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Do You Live at the "Old Person's House"?

7K views 66 replies 34 participants last post by  slapheadmofo 
#1 ·
Riding my bike around the neighborhood with my dog, I notice the homes that look like they hasn't been updated since Marsha Brady's nose got hit by a football are mostly owned by old people.

Indications included are:
1. home needs a paint job/new roof
2. window frames/eaves peeling
3. 1960's landscaping, even 1950's looking
4. crumbling asphalt driveway
5. old faded doors
6. at night, zero exterior lighting, a porch light doesnt count
7. ugly bushes/plants hiding front windows
8. old wooden/aluminum garage doors
9. 1950's aluminum window awnings
10. old junker car with cheap plastic tarp in driveway with flat tires
11. irrigation with old galvanized pipes and sprinkler heads


I'm an old man but managed to change all my windows, put up a vinyl fence, change the garage door and updated the kitchen and bathrooms.
However all the old-looking homes mostly have the silver haired rolling out their trash cans on trash day. There are a few silver haired with updated homes but they are a minority. Are you living in that old person's home?
 

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#2 ·
No, I don't live in the house you describe, but I don't mind telling you, I stopped spending time on yard work and most outdoor maint. a couple years ago. Now, I just pay other people to do it for me so I can ride and take naps and read. Besides, I have allergies. If I mow the lawn, I have worsened allergy symptoms for days, and just about the time my allergy symptoms start getting better, guess what time it is. Yup, it's time to mow the freaking lawn again. F that. I pay people to do it - or lately, my wife has started getting her exercise by pushing the mower around. More power to her!

I also have sworn off all ladder climbing. In my life, I can't even tell you how many people I've run into with lingering injuries/chronic pain from ladder mistakes. The highest from the ground I get these days is on my bike.
 
#3 ·
When the weather is good enough for yard work, it's too good to waste on that. It's bike ride time.

I believe my house is known as the bike guy's house. :)
 
#7 ·
Moved to Wenatchee three years ago, bought a 60's rancher that had never been upgraded. Gutted it, new kitchen, bathrooms, floors, moved walls and doors, all systems replaced, scarified the yard and installed new irrigation and hundreds of plants, the only thing I left alone was the roof.

Last night I finished the baseboard in the hall and master bedroom, pretty much done with the major projects, so today we rode :)

I find it fulfilling to build and fix things, bikes, cars, houses.

I still have a day job, I'll admit that it tends to distract me from the things I want to do ;)

If I got to the point that I couldn't do the work, we'd move into a condo...not even close to that now.
 
#8 ·
sweet!

I have friends and family around my age who never really did any upgrades. Fixing bad plumbing, electrical, sewage is NOT a home improvement or renovation. Funny thing, is when they look on Zillow.com or any site that estimates their homes' worth they actually THINK thats what's it worth. WRONG. Thats the price on the high side if the property has been renovated to today's standards.
 

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#10 ·
Nope I live in a late fifties bungalow.....redid it twice once when we moved in...and once when about 5 years ago....it took 3 years to do but I was off with knee surgery for a year.

Down to 100 ft2 of grass, the rest is very low maintance.

Moved the washer and dryer to the main floor.

Three bedrooms one in the upstairs addition, one main floor, one downstairs.

Next step get a live in maid who can become a nurse for life in the ninties.
 
#12 ·
couple of points.

i fixed my first home. tried to make it look good, definately focused my $$ on the stuff you cant see. elec, sewer, etc. it sold way over asking. but it was still a "shack"

i'm older now but still working. i'll keep my new house up to date.

now RETIRED folks. i see them on a fixed income. no way they do kitchen remodels and stuff. the trick is to go in with the best product. i wouldnt do dick when i am not working. basic upkeep and that is it.

i for sure dont judge a old person's house. i have ZERO idea what the money situation is.
 
#33 ·
here's my vinyl fence, no painting necessary except cleaning off the bird sh*t once in a while, beats a chain link fence unless you like people staring at you. When I was a kid, we had a chain link fence in the backyard and "Charlie" next door was retired and we never had a moment when he didn't see us. Plus his dog always was barking at us....LOL...Now? No gracias
 

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#15 ·
Sorry but I'm not personally going to complain about other peoples home. We don't always know the true story why it's like it is. Maybe they don't the means to get things fixed up or the money to do it.
I keep mine up more than normal but I'm lucky to be able to do it. Try asking to help them out if you know if they can't. Just cleaned the front yard of my 91 yr old neighbor that didn't even know how bad it was since she's mostly bed ridden. Be thankful for what you have. Just sayin....
 
#17 ·
the elderly couple with the awful yard and home that needs a paint job like a car stranded in the desert that needs gas...I went by with my mower a few months ago and the man chased me away when I "told him I put too much gas in my mower and I could run it along your front and it wouldnt be any problem" saying it in a nice way.
 
#16 ·
Im doing everthing I can to get rid of or reduce lawn care. I have it down to 2 hours a week and would like to see that less. LOL

I just redid my kitchen using nothing but paint. Even reused the 70 year old handles and hinges. Have to say I love the look.

