haul) from Kentucky who introduced me to Fireball and PBR's.  He said that I was the first Filipino he has ever met.  I responded that I'm also a Filipino redneck as well.....he, he.    

Anyway, getting back on track.  Here is another alternative about your future home and property.  Anybody thought about manufactured or pre-fabricated home?  Aren't they getting high tech in materials and construction?  I guess that would be a significant reduction of sale and monthly mortgage, right?  Of course it would be more cost effective if you already own a piece of land. 

And that of course brings up that nagging question.....what about the neighborhood?  

[Dave Hounddriver]

16 minutes ago, Jake said:

pre-fabricated home?

I had one of them built in 1999 in Canada.  By the time we ha built a basement to put it on plus bought the land and built a driveway, fence and landscaping it was only about 10% less cost than a conventional build and it will forever look like a pre fab.  Nice enough house but you do not save much in the grand scheme of things.

[GeoffH]

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Edited September 10, 2020 by GeoffH

[OnMyWay]

8 hours ago, Jake said:

pre-fabricated home

I'm not sure if this counts as prefabricated.  If we decide to stay where we are and re-build our old Navy house, I would consider using this company:

https://www.steelfab.com.ph/

I know the owner and have seen some of their work.  Quick and cost effective.  This is a place he just completed.  It is only 76 SQM and his price for the framing roof and I think outer walls is $9000.  All computer designed for electrical outlets, etc, and it goes together like a numbered puzzle.  He mentioned them putting in the electrical but I am not sure if that was included in the $9000.  It only took about 6 work days to complete the exterior.

 

 

 

[hk blues]

21 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I'm not sure if this counts as prefabricated.  If we decide to stay where we are and re-build our old Navy house, I would consider using this company:

https://www.steelfab.com.ph/

I know the owner and have seen some of their work.  Quick and cost effective.  This is a place he just completed.  It is only 76 SQM and his price for the framing roof and I think outer walls is $9000.  All computer designed for electrical outlets, etc, and it goes together like a numbered puzzle.  He mentioned them putting in the electrical but I am not sure if that was included in the $9000.  It only took about 6 work days to complete the exterior.

 

 

 

I've been watching programme on Cignal form the UK - Impossible Builds - where people have been building on difficult sites.  The majority of them have chosen prefabricated builds - some of them are very sophisticated with all electricals, plumbing, tiling, flooring etc etc fitted.  The biggest challenge is getting the panels on site as most are in areas where roads are narrow and access very limited.  

[manofthecoldland]

Kit houses, Pre-cut homes, etc. have been around and available for a very long time with lots of material and technology improvements since the early days.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_house

In the north, most lumber mills have always offered cabin packages, whether milled log or stick built. You got a good price break on the materials for the basic structure and then could add on the various electrical and plumbing packages, etc. Still available today, along with a host of metal pre-fabs.

A step up was to hire a specialty crew with a time-line and fixed cost if you and your friends didn't have the time or skill sets. Ultra fast and efficient men. I've had a lot of acquaintances who went both routes, as well as some who just pieced together houses in increments over the years.

Our house here in the PI evolved that way over the last 9 years and the wife is still doing add-ons.

[manofthecoldland]

Here's a 1920 film with Buster Keaton putting up his pre-cut home package.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ni2aAhjaMI&t=743s

[Jollygoodfellow]

Getting back to where to have a life as an expat. What about Detroit? Housing is cheap or used to be. Find one thats only half burnt to the ground and do it up. Privacy, from what I see you could be the only house in a street.

[OnMyWay]

17 minutes ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

Getting back to where to have a life as an expat. What about Detroit? Housing is cheap or used to be. Find one thats only half burnt to the ground and do it up. Privacy, from what I see you could be the only house in a street.

I always wanted to live like Charlton Heston in Omega Man.  What a life!

It is very sad as Detroit used to be a great American city.  How about this one.  Actually there are a whole bunch you can buy for $1000.

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3751-Hogarth-St-Detroit-MI-48206/88658792_zpid/