Ray, My house was also built in the mid'1870's. It has been a single dwelling most of its life. During the early 1900's it even served as a Frat house for Westminster College, it has been cut up into various apartments and is now once again a single dwelling. It was once owned by a local minister that held church services on the ground level and had a printing press in the basement for church materials and he even printed Bibles and other books at one time. Judges, Doctors and now even HR dudes have lived here. About 15 years ago a Real Estate developer came in bought the house for himself and completely remodled the inside of the house. It has all new electric and he simply restudded and insluated the interior walls. These walls are over a foot thick in some places. This old house is so quite and well insulated. Hope you enjoy your old house as much as we do ours.
I'm not sure that modern housing existed in the Phoenix area in the late 1800's... We are a relatively new state - 92 years old. An "old" home around these parts would have been built around WWII.
I don't have any decorative stuff in my front yard, but my back yard is decorated with Tonka trucks and tricycles. x:)
I installed a new gazing ball last year - I will request a reassessment on my taxes as I'm sure my property value has increased dramatically. I would be afraid some of my neighbors may try to shoot the pink flamingos for food. I'm almost positive bottle trees would not be allowed under current village ordinance. Stacks of old tires are acceptable although.
Don't know what a gazing ball is, I've only seen a bottle tree in a picture of some guy on this Forum sitting on a motorcycle. I'm sure that flamingos are prohibited by city ordinance - but those little lawn jockeys aren't, strangely enough.
Well Beagle, you have stepped into it now! These little "Lawn Jockeys" as you refer to them are, ninety-nine percent of the time, minority horse groomsmen. How might you explain your acceptance of that, given your liberal bent? I'm sure you'll have a comical escape.
I never said I accepted or approved of them... I just think it's curious that they even still exist, and in some of our more exclusive neighborhoods. Personally, I find them a lot less offensive than the ever-present garden gnomes that I find all over the place. Fortunately, we can dispose of them (the gnomes) without infringing on a protected class.
Unless, of course, the 9th Circuit has declared garden gnomes a protected class and I haven't heard about it yet. x;-)
I think "lawn jockeys" are only illegal if they still have the black face. Most homeowners that still have them, have ensured that their faces are painted over in white. If you come accross one that still has a black face - now that would be something.
Here in the Four Corners area, a 2000 sq/ft house would go for about $200K. Our avg house cost are around $150-175. Gas is around $1.93, and we have 10,000+ gas wells in the county. And, unlike Ray A, we don't have outhouses...we have TeePee's!
"lawn art" will get you nowhere right outside of Harrisburg...although, if you drive about an hour in any direction, it seems to become some kind of form of personal expression. The gazing balls aren't too bad....but the flamingos and gnomes!!
Kudos to the guy that decided to take the gnome on vacation and send back pictures!!!
gas here...between 1.95 and 2.05... I figure as long as it's cheaper than a gallon of milk I won't complain...we go through milk much faster!!!
Watch it! I'll have you know that flamingos are sexually attracted to bottle-tree-topping windmill roosters with cubic zirconia eyes. And it's not a matter of 'DO you have a gazing ball?' but HOW MANY? Flamingos of course are a huge joke, but ever since a 'friend' deposited nine in the front yard of my new house 12 years ago, I've named them, fed them and kept them discreetly way out back. They frequently move around on their own. Where can I get a gnome?
Okay, so I started this thread just out of curiosity of the housing market around the country. Now I just found out last week that my wife and I might be relocating to the San Jose area!
We are excited and a little nervous at the same time. Looks like I'm going to be in the market for a new house soon. I just hope we can find something that we can afford.
Don, I don't have a gnome but a lot of garden places around here sell those cement gargoyles. In fact my youngest daughter bought one at a yard sale. His name is Leroy and he sits on the front porch. My WienerDog hates him. Shipping might be pretty substantial because they're heavy (duh, they're made of cement!) but I bet I could get you one pretty cheap......
My modest, 3 bedroom, one bath home sits on two lots. I also have an attached two car garage, a storage barn, a 20 x 40 inground pool and a pool house. It is two stories with a basement. I paid $55,000 for it 16 years ago and the state SEV is now $98,500.00.
I'm one hour from Grand Rapids with the theater, ballet, shopping, concerts and museums. I'm also one hour from the Lake Michigan beaches. I love Michigan...
[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 06-03-04 AT 11:30AM (CST)[/font][br][br]Wow Annie, your house, if brought to NH, would fetch 2-3 x's that price easily. I think about retiring in Michigan someday.
By the way, the garden stroes (and stores) around here have gnomes and gargoyles galore.
Kind of like a gargoyle. As a gift for some volunteer work that I do, I received a statue of a boy with a sprinkler head as a hat and a garden hose attachment at the bottom. I guess I should be thankful that the sprinkler head is at the top. I'm not sure what to do with it, so it is on a shelf for the moment.
Comments
My house was also built in the mid'1870's. It has been a single dwelling most of its life. During the early 1900's it even served as a Frat house for Westminster College, it has been cut up into various apartments and is now once again a single dwelling. It was once owned by a local minister that held church services on the ground level and had a printing press in the basement for church materials and he even printed Bibles and other books at one time. Judges, Doctors and now even HR dudes have lived here. About 15 years ago a Real Estate developer came in bought the house for himself and completely remodled the inside of the house. It has all new electric and he simply restudded and insluated the interior walls. These walls are over a foot thick in some places. This old house is so quite and well insulated. Hope you enjoy your old house as much as we do ours.
I don't have any decorative stuff in my front yard, but my back yard is decorated with Tonka trucks and tricycles. x:)
Unless, of course, the 9th Circuit has declared garden gnomes a protected class and I haven't heard about it yet. x;-)
Kudos to the guy that decided to take the gnome on vacation and send back pictures!!!
gas here...between 1.95 and 2.05... I figure as long as it's cheaper than a gallon of milk I won't complain...we go through milk much faster!!!
We are excited and a little nervous at the same time. Looks like I'm going to be in the market for a new house soon. I just hope we can find something that we can afford.
My modest, 3 bedroom, one bath home sits on two lots. I also have an attached two car garage, a storage barn, a 20 x 40 inground pool and a pool house. It is two stories with a basement. I paid $55,000 for it 16 years ago and the state SEV is now $98,500.00.
I'm one hour from Grand Rapids with the theater, ballet, shopping, concerts and museums. I'm also one hour from the Lake Michigan beaches. I love Michigan...
Annie
By the way, the garden stroes (and stores) around here have gnomes and gargoyles galore.
(Mine's just cement, but Ashley bought glow in the dark paint for the eyes. It scares the bejeebers out of little kids on Halloween...
My house would be worth twice as much if I moved it two counties south, too. I guess it depends on how far "north" you care to go.
Annie (living cheap with the most beautiful sunsets in the world, over Lake Michigan)
Or, find someone with a different taste in "yard art" and give them a lovely gift....
Annie
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