May 4, 200916 yr Rob, you should invest in two historic rental homes for sale down the street from me in Ann Arbor. Combined rents bring in $80,000/year on both properties. Both properties are guaranteed to rent out naturally without the need of posting ads, and most landlords in these parts hire management agencies to take care of repairs and maintenance. And of course, U of M students are not rowdy party people. I remember my senior year we had over 400 people show up at our party. We had one spilled drink on the floor, but the person had actually made an attempt to clean it up. This was a pretty old house, and I've notice that at numerous house parties that the joists were reinforced with modern steel beams. It seems the weight can get pretty heavy when you cram over a hundred people in a house.
May 4, 200916 yr Rob, you should invest in two historic rental homes for sale down the street from me in Ann Arbor. Combined rents bring in $80,000/year on both properties. Both properties are guaranteed to rent out naturally without the need of posting ads, and most landlords in these parts hire management agencies to take care of repairs and maintenance. And of course, U of M students are not rowdy party people. I remember my senior year we had over 400 people show up at our party. We had one spilled drink on the floor, but the person had actually made an attempt to clean it up. This was a pretty old house, and I've notice that at numerous house parties that the joists were reinforced with modern steel beams. It seems the weight can get pretty heavy when you cram over a hundred people in a house. I would kill each and every one of you!
May 4, 200916 yr My landlords have said the parties are the least of their worries. They are more concerned with people's hair clogging drains in bathrooms, or someone leaving a poorly extinguished cigarette on the porch....which is ironic, because one week later after that discussion this happened across the street:
May 4, 200916 yr My landlords have said the parties are the least of their worries. They are more concerned with people's hair clogging drains in bathrooms, or someone leaving a poorly extinguished cigarette on the porch....which is ironic, because one week later after that discussion this happened across the street: All I could say is C, I, L, L. Kill my tenant!
May 4, 200916 yr Or use their deposit to pay the insurance deductible. BTW, I just checked the listing for the above burned house. It was recently taken off during the fire. But repairs have been completed and it has been re-listed at a lower price for $899,000. I think it was once slightly over $1 million.
May 4, 200916 yr Or use their deposit to pay the insurance deductible. Thats why I don't let people in my house. No respect for other people's property! I would be fit to be tied (and not in the fun way) if some idiot left a cig butt on a wed frame porch. There wouldn't be enough protection to keep me from separating his head from his neck.
May 6, 200916 yr To play along with this thread (maybe not for the first time, but it's probably been several years)... I am currently paying through the nose for the second floor apartment of the house on the right, in Cambridge MA: Although the building is not in the greatest shape (and squirrels get into the walls), it's actually very nice inside and perfectly spacious for someone like me who works from home and spends lots of time there. Sure costs a lot more than I got used to in Wisconsin the past few years, though. A couple of interior shots from shortly after I moved in last fall, messy and undecorated of course:
May 6, 200916 yr ^ The obligatory tiny kitchen. I feel your pain. I can barely make a bowl of cereal in mine.
May 6, 200916 yr ^ The obligatory tiny kitchen. I feel your pain. I can barely make a bowl of cereal in mine. Actually, the kitchen is pretty huge (considerably more space out of frame), but what you see there is all the counter space there is! I've supplemented it with a thing on wheels, but it's still not much. So, lots of walking around room, but little food preparation room. I love the floors. What is up with the stove? Do you cook? The stove in that picture was about to be removed and replaced with a brand spanking new one. (I do cook a bit.) This place was vacant and undergoing an overhaul for a year before I moved in, but apparently they thought I was coming a week later than I did, so there were still a few things left on the list at first.
May 6, 200916 yr ^ The obligatory tiny kitchen. I feel your pain. I can barely make a bowl of cereal in mine. Actually, the kitchen is pretty huge (considerably more space out of frame), but what you see there is all the counter space there is! I've supplemented it with a thing on wheels, but it's still not much. So, lots of walking around room, but little food preparation room. I love the floors. What is up with the stove? Do you cook? The stove in that picture was about to be removed and replaced with a brand spanking new one. (I do cook a bit.) This place was vacant and undergoing an overhaul for a year before I moved in, but apparently they thought I was coming a week later than I did, so there were still a few things left on the list at first. OK. So why is the bathroom in the kitchen?
