Great write up Xin, thank you for bringing this up.
My wife & I always joked that neither of us had to pay one penny back to the gov't at tax time until the first time we filed married jointly. When single, we both received refunds every year, then after marriage have had to pay each of our first 3 years of filing jointly.
It was not until this current tax season that we saw a refund again, and I'm not really sure why...nothing was different from the previous years (except the fact that we received a $1,200 check from the gov't last summer and now are getting over $1,000 back again now). Seems strange, hard to understand and as you mentioned...quite convoluted.
This coming year we should benefit greatly from the fact that we are now tithing to our local church, along with all our other deductions. Once again proving that following the Lord brings nothing but positive results!
My husband and I ended up paying quite a bit more in tax when we married.
I used to break even, or at most owed below $150, my husband roughly the same (he took more witholdings, therefore got money back - had to explain the "tax free loan" he was making each year TO the government).
Now, even though we do have a mortgage, we still pay quite a bit in taxes - in the thousands (!) - and our mortgage interests and charitable donations don't touch the standard deductions. Our income didn't change, but we're getting royally screwed.
It gets more interesting when one spouse doesn't work.
When I got married, I made $40,000 and my spouse made $0 (student).
However, he had a free ride to college from the federal government because of his nonexistent income.
When we married, my taxes went DOWN. I always figured this was because as a couple, we made $40,000, while I as a single also made $40,000.
However, we lost all student financial aid. It appears that they viewed him as making $40,000, since that is what I made and we were now married. I never did the calculations, but we lost about $3000 per year in financial aid and I do not think my taxes were reduced by nearly that much.
I think taxes should be neutral - not encouraging behavior one way or the other. You can end up with some weird rewards once you change the way you calculate taxes based on someone's arbitrary status.
I've never really trusted the government or the economy. When the economy tanked here in CT back in the 90's I lived in all the "boom towns" around the US and never saw anything that was very reassuring. I save my money, I beleive in co-housing, which you look at it makes alot of sense, and starting a organic gardening growing operation in my backyard, sell art-work, do odd jobs on the side. This melt down just reveals what I've alway's felt, America is a scary place to live where the government has no accountability to the populous and even less competency. You know, if you've ever been shipwrecked your going to keep supplies of food and water under your bed, in your car, ect. People should learn some lessons from this. If the government doesnt get it's act together itr's going to relearn some lessons. Anyone remember Ruby Ridge and Timmy McVeigh? Those people took to the woods when the economy went bad back in the late 80's and 90's and came back with a Ryder truck full of high explosives. Timmy learned how to handle TNT in the Army in the first Gulf war, which only lasted 20 day's? I wouldnt like to see what happens when some of the dis-affected veterans of this current conflict get pushed to the wall. Anyone remember the Whiskey rebellion? Those disgruntled Revolutionary War veterans, denied their pensions, almost took down the young nation. So we'll see and hope things improve soon, I guess.
Hello,
I have a website (http://www.switchtoriches.com), in which I would like to link to this article. I believe my intended audience will really benefit from this article! Thanks for your insight!
My ex wife and I both had good paying jobs when we got married. We ended up paying thousands of dollars more after marriage, which made no sense to me. I can gain most of the financial benefits of marriage by living with someone. Sure, there were some legal benefits for being married, but we shouldn't have paid for them through higher tax rates on our incomes.
The marriage penalty was "fixed," but the fix does operate under the assumption that married people will have a mortgage interest deduction and a child deduction. My husband and I don't yet own a home or have a child, so we do pay more taxes than we would as singles because we lack the deductions needed to even the score.
I would also note that a married couple will probably lose the student loan interest deduction because their joint income will push them out of eligibility, even if one or both of them might have qualified as individuals.
Married couples also phase out of the new first-time homebuyer tax credit at a lower income. The phase-out range is $75-95,000 for individuals, but $150-170,000 for marrieds. If it were truly equal, it would be $150-190,000.
