$ spent since last update - $0.00
Total $ spent - $10,530.03
Budget $20,000
Target Finish Date - 2/5/2006
Woohoo! Finally, all the base trim and doors have been installed. The millwork guys went ahead and installed door handles too (not the really nice ones I bought, so I'll have to return those to Home Depot).
I haven't been billed for the millwork materials nor installation yet so it's not reflected in the running total. On Monday, carpet gets installed, and on Wednesday, the countertops will be done.
Soon after that, we'll put the house on the market while we finish little things (like mirrors, towel bars, bathroom shower curtain and so on). Oh yeah, we have to attach the appliances as well, which we haven't done yet.
More to come real soon, I hope. I'm trying to play Devil's Advocate here and come up with a "worst case scenario", but I can't imagine anything going awry at this point.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Condos are where it's at in King County
Wow, looking at sales statistics available to agents through a service called "Realist", I'm surprised. In King County, there have been 12,551 condos sold in 2006 (NOT including December), compared to 10,709 in 2005. So with more condos being sold, maybe that means prices have leveled off or gone down?
No! The median price has gone from $217,000 in 2005 to $260,000 in 2006 YTD. That's almost a 20% increase.
It's no wonder that so many condo conversions are happening. Seems like every decent apartment complex is converting into an upscale condominium with stainless steel, granite, and all the fixins.
And condo sales are probably taking away from the sales of single family residences. Especially as people downsize their homes and look to get rid of yard work and excess space. In King County, there were 36,089 homes sold in 2005, versus 32,742 in the first 11 months of 2006. Unless 4,000 homes sold in December (which likely won't happen since December tends to be a slower month), 2006 will be a down year.
However, median prices for single family homes have gone from $360,000 in 2005 to $414,950 in 2006 YTD. Still, it's a respectable 15% increase.
Again, the source for this information is a real estate service called Realist. I'm not sure if it's available to the public, but I can access it from NWMLS.
No! The median price has gone from $217,000 in 2005 to $260,000 in 2006 YTD. That's almost a 20% increase.
It's no wonder that so many condo conversions are happening. Seems like every decent apartment complex is converting into an upscale condominium with stainless steel, granite, and all the fixins.
And condo sales are probably taking away from the sales of single family residences. Especially as people downsize their homes and look to get rid of yard work and excess space. In King County, there were 36,089 homes sold in 2005, versus 32,742 in the first 11 months of 2006. Unless 4,000 homes sold in December (which likely won't happen since December tends to be a slower month), 2006 will be a down year.
However, median prices for single family homes have gone from $360,000 in 2005 to $414,950 in 2006 YTD. Still, it's a respectable 15% increase.
Again, the source for this information is a real estate service called Realist. I'm not sure if it's available to the public, but I can access it from NWMLS.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Heroes on NBC : Zzzzzzz
Heroes on NBC has to be the most well thought out marketing plan by NBC. People love X-Men and comic book characters in general, why not make a TV show about them as everyday people? And it looks like it has worked. When the show first came out, Heroes is all people would talk about (when it came to discussing TV shows). The premise of the show is a great idea, but I feel like the episodes I've seen so far could have been summed up in a 2 hour movie.
Unfortunately, it's one of those shows that moves sooo slowly, that I'd rather just hear about it from other people instead of investing a hour each week by watching it myself. And I think others feel the same way. And most of the characters are so corrupt and unethical that I wonder if parents let their kids watch these "superheroes."
A guy who can fly cheats on his crippled wife. A mom / wife with a split personality is an internet stripper, while the other personality frames people for murder. The asian guy who can travel through time decides to cheat at a casino. A dad erases people's memory. A mind-controlling female steals a car and gets out of speeding tickets. One guy chops off heads and eats brains? I think? And the strangest to me... one guy can only tell the future when he's got heroin in his system.
The only characters I really find interesting are the mind-reading cop and the waitress at the restaurant (who, by the way, stars in "Epic Movie"). Peter Petrelli and the cheerleader aren't necessarily unethical either, but their storylines are slow moving and a little boring as a result.
My main fear is that the show will become like Lost on ABC, and I just won't care at all anymore. I just read on NBC that another "hero" will be introduced on the latest episode. I'll probably hear about the character from my friend Jay, but I can't imagine what that character could possibly do that hasn't been covered yet.... I'll take a stab at it and say the new hero has an impenetrable layer to his skin that makes him virtually invincible so he can attack Syler or whoever it is that chops off heads.
Speaking of Jay, I remember when this show first started. We thought the first two episodes were great. But after that, I would get text messages from him during the show that said, "Worst episode ever." Or "This episode is pointless." Or "Another pointless episode."
So, although NBC execs aren't going to be reading any of this, and are going to milk this show for all they can... I hope there's an end in sight and they don't drag it on for 1 season too long.
Unfortunately, it's one of those shows that moves sooo slowly, that I'd rather just hear about it from other people instead of investing a hour each week by watching it myself. And I think others feel the same way. And most of the characters are so corrupt and unethical that I wonder if parents let their kids watch these "superheroes."
A guy who can fly cheats on his crippled wife. A mom / wife with a split personality is an internet stripper, while the other personality frames people for murder. The asian guy who can travel through time decides to cheat at a casino. A dad erases people's memory. A mind-controlling female steals a car and gets out of speeding tickets. One guy chops off heads and eats brains? I think? And the strangest to me... one guy can only tell the future when he's got heroin in his system.
The only characters I really find interesting are the mind-reading cop and the waitress at the restaurant (who, by the way, stars in "Epic Movie"). Peter Petrelli and the cheerleader aren't necessarily unethical either, but their storylines are slow moving and a little boring as a result.
My main fear is that the show will become like Lost on ABC, and I just won't care at all anymore. I just read on NBC that another "hero" will be introduced on the latest episode. I'll probably hear about the character from my friend Jay, but I can't imagine what that character could possibly do that hasn't been covered yet.... I'll take a stab at it and say the new hero has an impenetrable layer to his skin that makes him virtually invincible so he can attack Syler or whoever it is that chops off heads.
Speaking of Jay, I remember when this show first started. We thought the first two episodes were great. But after that, I would get text messages from him during the show that said, "Worst episode ever." Or "This episode is pointless." Or "Another pointless episode."
So, although NBC execs aren't going to be reading any of this, and are going to milk this show for all they can... I hope there's an end in sight and they don't drag it on for 1 season too long.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)