Home ownership is expensive!

[MrPrena]

Not just expensive as monetary perspective, but time you put in as well.
My lawn is only 0.33 acre, and I just finished mowing the lawn. I am sweating and tired. I just need to trim it, and use herbicide for those concrete area to get rid of weeds.

This is done while hanging out with toddler.

[rjpeaks]

i haven't mowed my own lawn - sheesh...

15 years?

[MrPrena]

Originally Posted by rjpeaks

i haven't mowed my own lawn - sheesh...

15 years?

I have never mowed any properties in CA. Gardeners are so cheap there.
South CA is easier to maintain lawn/garden/grass than here.

[MidwestGolfBum]

Originally Posted by MrPrena

I have never mowed any properties in CA. Gardeners are so cheap there.
South CA is easier to maintain lawn/garden/grass than here.

I haven't mowed my lawn or shoveled snow in probably 10 years now. I also pay for people to fertilize my lawn, trees and gardens. This is in the upper midwest. I wasn't home enough to be able to do it on my own originally and now I just have become used to not having to do it. Of course, now owning a property management company has helped to defer some of those costs.

[2011CrazE89]

My lawn looks horrible! I have so much crap growing out of it you could make a salad. I have no encouragement to maintain it anymore. I cut, fed, fertilized, sprayed, watered, seeded, trimmed, only to have the raccoons, dog, and mole rats tear it up.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

My lawn looks horrible! I have so much crap growing out of it you could make a salad. I have no encouragement to maintain it anymore. I cut, fed, fertilized, sprayed, watered, seeded, trimmed, only to have the raccoons, dog, and mole rats tear it up.

I mowed the lawn for a couple of months after I bought the house. Now I just pay someone to take care of it. He mows it every week and trims the hedges once a month. Totally worth it.

Our lawn was really bad when we moved in. I tried to fix it but no luck. Finally gave up and had to re-sod the whole front yard (which has a surprising amount of lawn). If I recall it was maybe like $500ish for the sod and we did the labor ourselves (never do that again). Anyways so far 2+ years later the grass is doing great. Unfortunately I didn't have a clue what I was doing so I never killed off the weeds before I tilled the old sod. So we still have some weeds coming through but I spray some stuff on them maybe 2-3 times a year and it seems to keep them under control.

Interestingly we only did the front yard, however the back yard was even worse. However we had maybe 20 or so left over sod blocks that I basically just placed in the back yard not knowing what to do with it. Covered maybe 15% of the yard. Anyways now the whole back yard has lawn. That stuff spread like crazy. It has a lot more weeds than the front since we never removed anything, but still looks 100x better than it did.

[rjpeaks]

now that was a mowing spurt huh?

i have some termite damage to deal with, again.

prevalent in houses close to the beach - this one is going to cost.

we just re-did a bathroom last summer - another about to get kicked off - probably after our trip to Nica.

let me see if i can find some reno picts from the past couple of years.

[2011CrazE89]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I mowed the lawn for a couple of months after I bought the house. Now I just pay someone to take care of it. He mows it every week and trims the hedges once a month. Totally worth it.

Our lawn was really bad when we moved in. I tried to fix it but no luck. Finally gave up and had to re-sod the whole front yard (which has a surprising amount of lawn). If I recall it was maybe like $500ish for the sod and we did the labor ourselves (never do that again). Anyways so far 2+ years later the grass is doing great. Unfortunately I didn't have a clue what I was doing so I never killed off the weeds before I tilled the old sod. So we still have some weeds coming through but I spray some stuff on them maybe 2-3 times a year and it seems to keep them under control.

Interestingly we only did the front yard, however the back yard was even worse. However we had maybe 20 or so left over sod blocks that I basically just placed in the back yard not knowing what to do with it. Covered maybe 15% of the yard. Anyways now the whole back yard has lawn. That stuff spread like crazy. It has a lot more weeds than the front since we never removed anything, but still looks 100x better than it did.

I had Scotts lawn care come by for an evaluation. They recommended an entire re-sod. The front looks fine it’s the back yard that’s in bad shape. I have just under ¼ acre. I hate the thought of replacing all that sod only to have the raccoons have a field day with it. I catch them early in the morning and late at night digging holes looking for worms. It’s a big problem we have here in South Florida. I called animal control once and they said they were so backed up with calls they recommended me “doing what I had to do” I don’t want to hurt the little guys I just want them off my lawn. The fact that I live on a preserve doesn’t help.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

I had Scotts lawn care come by for an evaluation. They recommended an entire re-sod. The front looks fine it’s the back yard that’s in bad shape. I have just under ¼ acre. I hate the thought of replacing all that sod only to have the raccoons have a field day with it. I catch them early in the morning and late at night digging holes looking for worms. It’s a big problem we have here in South Florida. I called animal control once and they said they were so backed up with calls they recommended me “doing what I had to do” I don’t want to hurt the little guys I just want them off my lawn. The fact that I live on a preserve doesn’t help.

