My daughter almost spent way more than necessary for some work on her home. Way more. But the lights were flickering pretty seriously and the electrician – who was recommended by a handyman company she’d used – said some pretty scary things. Scariest of all was the price: $8,300 for three different issues.
Years ago, Abby’s Seattle home caught on fire due to a panel that short-circuited. So you can see why she’d want to get any electrical issues fixed, pronto.
Usually a cautious woman with regard to researching costs and always looking for the best deals, this time she panicked and put down a deposit.
Thank heavens for friends in smart places: Her pal Andre, who’s an engineer, said that cost sounded high to him. A consultation with his friend the electrical engineer proved him right. Abby got another electrician in, and what do you know? During the troubleshooting call ($186), he got everything squared away. And as is her wont, she wrote about the situation: “Why you should always always always ALWAYS get a second opinion.”
Thing is, most of us aren’t professional electricians or healthcare providers. Or skilled mechanics, or journeyman plumbers, or veterinarians, or anything else that costs us money. It’s easy to trust, but this can be expensive.
Give the piece a read, and learn from her almost-mistakes.
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The cost of shelter
Home sales since late 2020 are the highest they’ve been since 2006. Remember what happened right after that?
But that doesn’t mean a new housing bubble is emerging, according to “The State of the Nation’s Housing.” The report, from the Joint Center for Housing Studies, says the surge is due instead to strong demand and record-low mortgage rates.
The cost of those sales has soared, too, in part due to what the report calls “historically tight supply” and high demand for homes. Another reason: Younger buyers who were thinking about getting their own places anyway were being asked (or themselves wanted) to work remotely, due to the pandemic.
Limited supply and serious demand has meant price jumps, especially in western states. Boise’s home prices went up by 28 percent, and Austin’s and Tacoma’s rose 22 to 23 percent.
To no one’s surprise, renters are also increasingly stressed. More than 80 percent of those earning less than $25,000 are what the JCHS calls “cost burdened,” i.e., spending more than 30 percent of their earnings on housing – and the majority are spending more than half their income for a place to live.
They’re not alone: 70 percent of renters earning between $25,000 and $34,999 per year and almost 50 percent of renter households earning between $35,000 and $49,999 are also cost burdened.
This probably isn’t news to some readers, who either have family/friends in this situation or who are in it themselves. I don’t know the answer to this, but I do know that it’s not sustainable. If you’re putting as much as half your income toward a place to stay, you’ll never get ahead – and in fact you could slowly slide backwards.
Readers: How’s your housing/income situation? And have you ever been really glad you got a second opinion for work on yourself, your car, your pet or your home?
Hi Donna,
Absolutely YES to the second opinion. :). Always.
My daughter, who is 26, is living with us because she can’t find an apartment she can afford. At $65,000 as a beginning salary as a Physical Therapy Assistant, she SHOULD be able to get something. Rents for a 1 bedroom, 700 sq. ft. appt. are upwards of $1800 a month, and that’s in the suburbs! When she first started looking, those same apartments were 1400. Still high, but almost affordable. She is now saving every penny to see if she can put a downpayment on a home to buy. Renting is a total waste of money.
Good grief. If someone earning $65k can’t find a place to live, what hope is there for lower-wage types?
I will say that sometimes renting does make sense, e.g., when you aren’t sure whether you want to stay in a particular region. But if your daughter is sure she wants to live there, then I applaud her gumption in saving for that down payment.
A single working mom I know got a mortgage through a credit union and a “down payment assistance loan” from a local nonprofit called the Cook Inlet Housing Authority. Because of the down payment assistance loan, she didn’t have to pay for private mortgage insurance. The total monthly payment for both loans is $1,587. Something like this might or might not exist where your daughter wants to buy, but I suggest she start beating the bushes to look for every opportunity, from first-time homebuyer programs to down payment assistance loans. Wishing her luck.
Two incidents. I needed a two stall garage reshingled. It had two layers plus a layer of rolled roofing on it. It was solid and otherwise not leading, just the insurance company didn’t like it. Called a guy who went right over and called me back. “Little lady! You have big problems with that roof. I can do it for around $8000.” I asked it he had been on the roof (knowing it was structurally solid). No..,,but he would go back and get his ladder. Never heard from the clown again. Eventually got the roof stripped and re-roofed for a little over $3000.
I had a couple of areas in my home with the power blinking. Always in the middle of the night with no load of the lines. The breakers were on but I reset them a couple of times. I then called the power company to confirm the power coming in and out of my meter. A friend had suggested that may on of the “sides” wasn’t right. They confirmed the power source, but it blinked again later. So I called an electrician. I knew I was sunk when he said to send him a couple of pictures…one of the outside mast and another of the breaker box. He called back and said I likely needed to have the service “upgraded” and a new breaker box installed. Replacing my 100amp service would be $3000. Without even looking at the thing. Speaking with another friend, he suggested turning the main breaker off and on. I did that months ago and haven’t had a problem since. I’m in a rural town and I suspect one of the “sides” was not quite right either at my box or the pole.
Apparently electrical box have an expiration date like a loaf of bread. Not. I know enough about electricity and building to be dangerous and enough not to be screwed.
“Little lady.” Gah! I hate that.
I sold my house (Massachusetts) in the fall of 2020. It was just me and the dog left there, and we don’t need a big house just for us. It was very, very easy selling, and I got well over asking price! The problem is, even with looking to buy something smaller / downsizing, prices have gotten so high that it was out of my range. Thankfully, I have a generous family. My aunt let me stay in her condo for six months, from October of 2020 until June of 2021. Then she and her husband came up from Florida for the summer. At that point I moved my brother’s house. He’s divorced, kids have grown up and gone on their own, and he has tons of room. So this is where I have been since June of last year. And I’m grateful that I have such a generous family, but I wish the market would level out a bit so I can find myself a small place of my own within my price range.
Always, always, always a second, sometimes third opinion. And where we have found it especially crucial is in choosing a real estate agent to help you sell your home. Like all humans, realtors come with a wide variety of experience.
And don’t get me started on trades people. We have been trying to get a new floor laid. We have now gone through two flooring companies only to be unable to get them to return phone calls. Holy moly! But we have, behind us, a lifetime of home repair experience to draw on. Patience is the key word.
Do it right or do it twice.
A few years ago I needed to have the clapboard siding replaced on my chimney after a woodpecker decided to eat most of it. I called a company whose name I was familiar with – but had not dealt with before. They promptly sent a guy out to take a look, and he was very concerned…. said it needed to be replaced immediately…..urgent situation he said. And his company could do it for $8,000…..AND…they could finance it for me!! I told him I’d think about it. The next day I got 5 phone calls from different folks in that company wanting to finance this project. I had to start blocking all the calls because they continued calling. I took my time and found a guy who does all kinds of carpentry and home repair projects. He went with me to home supply store where I bought the materials using my credit card (rewards points!!), and then he and his helper installed the clapboards. Total cost, including labor and materials was around $1,500. It pays to shop around.
It certainly does.