May 6, 200916 yr ^ Good question. Maybe it pre-dates the kitchen. The best part is that because bathroom light switches are generally outside the bathroom in buildings around here, and because the new refrigerator is apparently bigger than whatever used to be there, you have to open the freezer door in order to get at the switch for the bathroom.
May 6, 200916 yr ^ Good question. Maybe it pre-dates the kitchen. The best part is that because bathroom light switches are generally outside the bathroom in buildings around here, and because the new refrigerator is apparently bigger than whatever used to be there, you have to open the freezer door in order to get at the switch for the bathroom.
May 6, 200916 yr The best part is that because bathroom light switches are generally outside the bathroom in buildings around here, and because the new refrigerator is apparently bigger than whatever used to be there, you have to open the freezer door in order to get at the switch for the bathroom. That is outstanding. If you want to feel better about your rent in Cambridge, move to NYC for a year, then move back. I know several people who have gone through that cycle and now smile when they write their check. It's like the old fable about the guy who complained about his house being too small so the wise old woman told him to keep moving large animals in with him.
May 6, 200916 yr OK. So why is the bathroom in the kitchen? That was a common thing in old houses/buildings in the early years of indoor plumbing, possibly because it put the two rooms that would use plumbing next to each other so that it was easy to share a common soil stack and water lines. That meant just one set of pipes running to the basement, and only one vent through the roof. ... If you want to feel better about your rent in Cambridge, move to NYC for a year, then move back. I know several people who have gone through that cycle and now smile when they write their check. ... Twenty years ago a friend lived in a two-room, fourth-floor walkup in a building dating to about 1905, right near the Queensboro Bridge. The building was fairly well maintained and probably quite beautiful for its era, but had had no updates since it was built. Each room had a light on a cord hanging from the ceiling and one wall outlet. His tiny bathtub was beside the kitchen sink, and you had to duck under the cabinets to get in/out. The toilet was in a tiny water closet on the other side of the atrium where the stairway came up; there were five water closets, one for each of the apartments on that floor. The toilets were original, a porcelain funnel leaded into a cast-iron trap that went into the soil stack, and a tank up on the wall with a pull chain. His monthly rent would have made a house payment on a very nice place in most mid-sized cities.
May 6, 200916 yr ^ Good question. Maybe it pre-dates the kitchen. The best part is that because bathroom light switches are generally outside the bathroom in buildings around here, and because the new refrigerator is apparently bigger than whatever used to be there, you have to open the freezer door in order to get at the switch for the bathroom. HAHAHA, that is fantastic!
May 6, 200916 yr Cool place. What's up with the parking meter though? I like it. The parking meter is fun and whimsical! You know "a touch" crazy! My thing is skeletons I have one in each house.
May 6, 200916 yr OK. So why is the bathroom in the kitchen? This was common in many tenement/small apartments in large buildings back then. All plumbing runs to a waterwall or chase and branches off from there. Back then it didn't make much sense to have pipes running in absurd directions to reach distant fixtures, unless you were living it up. I have the same thing with the bathroom door right in the kitchen. In fact, the bathroom door has a glass window which I quickly covered for my guest's privacy. I also have a switch problem. The kitchen light must be turned on in the bathroom. Bah.....
May 6, 200916 yr OK. So why is the bathroom in the kitchen? This was common in many tenement/small apartments in large buildings back then. All plumbing runs to a waterwall or chase and branches off from there. Back then it didn't make much sense to have pipes running in absurd directions to reach distant fixtures, unless you were living it up. I have the same thing with the bathroom door right in the kitchen. In fact, the bathroom door has a glass window which I quickly covered for my guest's privacy. I also have a switch problem. The kitchen light must be turned on in the bathroom. Bah..... an apartment like that would be very difficult for me to live in. I don't think I could live without having my own bathroom.
May 7, 200916 yr About the parking meter in my place: it's a parking meter from downtown Dayton. Apparently somebody is/was selling the old meters after Dayton installed new high tech ones. It was given to me as a gift. If you want to feel better about your rent in Cambridge, move to NYC for a year, then move back. Yeah, when rent time comes around, I remind myself, "at least I don't live in New York!" (And I mean that only in terms of cost, of course.)
May 8, 200916 yr That's pretty cool. I would like to buy one for my next apartment. It will go with my city photos, and my architecture models from undergrad.