Wow.. I did not know they burned that much power!! That's crazy!!
Honestly, I think more interesting and a better reason to care is the environmental impact... so much worse =/
Maria, your calculations are flawed. The penalty is in the thousands for my theoretical couple. Here is the math using 2009 tax tables:
For singles: 28% on the income between $82,250 and $171,550; plus $16,750
For married filing jointly: 33% on the income between $208,850 and $372,950; plus $46,741.50 - This 33% is rising to 36% under Obama's proposal for families making above $250,000.
Person A) $130,000 taxable . Single Tax = 16,750 + 0.28 * (130,000-82250) = $30120
Person B) $130,000 taxable. Single tax = same as Person A = $30120
Total tax if both are filing single = $60240
If they're married their total income is $260,000.
Married tax = 46741.50 + 0.36 (260,000-208850) = $65155.5
The difference is $4915.50, not $800 like you said. The Obama administration hasn't been very clear on how they will change the tax brackets so I am assuming that the brackets will stay similar to what it is now but only the couples that make above $250,000 will get the higher rates. Anyway, the hike is only 1.9% of this theoretical couple's income, but it is in the thousands of dollars. There are definitely benefits to marriage, but I just think that each individual should be treated equally in terms of taxation.
"Granted, this couple would probably be able to afford the extra taxes, but they will probably be a little miffed about paying thousands of dollars more every year just because they are legally married."
Given the numbers you used, the couple in question would pay $800 more in taxes. Only the $10,000 over the magical $250,000 limit would be taxed at the 8% higher rate (assuming, unrealistically, that this couple doesn't take a standard deduction or have any itemized deductions - let's say that the $130,000 they're each earning is adjusted gross income and their salary prior to deductions is higher).
So each of them pays $400 more per year, yet they enjoy the financial benefits of marriage, such as survivor's benefits for Social Security and spousal health care coverage, both of which total well more than $400.
I came from a family that butchered cows but never hunted or fished. When I met my husband, he did both. I have since became interested and have taken up doing both. It has been very cost effective and we have a better "cut" of meat. We hunt for just about everything and process the animal ourselves. It puts our cost down at next to nothing. We reload our own bullets and practice not maiming something to where it is wasted. Even if something isn't killed every hunt, it is relaxing to sit and watch nature. One way that it is very cost effective is that we both have our lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. We aren't out anything for tags anymore.
Also there is such a large number of deer and other wildlife around that they are causing problems. They are causing wrecks and wrecking havoc on crops. Hunting is helping pull the numbers down and help control all these problems.
I came to this sight from The Hunters Wife and have been impressed with the openess that everyone has expressed and am happy that everyone is feeling this way. I don't expect everyone to hunt or like hunting but it makes me feel good when they treat me and my hunting respectful. Thanks so much!
Ian,
Like 99.99% of the rest of Americans,you are confusing an economic system with a political one.Communism is about economics,not politics,whatever everyone else has led you to believe.The regimes you mentioned were totalitarian oligarchies,which was the root of the problem,not the perverted form of communism espoused by thier dogma.I'm not being an apologist for Marx/Engels,but their idea of global workers revolution should not be confused with the Russian Revolution and subsequent 'revolutions' of so called 'Marxists',like the Nazis,merely an armed group of thugs at the right place and time.
Ian,
Like 99.99% of the rest of Americans,you are confusing an economic system with a political one.Communism is about economics,not politics,whatever everyone else has led you to believe.The regimes you mentioned were totalitarian oligarchies,which was the root of the problem,not the perverted form of communism espoused by thier dogma.I'm not being an apologist for Marx/Engels,but their idea of global workers revolution should not be confused with the Russian Revolution and subsequent 'revolutions' of so called 'Marxists',like the Nazis,merely an armed group of thugs at the right place and time.
