It’s the peak of summer- when the cicada song fades to katydids, then gently quiets to crickets. I’m sitting on my back porch on a beautifully glorious morning, basking in the breeze that broke yesterday’s brutal heat. And there’s one big question on my mind… Where are we going to camp this year? We take […]

I last wrote after our dog passed away, which was end of August (post has since been removed). I write less and less now. Especially about houses. If you miss those posts, I’m sorry. While this blog was supposed to help me organize all my real estate-related musings, and if I’m honest, help me land

Wow, it’s been a while since I’ve written anything long-form. I think this has been my longest gap? I’ve gone through my old posts and even though I’d said I was going to leave them alone, I didn’t. I’ve deleted the ones that I was most unhappy with. And the ones I thought I’d feel

I probably won’t usually do this… but I wanted to sorta self-bookmark what’s happening with me right now, so I thought I’d turn my ‘now’ update into a post. And since I don’t save my ‘now’ page… here I am. What I’m Doing: Designing, researching, producing, and self-publishing a children’s boardgame for ages 4+ I’m

Ah, home-ownership: The American Dream, right? A man named James Truslow Adams first coined the term “American Dream” in 1931 with the release of his book, The Epic of America. He had originally titled the tome, The American Dream, where he defined it as a “dream of a better, richer and happier life for all

So it’s late at night. Late enough that I probably shouldn’t be responding to a prompt to write about the importance of friction (prompt by V.H. Belvadi, IndieWeb Carnival host). But here I am. I imagine the IndieWeb community to be fairly tech-focused so perhaps I misread the prompt. If so, I’m sorry. How important

I’ve been re-reading my old posts and some of them have me feeling really sheepish. Like- I’m actually putting my hands over my face and shaking my head. I have the urge to delete some of them and edit others. But I’m going to try to resist the urge. Because isn’t it a good thing

There’s a raging battle happening over pocket listings again. You know when you drive by a house and suddenly there’s a sold sign in the yard, but you never even knew it was on the market? That’s a pocket listing. Pocket listings (also sometimes called quiet, off-market, or exclusive listings), are when a home seller

Pretend you’re a bank owner who was just served a stack of 400+ mortgage compliance guidelines, rules, and regulations. Now, remember, you make money based on how big the loan is. Forget interest- the bigger the loan, the more profitable you will be. And for the loan officer working at your bank, the higher the

UPDATE 10/18/2024: Since I wrote this post, Realtor.com has reinstated the “contingent” option. Thank you, Realtor.com, for bringing it back! I popped on to realtor.com earlier to check in on the status of a house only to realize that none of the houses were contingent anymore. None. The option has seemingly been removed. What in

I’m working on a longer post about the purchase and management of the 5-plex we bought last summer but since it isn’t ready, I thought I’d write something totally different- -A public letter to myself. Truthfully, I’m ready to focus on something new anyway. Cheers to the next chapter! What will it bring, what do

I’ve never photographed or shared any of our home renovation projects before. Looking back through some of my old photos on Dropbox, I wished that I had. Luckily, it isn’t too late to start now. This is the journey of our first house which had been purchased in 2010. At the time it was a

If you like geodes, gemstones, fossils, and other cool rocks, you’ve gotta check out this rock wall. I was driving in Decorah last weekend when I saw “a really cool rock fence” surrounding a house. It was about 4 feet tall and went around the entire property. To my delight, while I was walking around

Why blog anonymously? Kev (from the blog KevQuirk) posed this question to those of us who do… For me, the answer is multifaceted. First, I don’t want to hurt or embarrass my family. Many of the posts I write are like my own little brainstorms or rants about housing or real estate and how to

Last week I ordered Handmade Houses by Richard Olsen. I got it used; I don’t think it’s still in print. It finally came in the mail and I’m totally floored. Guys- this one has it all. It has the element of story, biography, fantastic photography, and it’s chuck-full of information. I appreciate a good coffee-table

I just read a story here about a woman who had purchased her first home. When doing the initial math on her purchase, she used the seller’s property tax rate- $2700/year (or $225/month). Woohoo, affordable! Until about a year later, her taxes went up to $4700/year (or $392/month). Sadly, this increase, along with a steep

I saw this inspiring new-build in two places: Domino and Emily Henderson’s Blog. As a huge fan of the eyebrow dormer and quanset huts, I love the unique shape these designers, Anne and Richard De Wolf, used to create their new-build on a Washington bay. Anne and Richard own Arciform, a “well-respected design-build firm primarily

Can we talk about cars for a second? I am going to have to get a different car soon, and I’m very sad about it. And it isn’t because I love my car. In fact, nothing about my car is “me”. I didn’t even pick it really. I drive a 2000 Lexus RX with 181,000

Photo by Ashford Associates – Discover exterior home design inspiration The not-so-secret secret is out. Business Insider reports that realtors are in fact guilty of steering. Their article is mostly talking about steering buyers away from homes that offer low buyer commissions. But this isn’t the only way realtors steer buyers! Unfortunately, as long as

I slowly opened the door hollering, “Helen, we are coming in!” As I pushed the door open further, I saw her on the floor. She was strangely peaceful; lying on her back with a hand on her stomach. Did she lay down for a nap and just peacefully pass? I wasn’t sure. Those thoughts came

Thinking back to 2012 through 2018, I was on Houzz quite a bit. It was very different in the beginning; a much smaller website than it is now. Better. I hardly visit Houzz anymore but when I do, it’s fun to look back on my old ideabooks. I saved so many home tours and photos,

Corporate homeowners are making it harder to buy homes. Especially little cheap homes. The same ones first-time homebuyers are vying for. My first house was a cheap and shitty one.  Some repairs were made, some love put in, and eventually I sold it for a small but nice profit. That profit allowed me to (eventually)

(Please note: Sometimes, I am personally guilty of being idiotic. And you should know, I (or my loved ones) have made many of the mistakes listed. Don’t let our misery become yours.) This piece was loosely inspired by Charlie Munger’s speech on how to guarantee a life of misery.1 Here goes; how to buy a