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There is literally nothing that I don't attempt to do myself. I learnt from my number of real estate transaction that home inspection are often too overrated. And don't even get me started with appraisal fees. If you have the cash, you can avoid both if you choose to do so. If I have that much cash sitting around it would show that I am financially incompetent. I cannot avoid the inflated appraisal fee, but I do have the freedom to skip the "professional" home inspection, and opt to DYI. Some says that is penny wise, pound foolish.
The truth is from my first viewing of the property that I knew it is so perfect that there will be nothing to pick on unless you are a buyer that constantly try to bring down the agreed upon price using inspection result as bargaining chip. I used the opportunity to meet the sellers and they share with me the history for continuity of the property. The transaction is moving forward and I have been dreaming of that 2-pole lift and all the space in the world being able to leave the car trailer loaded and connected to the motorhome.
if you don't know what you are doing, at least you show up like you do; these were some of what I bought with me
I have been making soup noodles of late that is inspired by washoku; this is the first time that I put shredded eggs in one; you can see one precious Hokkaido dried scallop there
nori comes in all shapes and forms
abalone, fresh and dried sea scallops, oysters, wild sea shrimps, kombu, and nori
I have only begun to conduct research on car lifts. My focus for now is 2-pole. Some day my stable of collections may grow that may require stacking lifts, god forbid.
When I started to look at the taller 2-pole lifts soon I realize I would want one around 10 feet tall. One that tall requires more than the common 4" thick concrete slab. Additionally these lifts typically required about 11 feet ceiling, and I would want nothing between the two poles on the floor. Because of these I would want to build a new big and tall shop for one. This is one good video (part 3/3 of a BendPak XPR-10A-LP) for this kind of tall lift.
Oh, despite of the claims, if you pay just a few thousand dollars for these lifts, none are make in USA except the kit is assembled in the land of the free, or more likely than not, re-labelled with that flag sticker.
It only dawn on me that I can first get the Maxjax and install into the existing garage. Later when I am ready to build the bigass shop I can design it for the big, tall, and beautiful lift.
OMG - I have those same tape measures and circuit tester... My 16’ measure looks to be in as good shape as yours is... Well used.
Tools of the trade - whatever that is...
When I bought my house there was no such thing as appraiser (unless the bank did it on their own) or home inspections. My wife and I, on a whim, thought we would looked it over having seen an “open house” sign when we drove by it. We decided we liked it, made an offer, which I was told was too low, but it was all I could afford. Then a week later was told my offer was accepted, and 2 and half months later we moved in... the hardest part was coming up with the 1/3rd down...
OMG - I have those same tape measures and circuit tester... My 16’ measure looks to be in as good shape as yours is... Well used.
Tools of the trade - whatever that is...
When I bought my house there was no such thing as appraiser (unless the bank did it on their own) or home inspections. My wife and I, on a whim, thought we would looked it over having seen an “open house” sign when we drove by it. We decided we liked it, made an offer, which I was told was too low, but it was all I could afford. Then a week later was told my offer was accepted, and 2 and half months later we moved in... the hardest part was coming up with the 1/3rd down...
Hope your purchase works out for you...
Most of the time I think Stanley Tools are overrated. And I dislike their flag waving. The company was one of the earliest one to registered the corporation in the Cayman Islands if memory serves. I have to admit the 16' tape measure is my favorite as it feel the best in the hand, and is quite well made. This is the first of the two 16' that I own. It does not work too well measuring the length and width of a multi-acre property line. I have a 100' one and that too is useless for that purpose. I need to get one of those with the wheel but with mountain bike tire on it.
With property, often when you see one that you really want, you just have to jump on it. I bought my current home on impulse. In the past I tried to put in a big down payment and usually went with a shortest term that I could carry, especially when interest rate was high. I would put whatever cash I have periodically to reduce the principal. This time around I won't as rarely one can take out a long term loan at the current low mortgage interest rate. It is hard enough to come up with 20% down after I squandered a lot of cash on the stupid Lotus so no 30% down for me.