First of all, I came across this post via The Hunters Wife blog. I have to say I am really impressed with the open-mindedness of this group, and it's extremely appreciated. I grew up in rural Kansas, (still live there) and have hunted and fished for as long as I can remember. Most of all, venison was the main source of our family's protein. In fact, I prefer venison to this day over any other kind of meat. My husband and I both hunt. We do it because it's a passion and a means of survival. There's nothing better than spending an evening surrounded by a beautiful landscape and beautiful deer. Plus, our freezers stay full most of the year and it is our primary source of meat. I will say that hunting is not expensive. A gun, a license, and a place to go are all you need to get started. Yes, all the hunting accessories do serve their purpose in specific forms of hunting, or trying to get a specific animal. But when it comes down to it, hunting is cost-effective and feasible for the openminded novice.
I agree that our first financial responsibility is to ourselves and to future generations, who, as has been said here in the comments, cannot give consent to assume our debts. I can't fault anyone for using any stimulus money to pay down debt or for savings. We are bolstering our savings by redirecting our extra principle payments into our emergency savings, which was already funded with 6 months of expenses.
That said, I think there is room for people to spend whatever extra money they have on sound investments such as additional insulation for their homes, or other durable items that will continue to pay dividends year after year, such as gardening tools, etc. I believe we can spend *some* money in ways that help ourselves and help the economy too. But I think the permanent growth and easy credit model of economics is dead. We're throwing good money after bad trying to revive it. Our "recovery" is never going to return us to those times. Nor should it.
It has been known for thousands of years that when you loan money (as you do when buying stocks), sometimes people don't pay you back.
It has been known for thousands of years that spending more than you earn is bad.
It has been known for thousands of years that stealing is wrong. When you spend other peoples' money without their consent, that's called stealing, theft. When you spend the money of people who haven't been born yet, you can't get their consent. A society based upon theft does not work.
It has been known for thousands of years that when kings and governments debase their currency as we are doing with the inflationary printing of dollars, their countries fail.
I don't understand how millions of Americans can self-delude so completely as to ignore basic facts that have been known for thousands of years.
The idea that your 401k is your safe savior for retirement has been blown out of the water. Many plans have lost a big amount of their value.
I am glad to see more people viewing their jobs as not being a secure relationship. Jobs have not been secure for well over a decade. In many ways the traditional job is less secure because you have so much invested in it and most people have nothing else waiting in the wings.
I am aware of the many trickle consumers, and have curtailed some of them. But, I think one extra use of the clothes dryer wipes out a lot of modem downtime.
We have a Bose radio just waiting for the remote to wake it up; a telephone answering device with a clock and message counter, and charger for the cordless phone; and a furnace waiting for the thermostat to call for heat; a clock driven lamp in the living room, which doesn't reveal how much it draws to run the clock; and a clock driven line outdoors that powers the block heater for the car (cold climate here, so I have it come on around 4AM to make the car easier to start at 7); almost forgot the garage door remote.
I've always been a water-saving freak (off-topic, but there was a local promotion when I was little about a monster called the H2Ogre, who sang songs about what it would be like when all the water was gone to encourage people not to waste water, absolutely scared the pants off me).
Now just to get the husband to do this. He can easily spend 10 minutes in the shower, before I bang on the door to remind him to get out.
Seriously I can rinse, lather, rinse and be out in under 60 seconds (assuming no leg shaving, which is pretty rare, and I only wash my hair once a week).
I want to add make sure you lay off the bedtime snacking about an hour or so before bed. Any late night calories will make it harder to sleep as your body experiences a surge of energy.
Also make sure you have had enough exercise in the day, this is the eaisest way to get a great nights sleep.
One positive thing to come along during these times is that more and more people are placing a heightened importance and focus on personal finance strategies that work for the long term. It really is causing people to think twice about their strategies and spending patterns, and directing them toward more frugal methods. Once the economy adjusts to this, then it may not adversely affect the big picture as much as we may think.
