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    Iron Heart Fall/Winter 2025 Collection Preview - Now Live

    + SHOW US YOUR PAD/ FLAT/ CAVE/ PENT-HOUSE/ CARDBOARD BOX/… +

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    • GraemeG
      Graeme
      啓蒙家
      Joined:

      This house in the Mojave Desert recently sold. The agent hasn't revealed whether the new owner is Blofeld! :o



      last edited by 1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
      • Clint_DC
        Clint_D
        啓蒙家
        Joined:

        Okay, here goes, been putting this off for a long time because I feel like my house will never officially be "done."

        First off, I'm going to combine this with the favorite beer thread:

        Here's my 1939 East Austin home which is a 10 minute walk from downtown.  I purchased it from the original owner/builder who lived in the house until the ripe old age of 95.  I finished a complete remodel April of 2014.

        Now, for the interior (all 1,100 square feet of it):

        Simple, yet convenient galley style kitchen

        Kitchen, entry:

        Guest bath:

        Guest bedroom/living room with sleeper sofa:

        Stairway:

        Living room/office:

        Master bedroom:

        Master Bath:

        We've got a pretty substantial list of things we'd like to do including:

        Rear Deck
        Metal/Cedar fencing
        Water feature
        Garage Apartment on top of detached garage

        ATX IH Hoarder

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        • veloaudioV
          veloaudio
          Raw and Unwashed
          Joined:

          Wow, looks great! Thanks for sharing.

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          • BluegrassB
            Bluegrass
            Joined:

            Fantastic!  And done, what's that?  Homes are never done… but yours is pretty damn awesome! Love it all, esp. the sliding door, staircase,bathtub...... what a transformation.

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            • madmondayM
              madmonday
              Raw and Unwashed
              Joined:

              Goes with the small house crazy that is sweeping the usa. Looks great, very warm & charming. Thanks for sharing

              head high, middle finger higher

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              • AetasA
                Aetas
                見習いボス
                Joined:

                Cheers @Clint_D and thanks.
                Great progress if one compares to your Reply #31.

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                • GraemeG
                  Graeme
                  啓蒙家
                  Joined:

                  That's a nice place you've got there @Clint_D. I'm a fan of relatively small, quirky houses, so it's right up my metaphorical street.

                  And if you want to follow the previous episodes in the saga:

                  • Before

                  • At the start of the renovation

                  • Early progress

                  • Floors and walls laid

                  • Close to completion

                  • Allegedly complete, until a bunch more jobs are found

                  It's like the forum's own version of Grand Designs. We just need someone to make snarky comments, and see Clint battling disasters during the build. 😉

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                  • GilesG
                    Giles
                    IHUK Crew
                    Joined:

                    Clint.  I LOVE that.  Very, very well executed…..

                    "OK face up to it - you're useless but generally pretty honest and straightforward . . . it's a rare combination of qualities that I have come to admire in you" - Geo 2011

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                    • SeulS
                      Seul
                      Joined:

                      That is crazy cool dude!..

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                      • BroarkB
                        Broark
                        Joined:

                        Now I know what house to look for in Austin next time I want to egg or TP one!
                        Just kidding, I like what you guys did with it! Plus it doesn't look like all those new cookie-cutter designer homes popping up on the East Side. Has some originality and soul. Good work.

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                        • Clint_DC
                          Clint_D
                          啓蒙家
                          Joined:

                          Thanks for all the kind words!  It's been a lot of blood, sweat, tears and money along the way.

                          ATX IH Hoarder

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                          • AppfaffA
                            Appfaff
                            Raw and Unwashed
                            Joined:

                            Awesome Place @Clint_D !  You should be proud of how it's turned out! My parents live in a 1923 spanish-colonial (kind of an oxymoron I know) and they never seem to be close to finished with projects lol.  Seeing you pics makes me miss the classic homes in Texas.

                            Hope you enjoy it!