Yeah dunno about raccoons. Never really seen any around here. Closest thing we have is one possum that's always walking around the neighborhood, but he's cool. I only ever see him walking back and forth through the back yard but he doesn't dig or anything.

[F1Venom]

Getting a loan for $800k at 3% for 15 years equates to paying nearly $600k in interest payments alone. Can you imagine before with 8% rates? So buying a house right now isn't too bad.

[KingOfJericho]

I actually really enjoy mowing my lawn. I have about 2 acres with 2/3 of it being woods. My buddy had a 13 acre farm but moved out west so he sold me his 50" zero turn Cub Cadet. It takes me like 20 minutes from start to finish.

[MrPrena]

I was on a same boat. Bought a house with short sales.

Instead of re-sod, I just hack off all the dead grasses and used the seed. I did it the hard way. Thanks to the excessive days of rain that year, it was huge success. One of the DIY that I am proud of doing. Yes, I am cheap. I would rather seed the grass than a sod.

If we buy a new house w/ acre or more, we need to debate either we buy those nice riding mower (small tractor) or just hire a gardener/mower.

Biggest success to my lawn was:
-Weed-b-gone
-scotts seed
-revive

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I mowed the lawn for a couple of months after I bought the house. Now I just pay someone to take care of it. He mows it every week and trims the hedges once a month. Totally worth it.

Our lawn was really bad when we moved in. I tried to fix it but no luck. Finally gave up and had to re-sod the whole front yard (which has a surprising amount of lawn). If I recall it was maybe like $500ish for the sod and we did the labor ourselves (never do that again). Anyways so far 2+ years later the grass is doing great. Unfortunately I didn't have a clue what I was doing so I never killed off the weeds before I tilled the old sod. So we still have some weeds coming through but I spray some stuff on them maybe 2-3 times a year and it seems to keep them under control.

Interestingly we only did the front yard, however the back yard was even worse. However we had maybe 20 or so left over sod blocks that I basically just placed in the back yard not knowing what to do with it. Covered maybe 15% of the yard. Anyways now the whole back yard has lawn. That stuff spread like crazy. It has a lot more weeds than the front since we never removed anything, but still looks 100x better than it did.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by MrPrena

I was on a same boat. Bought a house with short sales.

Instead of re-sod, I just hack off all the dead grasses and used the seed. I did it the hard way. Thanks to the excessive days of rain that year, it was huge success. One of the DIY that I am proud of doing. Yes, I am cheap. I would rather seed the grass than a sod.

If we buy a new house w/ acre or more, we need to debate either we buy those nice riding mower (small tractor) or just hire a gardener/mower.

Biggest success to my lawn was:
-Weed-b-gone
-scotts seed
-revive

I actually thought about seeding but couldn't find St Augustin seeds anywhere which unfortunately is what's required by the HOA (yeah they even tell you what kind of grass you can have). If I had a sweet riding mower I might not mind doing it myself, but my yard is not big enough to justify that.

Actually being the house noob I was my first mower was electric. I was like man this is awesome no worries about stupid thing breaking like I remember with gas mowers. WORST IDEA EVER! That thing was the biggest POS ever. Got rid of it after maybe like 3 mows and bought a gas mower off a friend for $50. Use that until I stopped mowing it myself. Mowing was actually the easier part, edging was the pita for me (again had electric edger).

[2011CrazE89]

I have a gas mower, and pressure washer. I decided to go electric on the blower, lawn trimmer, and hedge trimmer. While I love the ease of use of electric. I will say that it takes me 2 hours to trim the edges. ½ hour to trim. 1 ½ hours untangling the cord and yanking it out from underneath the tires. I lost patients once, threw the trimmer across the lawn, went inside and grabbed a beer. Wife knew not to speak to me at that moment.

[rjpeaks]

my neighbor has been mowing his own grass with electric mowa for eons

[persian54]

it depends on what you want. One thing that annoys me is that, even if you're a homeowner, you're stuck with getting approval from the HOA for everything (I understand not everywhere has an HOA, but all of my properties do).