May 8, 200916 yr Yeah. I really like it, too. I was just wondering if there was a "Cool Hand Luke" story to go with it!
May 8, 200916 yr My mom updated & shaped up the plants in my "garden". Those plants will look a mess again in a few months. :-[ I do not have green thumb.
May 8, 200916 yr In a van down by the river! I already said that! lol - I tried to scan the entire thread but around page 6 it started to load too slowly...but glad it's in there somewhere!
May 8, 200916 yr It's okay, just keep your van very far down the river from me. I'm like Little House on the Prairie, I have to uproot every time another house is visible on the horizon. Hell is other people.
December 12, 200915 yr It's interesting every time this thread gets updated I'm in a new place. The neighborhood doesn't fit my personality, but it's nice being a short walk from work and just a half block from the Mag Mile. Yes, MTS I took this from Fred's at Barney's and ordered the cheapest on the menu lol
December 12, 200915 yr It's interesting every time this thread gets updated I'm in a new place. The neighborhood doesn't fit my personality, but it's nice being a short walk from work and just a half block from the Mag Mile. Yes, MTS I took this from Fred's at Barney's and ordered the cheapest on the menu lol Cheap ass! Let me call my people and have you put on the "watch" list!
December 13, 200915 yr Not before I use the 50% off card I got. To be honest, the prices are actually reasonable at Fred's, but I was about to have a large dinner later, so I didn't want to spend alot. Really, my next option was McDonalds but I was trying to impress a girl.
December 13, 200915 yr Not before I use the 50% off card I got. To be honest, the prices are actually reasonable at Fred's, but I was about to have a large dinner later, so I didn't want to spend alot. Really, my next option was McDonalds but I was trying to impress a girl. You could have taken her to other places around there. You need to consult with a brotha. Don't any of you kids have game? laawd.
July 21, 201014 yr When did you move to bump? Did you get tired of Shaker Square? Understandable. There's only like 12 stores in that strip mall.
July 21, 201014 yr When did you move to bump? Did you get tired of Shaker Square? Understandable. There's only like 12 stores in that strip mall. ... but at least it gives MTS an option to shop at Shoe Carnival within walking distance.
July 21, 201014 yr When did you move to bump? Did you get tired of Shaker Square? Understandable. There's only like 12 stores in that strip mall. ... but at least it gives MTS an option to shop at Shoe Carnival within walking distance. LOL! Since the last time I posted on this thread I've moved to "the ghetto" of Milwaukee. I decided to live right on the segregation line here in hopes of finding diversity (a rarity in this city) and I couldn't be more pleased with the move. My apartment is beautiful and huge. (4 bedrooms, living room with fireplace, and washer/dryer in unit for $625/month) And the history of the neighborhood in VERY interesting. Here it is:
July 21, 201014 yr When did you move to bump? Did you get tired of Shaker Square? Understandable. There's only like 12 stores in that strip mall. ... but at least it gives MTS an option to shop at Shoe Carnival within walking distance. LOL! Since the last time I posted on this thread I've moved to "the ghetto" of Milwaukee. I decided to live right on the segregation line here in hopes of finding diversity (a rarity in this city) and I couldn't be more pleased with the move. My apartment is beautiful and huge. (4 bedrooms, living room with fireplace, and washer/dryer in unit for $625/month) And the history of the neighborhood in VERY interesting. Here it is: You love chocolate don't you? So you dumped your fat room mate. KOOW wont have anyone to tease.
July 21, 201014 yr When did you move to bump? Did you get tired of Shaker Square? Understandable. There's only like 12 stores in that strip mall. ... but at least it gives MTS an option to shop at Shoe Carnival within walking distance. LOL! Since the last time I posted on this thread I've moved to "the ghetto" of Milwaukee. I decided to live right on the segregation line here in hopes of finding diversity (a rarity in this city) and I couldn't be more pleased with the move. My apartment is beautiful and huge. (4 bedrooms, living room with fireplace, and washer/dryer in unit for $625/month) And the history of the neighborhood in VERY interesting. Here it is: You love chocolate don't you? So you dumped your fat room mate. KOOW wont have anyone to tease. Yup, the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. ;) You should see my BF history...they get darker and darker. And I did leave my fat room mate...but I moved in with a fatter, idiot, b!tch room mate with cats. I sure know how to pick them.
Create an account or sign in to comment