I cannot tell you how many times that I wished I have a place for a tool caddy while working on cars in the driveway. Buying one is easy but to find a place to park one is just not viable in my current crammed garage. I am really looking forward to have enough space to keep all my tools and equipment and all the vehicles away from the assault of the elements. While a dream garage would be within reach, I will not go the route of most rich and famous with their all look no go car guy themed decors. There will be no designer diamond plate garage cabinets or checkered flooring. No 60" flat panel display. No gaudy diner's retro 50's furniture. Not even epoxy coated polished concrete floors. Just form follows function down to earth shop setups.
I will treat myself to this no thrill tool caddy for sure, and Desire says she like the pepper white one. I want one as a handy place to lay the tools and parts while working around a vehicle.
This thread moves from cars to food to travel and now house hunting and lift research so I figured that this wouldn't be to far off the mark.
As you have been out looking for a new home I went south for a few weeks.....
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay and Antarctica......I have now been to all 7 continents.
Due to weather we actually went a lot farther south than initially planed. We got to S68°12" which is below the antarctic circle which is at S66° 33′. I crossed at 01:59.01 on the February 14, 2020. The Drake Passage is the only place on Earth where I have got motion sick. I would have puked had it not been for a pill that dissolves in your mouth that kills motion sickness.
This thread moves from cars to food to travel and now house hunting and lift research so I figured that this wouldn't be to far off the mark.
As you have been out looking for a new home I went south for a few weeks.....
Buenos Aires, Argentina, Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay and Antarctica......I have now been to all 7 continents.
Due to weather we actually went a lot farther south than initially planed. We got to S68°12" which is below the antarctic circle which is at S66° 33′. I crossed at 01:59.01 on the February 14, 2020. The Drake Passage is the only place on Earth where I have got motion sick. I would have puked had it not been for a pill that dissolves in your mouth that kills motion sickness.
Impressive trip. You and your wife sure are the king and queen of globe trotters that I know. It is beginning to be not PC to fly and see our planet now. I count myself lucky to had taken the trip to Taiwan before the Coronavirus outbreak. I was toying with the idea of a trip to Southern Europe in spring but the stupid Lotus purchase capsized the plan, and pushed me down this slippery slope.
We all have our priorities in life and sometimes those take a tangent. Traveling the world became a priority once I married my wife . Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would set foot on all 7 continents and to have seen and experienced all that I have. I am what I like to call the Reluctant Traveler. The planning of these trips is solely my wife's doing. My brain locks up and dies when I try to get all the logistics in order. The traveling outside the US is so far outside my comfort zone it borders on silly. I don't stop stressing out until we are at the departure gate. Once there and we start traveling I have a great time and all the people I meet on our travels has opened my mind to so many things that I never would have been exposed to if I had not traveled. Once on the travels, I don't want to return. Though once home, it terrifies me to be gone from home for long periods of time.
I, too, understand that I am very lucky to be able to do these things. I hope that in my sharing of my travels, others are inspired to travel as well.
I am a firm believer in what Samuel Clemons had to say about traveling - "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime." Seems like this quote is oddly appropriate in today's world, global health pandemic aside.
For years I have watched the extreme skiing movies pioneered and put on by Warren Miller. He would always go to these wonderful places to go skiing and, until recently, he would narrate them himself. At the end of each movie he would say something like “If you are thinking of doing something, do it this year because if you wait a year, you will be a year older when you do.”
Another one that I try to live to is “When opportunity knocks, open the door.”
I got into taking my car to the track because of both of those sayings. Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought of doing that. And there have been other opportunities that I have taken, a few of which showed up without me looking for them. And I am glad I did. I never had a “bucket list”. But some of the things I have done, I realized afterward that they would have been on that list. Life is short and you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Seize the day...
I am glad to read that there are others who also enjoy life, even when it pushes their comfort zone.
As most of the trips I take have been across the globe, I like to go a month at a time because flying nowadays is such drudgery. Planning and commencing the trip is most stressful as there are so many things to sort out and prepare. For me amongst many things food is my passion and conduit to all cultures, custom, habits, history, and people. There is no trips that I did not bring some inspiration and techniques back. I never buy souvenirs from tourist traps. I shop high and low for something I can use or evoke my fond memory of the trips. Japan is one nation that I keep going back and discover more. Just Tokyo alone one can spend decades to discover. In my second trip to the country I went all over the island nation but I would realize later that I spent too much time running around because of the Japan Rail Pass, rather than drill into one locality and discover more and dig deeper.