In my neighborhood I can tell my older neighbors, I walk my dogs in the evening and generally say hi. However I can allways tell when one passes away or moves to a retirement home, the dreaded dumpster shows up. Its allways sad to see a persons life and cherished possessions just tossed away. So those homes sell cheap 50-100k and get a full refurb and then sell for 180-210k. So my neighborhood has weird pricing when you look at "comps".
 
#18 ·
Im doing everthing I can to get rid of or reduce lawn care. I have it down to 2 hours a week and would like to see that less. LOL

I just redid my kitchen using nothing but paint. Even reused the 70 year old handles and hinges. Have to say I love the look.

In my neighborhood I can tell my older neighbors, I walk my dogs in the evening and generally say hi. However I can allways tell when one passes away or moves to a retirement home, the dreaded dumpster shows up. Its allways sad to see a persons life and cherished possessions just tossed away. So those homes sell cheap 50-100k and get a full refurb and then sell for 180-210k. So my neighborhood has weird pricing when you look at "comps".
just saw the dumpster in front of the elderly couple's home yesterday. It was a commercial grade size---huge! And there was so much junk thrown in, it was already full. They must have been hoarders, possibly the backyard was full of junk. Their furniture and stuff than could be salvaged was in a U Haul truck. Either one of them passed or they decided to live in a retirement home.

Sad thing is, like you mentioned, they will prob sell it for so much less because of the lack of upkeep. Some Flipper will prob buy it and gut it out. The zero lack of curb appeal will not bring much which is so sad. I keep telling my mom to get a roll up garage door, her old wooden door indicates that the inside is old as well.

She told me, "your father said, if it ain't broke..." reminds me of the 26er fans who dont want to spend any money to upgrade and insist the 26er is still good. So I told her, if it ain't broke, we should still be driving around in the 1932 Ford.
 
#26 ·
You know you were just asking for it with that 26er comment. For as we all know, mountain biking was no fun at all until the 29er came along and saved the sport. Those poor guys on their 26ers think they're having fun but they're actually miserable.

You may have a bit of a point on the group ride aspect, but a lot of riders don't group ride and are more concerned with the fun factor than how fast they get from point A to B. I ride a 29er and a 26er and enjoy both for what they are.
 
#31 ·
You know you were just asking for it with that 26er comment. For as we all know, mountain biking was no fun at all until the 29er came along and saved the sport. Those poor guys on their 26ers think they're having fun but they're actually miserable.

You may have a bit of a point on the group ride aspect, but a lot of riders don't group ride and are more concerned with the fun factor than how fast they get from point A to B. I ride a 29er and a 26er and enjoy both for what they are.
I agree, pulling out the 26er, I ride alone. The fun factor is OK when time is not an issue though. I can cover more ground on the 9er.
 
#27 ·
And I guess I live in the 'mid-life" person's house, it was built in the mid-eighties. It was suffering some of the neglect you mentioned when we bought it two years ago but we whacked back the bushes and I've spent a lot of time on the interior, though it was updated about 10 years ago. Brick so doesn't need painting.

It is kind of funny how plants come and go in fashion. We have a lot of plants I haven't really seen since I was a kid. The house next door is from the '60s and I think our lot was part of their property so some of the plants may be older than our house.
 
#66 ·
Don't want to get into wheel size or speeds, but LX? If you are running LX in an over 50 forum you did something wrong. Maybe DX if you like the old stuff. But vintage XTR or at least XT is the only way old bikes should roll.

John
 
#40 ·
Riding my bike around the neighborhood with my dog, I notice the homes that look like they hasn't been updated since Marsha Brady's nose got hit by a football are mostly owned by old people.

Indications included are:
1. home needs a paint job/new roof
2. window frames/eaves peeling
3. 1960's landscaping, even 1950's looking
4. crumbling asphalt driveway
5. old faded doors
6. at night, zero exterior lighting, a porch light doesnt count
7. ugly bushes/plants hiding front windows
8. old wooden/aluminum garage doors
9. 1950's aluminum window awnings
10. old junker car with cheap plastic tarp in driveway with flat tires
11. irrigation with old galvanized pipes and sprinkler heads

I'm an old man but managed to change all my windows, put up a vinyl fence, change the garage door and updated the kitchen and bathrooms.
However all the old-looking homes mostly have the silver haired rolling out their trash cans on trash day. There are a few silver haired with updated homes but they are a minority. Are you living in that old person's home?
This could also be a rental, a drug house, a low income person's home... doesn't have to be an old persons home.
 
#43 ·
Some people spend their money on other things than purchasing the momentary "prestige" gained by keeping up with the latest domestic fashion.

Keep your house original, maintain it for function, and if you live long enough the pendulum will swing back and you'll get good money for it. :)

I'd sooner buy an original 50s house than a 50s house that the "improvers" had been through 10 years ago.
 