My condo's HOA is horrible. I'm going to sell the condo just so I don't have to deal with that HOA anymore. Plus, they charge $395/month for doing nothing. Though the property has doubled in value (I bought it in Jan 2012), so I'm happy with that. Though we did do a fair amount of work: new flooring, paint, brand new kitchen, bathrooms, walls (previous owners who got foreclosed on had punch holes into the walls and destroyed the property). So after all that considered, the value hasn't doubled… more but close.

My town home's HOA is alright… they're too laid back and don't feel like doing anything.
I wanted to install Solar panels but they didn't approve it… I wanted to install triple pane windows and they didn't approve it… Here I am trying to be more green and these bastards aren't allowing me.

I am going to install solar panels on the SFR and still waiting for HOA approval…. I did the triple pane windows without telling them though. Solar I could do without their approval but it's too obvious so I rather not risk a fine. Windows were in and out within a day, and we kept the stuff in the house so it wasn't noticeable by my annoying neighbors.

My commercial property fortunately doesn't have as many restrictions. Seems like the city doesn't care and leaves us alone, so I'm happy about that; and no HOA! The only thing that was a bitch was all the fees associated with it. I paid ~$4k for appraisal and inspection report... SBA loan fee etc etc
But commercial is different. My appraisal report was ~100 pages long, and covered every possible detail I could've (or I should say, the bank..) asked for. It appraised lower than the agreed upon sale amount, so I was able to use it as leverage and brought my price down to match the report (so in a way, the report paid for itself and then some).

I can't imagine renting. I can lease a depreciating asset (car), but I can't justify doing so for an appreciating asset. All of the properties above have increased in value (except the town home, as it's only been 7 months. Though maybe it has… I don't want to pay for an appraisal report. I didn't pay for one when I bought it and I don't feel like paying for one now).

[MrRoboto]

Originally Posted by F1Venom

Getting a loan for $800k at 3% for 15 years equates to paying nearly $600k in interest payments alone. Can you imagine before with 8% rates? So buying a house right now isn't too bad.

What sort of math are you doing?

[Joekerr]

Originally Posted by 2011CrazE89

I have a gas mower, and pressure washer. I decided to go electric on the blower, lawn trimmer, and hedge trimmer. While I love the ease of use of electric. I will say that it takes me 2 hours to trim the edges. ½ hour to trim. 1 ½ hours untangling the cord and yanking it out from underneath the tires. I lost patients once, threw the trimmer across the lawn, went inside and grabbed a beer. Wife knew not to speak to me at that moment.

From one guy with an electric trimmer to another, I completely get it. I've halfheartedly tried to break it, just so I could go get a gas one.

For weedwhackers, is it just me, or does anyone else seem to notice that the line doesn't seem to break off as quickly with a gas vs electric? Is it just me? I feel like I'm always unplugging the electric one to feed more line, whereas I don't recall having to do it as frequently with a gas one.

[2011CrazE89]

My weed whacker is also my trimmer. Twist the handle and it changes the angle. It’s just as much a pain in the ass. I’ve never used a gas one so I don’t know about having to feed the line frequently. Mine self feeds the line. No need to tap it on the ground like the older models.

[W Cole]

Originally Posted by F1Venom

Getting a loan for $800k at 3% for 15 years equates to paying nearly $600k in interest payments alone. Can you imagine before with 8% rates? So buying a house right now isn't too bad.

600k in interest!? That doesn't pass the sanity check. Its $154,438 assuming a fully amortizing 15-year mortgage. Even if it were interest only you would only pay $360,000 (800K X .03 X 15).

[MrPrena]

Well, when someone work more than 40 or even 60+ hours per week most likely need to hire a gardeners.

Only gas or electric lawn equipment we have are
-TroyBilt underpowered 140cc push mower. Underpowered, but very very reliable.
-I believe it is black decker yard trimmer. Electric.

Rest are all by hand. We don't have a leaf blower. I just use lawn mower to rake off all the leaves during the fall. My yard budget for new equipment or chemical is $0 (zero dollars) this year.
Glad that I still have all the necessary stuff from 2yrs ago.

Yeah, our first HOA mgmt company was stupid. I got a letter for my lawn on our 2nd month of owning a near dead grass property on a short sale. I've found out our HOA just wanted to increase the rate, and no community improvement. Only thing they did was send tons of warning letters to houses.
So, we dump them and got a better mgmt company. Within owning a house for 6 years, our community changed the mgmt company twice (on our 3rd).

[KingOfJericho]

I work 55/wk and still mow my own lawn lol.