To the above poster, I don't believe it's a good investment either way you look at it. Just look at the home now compared to what it looked before. It's going to take more than $25k to fix this house up. I can guarantee you that! I've been doing contracting work, and even if the homeowner did it herself, the materials alone would cost her at least $20k minimum. Let's not even talk about putting in a new roof, HVAC system or any of those goodies. With barebones items, this would easily cost her that much. The home needs a total 100% repair. The vultures tore off 99% of the siding and even managed to cut some studs off the home. Honestly, the only thing I see salvageable may be the foundation. Otherwise, this house is a TOTAL LOSS.
Also, who in their right minds would even consider living in this home, after it being plastered all over the internet of the way it looks now. Even if this owner fixed it up nicely, anyone who has access to the internet will find out the neighborhood is trash and extremely unsafe. You wouldn't be able to sleep for even a minute without thinking there are vultures getting ready to attack the home and the owner.
Sorry, but even at $1, the lady paid too much for this house. It's not liveable, will cost a fortune to repair, and she'd have to wait forever to even think about renovating this home as the moment she has her eyes off the house, anything of value left in or near it will be ripped off. Besides, she better be getting insurance for the home. Oh wait, she can't...no one is going to insure that home. She better watch out for those liability lawsuits these vultures will get her for because she's stupid enough to buy this.
Remember, the lenders know everything. Even though this home looks like a great deal, lenders know it's a poison pill waiting to happen.
These are all things we should be thinking about more closely. Analyzing them, what's right for us, as opposed to just worrying about them and panicking. Thanks for the great post!
I think we are now learning the difference between knowledge and wisdom, between common sense and common action.
You could have posted this list 2 years ago, and everyone would have said these were common sense, and move on with their lives. Now they understand the difference between understanding common sense, and acting with common sense.
Great write up Xin, thank you for bringing this up.
My wife & I always joked that neither of us had to pay one penny back to the gov't at tax time until the first time we filed married jointly. When single, we both received refunds every year, then after marriage have had to pay each of our first 3 years of filing jointly.
It was not until this current tax season that we saw a refund again, and I'm not really sure why...nothing was different from the previous years (except the fact that we received a $1,200 check from the gov't last summer and now are getting over $1,000 back again now). Seems strange, hard to understand and as you mentioned...quite convoluted.
This coming year we should benefit greatly from the fact that we are now tithing to our local church, along with all our other deductions. Once again proving that following the Lord brings nothing but positive results!
DebtFREEk!
My husband and I ended up paying quite a bit more in tax when we married.
I used to break even, or at most owed below $150, my husband roughly the same (he took more witholdings, therefore got money back - had to explain the "tax free loan" he was making each year TO the government).
Now, even though we do have a mortgage, we still pay quite a bit in taxes - in the thousands (!) - and our mortgage interests and charitable donations don't touch the standard deductions. Our income didn't change, but we're getting royally screwed.
It gets more interesting when one spouse doesn't work.
When I got married, I made $40,000 and my spouse made $0 (student).
However, he had a free ride to college from the federal government because of his nonexistent income.
When we married, my taxes went DOWN. I always figured this was because as a couple, we made $40,000, while I as a single also made $40,000.
However, we lost all student financial aid. It appears that they viewed him as making $40,000, since that is what I made and we were now married. I never did the calculations, but we lost about $3000 per year in financial aid and I do not think my taxes were reduced by nearly that much.
I think taxes should be neutral - not encouraging behavior one way or the other. You can end up with some weird rewards once you change the way you calculate taxes based on someone's arbitrary status.