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                            • GraemeG
                              Graeme
                              啓蒙家
                              Joined:

                              @Clint_D's renovations are inspiring me to do something of my own. Unfortunately, as @Snowy will attest, this is the reality of the real estate market in Sydney and Melbourne!

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                              • louisboscoL
                                louisbosco
                                啓蒙家
                                Joined:

                                @Clint_D that's a beauty mate.

                                @Graeme or perth… slowly getting there.

                                "Loyalty is a two way street. If i'm asking for it from you, then you're getting it from me."

                                • Harvey Specter
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                                • GraemeG
                                  Graeme
                                  啓蒙家
                                  Joined:

                                  @louisbosco:

                                  @Graeme or perth… slowly getting there.

                                  Perth was proper mental a few years back, and pushing Sydney valuations. Now the median price in Sydney is around a million dollars, and up by 15% to 20% over the last year, whilst Perth is a little over half that, and falling.

                                  That said, when I did visit the city seven or eight years ago, blocks in the more desirable suburbs were expensive, but if you bought one then it'd take 18 to 24 months to get a builder because they were all down the mines!

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                                  • Finn666F
                                    Finn666
                                    Joined:

                                    stunning and super well executed @Clint_D …coming straight from the job I really do know what dedication and effort it takes, to take it "to the end". kudos mate!

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                                    • louisboscoL
                                      louisbosco
                                      啓蒙家
                                      Joined:

                                      mm yeah @Graeme that's quite true. i think currently due to the mining decline as well, there are lots of new property development that fail to sell that well. but that being said, i've seen quite a number of chinese nationals buying up property here in perth. the prices cannot be compared with sydney, but nonetheless still higher than what most people can afford for houses that have a decent distance to the city.

                                      "Loyalty is a two way street. If i'm asking for it from you, then you're getting it from me."

                                      • Harvey Specter
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                                      • GraemeG
                                        Graeme
                                        啓蒙家
                                        Joined:

                                        There's very little in the Australian property market that's affordable to someone on an average, or even decent income. Unfortunately that's the result of a speculative investment bubble, high population growth with a lack of infrastructure being built, and a media that seems to be cheerleaders for the real estate industry.

                                        Perth, which is one of the cheaper capitals, would need to fall by around 40% to bring prices back into line with affordability. Sydney probably needs to drop by 70% or so. People are going to get their fingers burnt incinerated! :o

                                        Except, I'll be proven horribly wrong. Again. 😛

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                                        • louisboscoL
                                          louisbosco
                                          啓蒙家
                                          Joined:

                                          yeah the speculative bubble and media is definitely the cause and if anything falls, people are going to get their fingers incinerated,  😛 but then again, negative gearing in this country is quite the contributing factor from what i see. i'm no expert but if you could reduce income taxes wholly by your losses from investment. the rich and richer will be the ones that gain the most.  :o

                                          "Loyalty is a two way street. If i'm asking for it from you, then you're getting it from me."

                                          • Harvey Specter
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                                          • GraemeG
                                            Graeme
                                            啓蒙家
                                            Joined:

                                            For the non-Australians, the tax system allows a property investor to:

                                            • Offset any losses from interest payments of renting a property out against their overall income tax. This is negative gearing. This also acts as an incentive to hold interest-only loans, rather than paying down the mortgage.

                                            • Depreciate assets if they've purchased a new-build development.

                                            • Pay a reduced rate of capital gains tax if they hold onto the property for more than a year.

                                            • There aren't tax incentives to renovate older properties, so there are a lot of places that haven't been updated in years. (For example this one is grim, this isn't quite so bad, and the seventies called and want their interior decor back!)

                                            The net result is that the tax system encourages speculation as investors are relying on property prices to rise ahead of wages over the long term to cover substantial losses in the short term. (Robert Shiller, who won a Nobel Prize for his work on the housing market would suggest that's a bad bet to take.)

                                            Throw in the tendency for landlords to hold large portfolios with a minimal level of equity in them, and you're injecting a lot of fragility into the financial system. I keep on telling myself it'll end badly, and keep on being proven wrong! :o

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