Of all North America cities, my favorite is New Orleans and its nearby parishes.
Usually the middle of the month long trip I settled into the cadence. By the end of the trip, however, I cannot wait to return home as living out of a suitcase and backpack gets tiring.
So true. Especially the part about staying put and exploring one locale at a time. We learned that on our first big trip we took. We generally stayed at real B&Bs and usually the host/hostess knows the community well and can point one in the right directions of places to explore. It makes for an easy way to make use of one’s short time in an area.
An ounce of prevention beats a ton of cure. The property closing is moving right along. I am getting one of these pint size firetrucks as there are lots of trees. I picked out this one that is 4WD with H/L gears and diff lock. Desire will be sleeping with it in the same staple.
You’ll need to get rid of those street tires for some BFG KOs for that property....
This subject has already been researched.
What about a set of this? What can go wrong with something called Super Digger II? Diminutive diameter and skinniness may be. What can be procured here are very limited for these little beasts.
Each time I went to Japan and saw these micro firetrucks, it always cracked me up. In the recent trip I was walking to a ramen shop and I came upon a few firemen just wrapping up their drill exercise in a narrow back street. The fire truck wasn't even a kai truck, but a hand drawn water pump. I have some photos of Japan's fire trucks "big" and tiny, as well as other emergency response vehicles. The fire truck is something I can use at the ranch so will make a great travel souvenir.
Yes. Classic mini's have 12" wheels.
Ken's snowcat certainly is money no object, being backed by a Monster.
My uncle has a tree farm out in Prineville and he tries to keep a balance between being able to float on top of and dig into the soft surfaces when it comes to his tire choices where he would prefer to float on top all the time but those tires are really expensive. As you I am sure you know, most of Oregon has a layer of what is essentially ash from Mt Mazama, it is particularly noticeable east of the Cascades. This layer is what tends to allow vehicles to turn dirt roads into double-track ruts. Remember the old Land Rover motto, Tread lightly. (It will save you a lot of time in repairs to your roads if you have them.)
Practical advise for your home and structures: keep ALL vegetation, other than nice wet, green grass, at least 30 feet (probably better at 60 feet) from ANY structure. And any tree that you have after that, for another 100 feet, should have NO branches lower than 6 feet off the ground. Try not to allow the grasses to to get tall. If the tree cannot catch fire or you can postpone it long enough from catching fire, you can stop a wild fire before it gets out of hand.
I suspect that the home already has most of the practical passive wild fire prevention done. If not get a 14" blade chain saw and have it, in the spring and fall. There is potentially a lot of work ahead for you or someone with a chainsaw.
I had no idea Oregon and Washington's geologies are the result of Mt. Mazama. I only knew the volcanic nature that resulted in our geology, rock formations, mountain, gorges, and soil.
Sure for successful off road navigation the key is finesses rather than bruteforce, especially money is object. I just happened to watch the next YT video which touches upon the subject of floating on loose surface rather than digging in. And this is on a built Ford Suzuki tough zombie apocalypse escape vehicle. It has wider tires to float on top.
The current owners of the property have done a great job in siting the structures and land management for wildfire considerations. The burden will be on me soon. I started looking at ATVs and soon realize their obscene MSRP. The idea of getting a used kei truck soon emerged and I did not look back as it is a no-brainer for me. Most of the imported kei trucks led a hard live and they are moving ashtrays. Not with this firetruck. It is pristine with very low mileage (or kilometerage?). The biggest rare part is a lot of the equipment has not been stripped off as they are often.
18 psi in the tires??? I guess it would ride well. But no track days for that...
You should look into a 4’ brush hog for that tractor that you will have. They do quick work of taking down any brush up to 2” in dia.
The reason I jumped on the tractor is I am getting the whole 9 yards of implements with it. Among them is a rotary brush hog for clearing. There are two grading implements, one for front and one for rear. All sorts of fun stuff.
I cannot avoid the inflated appraisal fee, but I do have the freedom to skip the "professional" home inspection, and opt to DYI. Some says that is penny wise, pound foolish. 
I have a 100' one and that too is useless for that purpose. 