I've never really trusted the government or the economy. When the economy tanked here in CT back in the 90's I lived in all the "boom towns" around the US and never saw anything that was very reassuring. I save my money, I beleive in co-housing, which you look at it makes alot of sense, and starting a organic gardening growing operation in my backyard, sell art-work, do odd jobs on the side. This melt down just reveals what I've alway's felt, America is a scary place to live where the government has no accountability to the populous and even less competency. You know, if you've ever been shipwrecked your going to keep supplies of food and water under your bed, in your car, ect. People should learn some lessons from this. If the government doesnt get it's act together itr's going to relearn some lessons. Anyone remember Ruby Ridge and Timmy McVeigh? Those people took to the woods when the economy went bad back in the late 80's and 90's and came back with a Ryder truck full of high explosives. Timmy learned how to handle TNT in the Army in the first Gulf war, which only lasted 20 day's? I wouldnt like to see what happens when some of the dis-affected veterans of this current conflict get pushed to the wall. Anyone remember the Whiskey rebellion? Those disgruntled Revolutionary War veterans, denied their pensions, almost took down the young nation. So we'll see and hope things improve soon, I guess.
Hello,
I have a website (http://www.switchtoriches.com), in which I would like to link to this article. I believe my intended audience will really benefit from this article! Thanks for your insight!
-Jim L.
My ex wife and I both had good paying jobs when we got married. We ended up paying thousands of dollars more after marriage, which made no sense to me. I can gain most of the financial benefits of marriage by living with someone. Sure, there were some legal benefits for being married, but we shouldn't have paid for them through higher tax rates on our incomes.
Gal
The marriage penalty was "fixed," but the fix does operate under the assumption that married people will have a mortgage interest deduction and a child deduction. My husband and I don't yet own a home or have a child, so we do pay more taxes than we would as singles because we lack the deductions needed to even the score.
I would also note that a married couple will probably lose the student loan interest deduction because their joint income will push them out of eligibility, even if one or both of them might have qualified as individuals.
Married couples also phase out of the new first-time homebuyer tax credit at a lower income. The phase-out range is $75-95,000 for individuals, but $150-170,000 for marrieds. If it were truly equal, it would be $150-190,000.
Wow.. I did not know they burned that much power!! That's crazy!!
Honestly, I think more interesting and a better reason to care is the environmental impact... so much worse =/
Maria, your calculations are flawed. The penalty is in the thousands for my theoretical couple. Here is the math using 2009 tax tables:
For singles: 28% on the income between $82,250 and $171,550; plus $16,750
For married filing jointly: 33% on the income between $208,850 and $372,950; plus $46,741.50 - This 33% is rising to 36% under Obama's proposal for families making above $250,000.
Person A) $130,000 taxable . Single Tax = 16,750 + 0.28 * (130,000-82250) = $30120
Person B) $130,000 taxable. Single tax = same as Person A = $30120
Total tax if both are filing single = $60240
If they're married their total income is $260,000.
Married tax = 46741.50 + 0.36 (260,000-208850) = $65155.5
The difference is $4915.50, not $800 like you said. The Obama administration hasn't been very clear on how they will change the tax brackets so I am assuming that the brackets will stay similar to what it is now but only the couples that make above $250,000 will get the higher rates. Anyway, the hike is only 1.9% of this theoretical couple's income, but it is in the thousands of dollars. There are definitely benefits to marriage, but I just think that each individual should be treated equally in terms of taxation.
"Granted, this couple would probably be able to afford the extra taxes, but they will probably be a little miffed about paying thousands of dollars more every year just because they are legally married."
Given the numbers you used, the couple in question would pay $800 more in taxes. Only the $10,000 over the magical $250,000 limit would be taxed at the 8% higher rate (assuming, unrealistically, that this couple doesn't take a standard deduction or have any itemized deductions - let's say that the $130,000 they're each earning is adjusted gross income and their salary prior to deductions is higher).
So each of them pays $400 more per year, yet they enjoy the financial benefits of marriage, such as survivor's benefits for Social Security and spousal health care coverage, both of which total well more than $400.
I'll take that "penalty" any day of the year.