#45 ·
On topic, we have neighbors a few houses down the road who are older. They have a bunch of really big evergreen trees lined in their front yard that basically hide and overhang their little house (and aren't doing the lawn any favors either). We rarely see them outside. Every once in awhile, their garage door will be up, and you can see a really nice old car in there and the husband might be doing something or other to it, but usually, the place looks abandoned.

About 8-9 years after we moved in, a package came in the mail to our house. I opened it up thinking it was for my wife, but turned out to be bunch of medications that were supposed to go to those elderly neighbors. I got their number and left them a message telling them we had it and got a call back from the gentleman saying he'd be up to get them. Ended up talking to him so long his wife wandered up looking for him, worried. We hung out with them for another hour or two, just talking and finding out a lot about the history of the neighborhood, our house and all sorts of other stuff.

Turns out the trees in their yard were actually Christmas trees from when their children were young and they made a tradition of re-planting them in the yard. When they were younger and stronger, they used to decorate them up for the season and whatnot. They had so many memories tied to them, they had no interest in cutting them down. Also found out that the car in the garage was a ~1936 restored Oldsmobile, similar to one the husband had before going into the military. The reason we rarely saw them puttering around the yard is because they took long, long road trips in it every year, and had driven it across the US and Canada a number of times.

All sounds a lot more worthwhile than spending time and money trying to impress some douchey shallow neighbor to me.
 
#49 ·
On topic, we have neighbors a few houses down the road who are older. They have a bunch of really big evergreen trees lined in their front yard that basically hide and overhang their little house (and aren't doing the lawn any favors either). We rarely see them outside. Every once in awhile, their garage door will be up, and you can see a really nice old car in there and the husband might be doing something or other to it, but usually, the place looks abandoned.

About 8-9 years after we moved in, a package came in the mail to our house. I opened it up thinking it was for my wife, but turned out to be bunch of medications that were supposed to go to those elderly neighbors. I got their number and left them a message telling them we had it and got a call back from the gentleman saying he'd be up to get them. Ended up talking to him so long his wife wandered up looking for him, worried. We hung out with them for another hour or two, just talking and finding out a lot about the history of the neighborhood, our house and all sorts of other stuff.

Turns out the trees in their yard were actually Christmas trees from when their children were young and they made a tradition of re-planting them in the yard. When they were younger and stronger, they used to decorate them up for the season and whatnot. They had so many memories tied to them, they had no interest in cutting them down. Also found out that the car in the garage was a ~1936 restored Oldsmobile, similar to one the husband had before going into the military. The reason we rarely saw them puttering around the yard is because they took long, long road trips in it every year, and had driven it across the US and Canada a number of times.

All sounds a lot more worthwhile than spending time and money trying to impress some douchey shallow neighbor to me.
great story
 
#46 ·
Fixing up houses takes time, money, and energy that could be spent riding and whatnot. Around here it's more like "Do you live in the dumpy mobile home?". MacMansions at the other end of the spectrum complete the tacky abode circle.
Also, what's wrong with my 26" wheel mountain bikes?
 
#47 ·
^ I recently moved into a 1940 vintage old people house that I rehabed/restored over the previous 2 years. Still looks pretty much the same on the outside but has new SOTA water, drain, and electric systems, a new coat of plaster, refinished floors, restored the double hung wood windows, doors, and hand planed trim. Also two new baths and period kitchen, a real delight to live in. Landscaping face lift will wait until next year except for a some spring flower beds. Satisfying work for a retired woodworker/craft builder's hands, and I got nothing else to do but ride, drink beer, and take my "medicine". :)

I'm tired of traveling...
 
#48 ·
current main home is pretty much an old man home for sure. Was a 1960s 1000sf oceanfront cottage that someone built a huge addition on 25 years ago to make it 2500sf. but inside it is a mess of half cocked renovations, with econo-style throughout.

This is the first home in my life (have bought 4 homes in my life) I did almost nothing at all to rectify its awfulness, other than a 30k backyard reno. It is just too far gone to do in bits and pieces, and there is no garage yet either. We have planned a 300k renovation, but I cannot stomach doing the general contracting on it so I am kicking the can down the road and spending it on bikes and trips to much greater happiness. Might never bother with the big reno either, heck my heart valve might have a say in whether I will live to see such a reno.

though we also bought a 2nd home - nicer than the main home and essentially new! and bought it for cycling reasons only. down in AZ in a gated luxury community near trail heads and big mtn road climb. Much easier to just buy a second home than deal with local codes and contractors (in a massively booming construction market here in the PNW)

no junker cars on site though. late model E class in the carport
 
#50 ·
Yep. I do. And I HATE outside lights.

We moved into this house 20 years ago, after owning a house with dozens of fruit trees that needed work constantly. Like several hours a week "constantly". Screw that.

Our lawn is river rock with a few cacti and native trees (that feed local wildlife). The exterior is stucco and the windows aluminum, so outside of bi-annual walk arounds to check for cracks, bees nest, termites and such, not much upkeep is required. With the kids gone, this house is way to big for me and the wife....but then it's paid for, comfortable, the neighbors are quite, and access to bike paths a short pedal away.


Oh, the "man cave" has a retractable roof
 

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