I came from a family that butchered cows but never hunted or fished. When I met my husband, he did both. I have since became interested and have taken up doing both. It has been very cost effective and we have a better "cut" of meat. We hunt for just about everything and process the animal ourselves. It puts our cost down at next to nothing. We reload our own bullets and practice not maiming something to where it is wasted. Even if something isn't killed every hunt, it is relaxing to sit and watch nature. One way that it is very cost effective is that we both have our lifetime hunting and fishing licenses. We aren't out anything for tags anymore.
Also there is such a large number of deer and other wildlife around that they are causing problems. They are causing wrecks and wrecking havoc on crops. Hunting is helping pull the numbers down and help control all these problems.
I came to this sight from The Hunters Wife and have been impressed with the openess that everyone has expressed and am happy that everyone is feeling this way. I don't expect everyone to hunt or like hunting but it makes me feel good when they treat me and my hunting respectful. Thanks so much!
Ian,
Like 99.99% of the rest of Americans,you are confusing an economic system with a political one.Communism is about economics,not politics,whatever everyone else has led you to believe.The regimes you mentioned were totalitarian oligarchies,which was the root of the problem,not the perverted form of communism espoused by thier dogma.I'm not being an apologist for Marx/Engels,but their idea of global workers revolution should not be confused with the Russian Revolution and subsequent 'revolutions' of so called 'Marxists',like the Nazis,merely an armed group of thugs at the right place and time.
Ian,
Like 99.99% of the rest of Americans,you are confusing an economic system with a political one.Communism is about economics,not politics,whatever everyone else has led you to believe.The regimes you mentioned were totalitarian oligarchies,which was the root of the problem,not the perverted form of communism espoused by thier dogma.I'm not being an apologist for Marx/Engels,but their idea of global workers revolution should not be confused with the Russian Revolution and subsequent 'revolutions' of so called 'Marxists',like the Nazis,merely an armed group of thugs at the right place and time.
First of all, I came across this post via The Hunters Wife blog. I have to say I am really impressed with the open-mindedness of this group, and it's extremely appreciated. I grew up in rural Kansas, (still live there) and have hunted and fished for as long as I can remember. Most of all, venison was the main source of our family's protein. In fact, I prefer venison to this day over any other kind of meat. My husband and I both hunt. We do it because it's a passion and a means of survival. There's nothing better than spending an evening surrounded by a beautiful landscape and beautiful deer. Plus, our freezers stay full most of the year and it is our primary source of meat. I will say that hunting is not expensive. A gun, a license, and a place to go are all you need to get started. Yes, all the hunting accessories do serve their purpose in specific forms of hunting, or trying to get a specific animal. But when it comes down to it, hunting is cost-effective and feasible for the openminded novice.
I agree that our first financial responsibility is to ourselves and to future generations, who, as has been said here in the comments, cannot give consent to assume our debts. I can't fault anyone for using any stimulus money to pay down debt or for savings. We are bolstering our savings by redirecting our extra principle payments into our emergency savings, which was already funded with 6 months of expenses.
That said, I think there is room for people to spend whatever extra money they have on sound investments such as additional insulation for their homes, or other durable items that will continue to pay dividends year after year, such as gardening tools, etc. I believe we can spend *some* money in ways that help ourselves and help the economy too. But I think the permanent growth and easy credit model of economics is dead. We're throwing good money after bad trying to revive it. Our "recovery" is never going to return us to those times. Nor should it.
There is nothing new under the sun.
It has been known for thousands of years that when you loan money (as you do when buying stocks), sometimes people don't pay you back.
It has been known for thousands of years that spending more than you earn is bad.
It has been known for thousands of years that stealing is wrong. When you spend other peoples' money without their consent, that's called stealing, theft. When you spend the money of people who haven't been born yet, you can't get their consent. A society based upon theft does not work.
It has been known for thousands of years that when kings and governments debase their currency as we are doing with the inflationary printing of dollars, their countries fail.
I don't understand how millions of Americans can self-delude so completely as to ignore basic facts that have been known for thousands of years.
They deserve what they get.
The idea that your 401k is your safe savior for retirement has been blown out of the water. Many plans have lost a big amount of their value.
I am glad to see more people viewing their jobs as not being a secure relationship. Jobs have not been secure for well over a decade. In many ways the traditional job is less secure because you have so much invested in it and most people have nothing else waiting in the wings.
I am aware of the many trickle consumers, and have curtailed some of them. But, I think one extra use of the clothes dryer wipes out a lot of modem downtime.
We have a Bose radio just waiting for the remote to wake it up; a telephone answering device with a clock and message counter, and charger for the cordless phone; and a furnace waiting for the thermostat to call for heat; a clock driven lamp in the living room, which doesn't reveal how much it draws to run the clock; and a clock driven line outdoors that powers the block heater for the car (cold climate here, so I have it come on around 4AM to make the car easier to start at 7); almost forgot the garage door remote.
I've always been a water-saving freak (off-topic, but there was a local promotion when I was little about a monster called the H2Ogre, who sang songs about what it would be like when all the water was gone to encourage people not to waste water, absolutely scared the pants off me).
Now just to get the husband to do this. He can easily spend 10 minutes in the shower, before I bang on the door to remind him to get out.
Seriously I can rinse, lather, rinse and be out in under 60 seconds (assuming no leg shaving, which is pretty rare, and I only wash my hair once a week).
Some really good tips here. =)
I want to add make sure you lay off the bedtime snacking about an hour or so before bed. Any late night calories will make it harder to sleep as your body experiences a surge of energy.
Also make sure you have had enough exercise in the day, this is the eaisest way to get a great nights sleep.
I will be adding this site to my blog as I think everybody should read this list! My blog is unrelated http://what-is-an-affiliate-network.blogspot.com/
One positive thing to come along during these times is that more and more people are placing a heightened importance and focus on personal finance strategies that work for the long term. It really is causing people to think twice about their strategies and spending patterns, and directing them toward more frugal methods. Once the economy adjusts to this, then it may not adversely affect the big picture as much as we may think.
To the above poster, I don't believe it's a good investment either way you look at it. Just look at the home now compared to what it looked before. It's going to take more than $25k to fix this house up. I can guarantee you that! I've been doing contracting work, and even if the homeowner did it herself, the materials alone would cost her at least $20k minimum. Let's not even talk about putting in a new roof, HVAC system or any of those goodies. With barebones items, this would easily cost her that much. The home needs a total 100% repair. The vultures tore off 99% of the siding and even managed to cut some studs off the home. Honestly, the only thing I see salvageable may be the foundation. Otherwise, this house is a TOTAL LOSS.
Also, who in their right minds would even consider living in this home, after it being plastered all over the internet of the way it looks now. Even if this owner fixed it up nicely, anyone who has access to the internet will find out the neighborhood is trash and extremely unsafe. You wouldn't be able to sleep for even a minute without thinking there are vultures getting ready to attack the home and the owner.
Sorry, but even at $1, the lady paid too much for this house. It's not liveable, will cost a fortune to repair, and she'd have to wait forever to even think about renovating this home as the moment she has her eyes off the house, anything of value left in or near it will be ripped off. Besides, she better be getting insurance for the home. Oh wait, she can't...no one is going to insure that home. She better watch out for those liability lawsuits these vultures will get her for because she's stupid enough to buy this.
Remember, the lenders know everything. Even though this home looks like a great deal, lenders know it's a poison pill waiting to happen.
These are all things we should be thinking about more closely. Analyzing them, what's right for us, as opposed to just worrying about them and panicking. Thanks for the great post!
You are not going to get your money's worth out of comcast, particularly from their internet service. it's highway robbery.
Hack the heck out of them. None more deserving.
Silicon Valley Blogger,
I think we are now learning the difference between knowledge and wisdom, between common sense and common action.
You could have posted this list 2 years ago, and everyone would have said these were common sense, and move on with their lives. Now they understand the difference between understanding common sense, and acting with common sense.
-Nate