Home Ownership and Car Enthusiasm are Not Pals.

"Tripper" (tripe46)
03/15/2016 at 14:55 • Filed to: None

Spring is just around the corner and I really want to buy 4 of these...

To replace my current summer set. Instead, I’ve got to spend nearly as much for this...

We have a gigantic mulberry tree that must go. Actually it’s two trees all twisted together around each other and our power lines. It’s ugly and it craps berries everywhere in such quantity that both my fiancee and I slipped and fell because of them last spring. Beyond that it turns our drive way and back yard into bee/wasp/other annoying insect heaven, and gets the animals all drunk toward the summer. I thought we hand an injured bird in the back yard last year, as I got closer he tried to fly away and just started rolling on the ground...turns out he was just drunk.

I’m excited to have the tree gone, but not nearly as excited as I would be for a set of new wheels. I tried putting them on our registry, that didn’t work out.

DISCUSSION (39)

The Ghost of Oppo > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 14:58

This is how I feel about buying. I want to stop renting so I can have my own garage to work on projects and store my bikes, but then I realize I probably won’t have money for those motorized things.

Ash78, voting early and often > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:02

15 years ago I lived in an apartment and spent almost all my discretionary income on car parts and rock climbing. Now I have no discretionary income and have spent exactly ZERO dollars on car mods in at least 5 years. Everything now is like TREE REMOVAL $3,000 or NEW BACKYARD FENCE $6,000. It's crazy how big bills get with a house.

EL_ULY > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:02

I gotta do a pine in the back yard........... and a bunch of random things to the cars.

Kinja'd!!!

TheHondaBro > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:03

Dude, eat the mulberries!!

atrombs > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:03

Oh god. Mulberry trees suck. My parent’s used to have some at their house, and the berries were everywhere. The worst was the birds who would eat them, and take a crap right as they’re landing on the roof of their house. It left big purple bird shits all over the siding.

gin-san - shitpost specialist > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:04

I don’t like the insect haven thing; bees are fine but wasps are a bunch of flying fucks, and you can’t always tell in the heat of the moment whether you’re killing a friendly pollinator or one of nature’s many assholes.

However, I like the idea of being able to watch drunk animals, so I'm conflicted.

itschrome > TheHondaBro
03/15/2016 at 15:06

better yet, intentionally ferment them and get drunk your self!

Tripper > The Ghost of Oppo
03/15/2016 at 15:07

It’s honestly not that bad overall, you just have to make some compromises. A lot of times I don’t mind using money that would normally be burnt on car stuff for home improvements, but having this tree removed is high cost, low payoff.

Obviously if part of that tree came down and went though our power lines/house we would have a much bigger problem, so the value is there. I just keep thinking that I would have no qualms about treating myself to a new set of wheels, if that tree did not exist/if it was a job that I could handle myself.

Tripper > TheHondaBro
03/15/2016 at 15:08

lol believe it or not we tried that too, there were so many falling that we threw sheets down on the drive way that we had to clear off multiple times per day!

Tripper > gin-san - shitpost specialist
03/15/2016 at 15:11

Unfortunately, I only saw one drunk animal (the bird). It was not just bees and wasps, gnats, mosquitoes ... all sorts of undesirables. With all that comes spiders. I won’t intentionally kill them, but I’m not trying to be buddies either.

vicali > Ash78, voting early and often
03/15/2016 at 15:13

Tree this week Fence next.. same same..

The best part is asking the neighbours if they want to contribute to the fence.. No? me neither.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:16

If it’s encroaching on the power lines you can typically call the power company, they’ll at least take out enough of the tree to get it away from the power lines.

It might take at least some of the budget off removing them entirely.

Worth a shot to get some of it removed for free at least right?

Tripper > Ash78, voting early and often
03/15/2016 at 15:16

Yep! Our house came with 1/3 of a fence, then we completed all but the two sides that connect to the house ourselves. Once this tree is done, were going to have the fence closed in by a professional using nicer materials etc as its the only part of the fence that is visible. It’s not much but I’m sure it will be at least another 1k.

However anything on my house that costs less than a brake job on my last M3 is ok by me.

64Mali > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:18

I just had to replace a retaining wall rather then buy car parts, and I still have to redo my deck.

Tripper > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
03/15/2016 at 15:26

I did that. PECO more or less said “we don’t cut trees on private property, but if it falls on our power lines, its your fault...P.S. eat shit”

I appreciate the tip though, someone else told me that which is why I called in the first place.

Tripper > 64Mali
03/15/2016 at 15:27

Yea, it never ends with the house.

Tripper > atrombs
03/15/2016 at 15:29

Yea the tree guy didn’t even need me to point it out to him. He’s like “I bet you’re looking to get rid of that big mulberry huh?”

I was washing cars twice a week because of the purple shits last year. Not this summer!

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:30

ahh man that’s crap.

As I see from the Ash78 thread below, I’m looking at a 5000 fence replacement upcoming, then the driveway needs to be done, and the garage floor needs to be done, and then I need a shed, and then I have to convert the fireplace to gas....and by the time all that gets done i’m sure the list won’t shrink but contain more things.

That being said, I wouldn’t trade any of it to live in a rental tho

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:32

I rented for a year between moves and I was amazed at how much money I saved. For some reason we think that home ownership is a must for middle class sucess. Honestly if I didn’t need the room for two kids I’d be tempted to buy a 1,000 sf condo where they cut the grass for you. Then it would just be recreation and wernching with very few home worries.

Jarrett - [BRZ Boi] > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:32

I know that feel. A couple weeks ago I was quoted $2000 for a burst water pipe, because it was in my crawlspace. Fortunately, we had family who accepts payment in drinks and chicken. I can’t count the amount of money we’d have to put out without family helping us out. There are some projects, like your tree, that simply goes beyond what favours can accomplish. I know I’ll have to put out some real money for a problem like that at one point, so now I’m focusing on saving instead of dropping 1000+ on some sweet wheels, or a better diff.

lone_liberal > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:32

The bad part is that it both gives you a space to work on your cars and takes away the time to do so. Houses are such teases.

interstate366, now In The Industry > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:35

I’m fortunate that the mulberry tree (and all the other trees except for one fig tree in the back) at my house was removed by my grandparents before I was born. My dad has told me horror stories about it.

Tripper > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner
03/15/2016 at 15:35

Yea there will always be something with a house but it’s so worth it. We bought our house just a touch over a year ago, and the first thing that I did was hang a door to a finished room in the basement. After I finished the trim I must have opened and closed that fucker 1000 times lol. I was so impressed with myself.

Tripper > lone_liberal
03/15/2016 at 15:38

Haha yea and I bought a house without a garage and a single lane driveway on an incline. So I’m more fucked now than I was at my apartment as far as it comes to working on cars. My apartment had a huge underground garage with hot water!

Tripper > Jarrett - [BRZ Boi]
03/15/2016 at 15:39

Yea I’m a big DIY guy, but even if I was dumb enough to try and dick around with that gigantic tree, I’m not dumb enough to do it next to power lines.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:40

Get a chainsaw and cut it down yourself. Just watch out for those power lines!

Also, I hear you. My wife and I are starting to look for our first house. I have also been wanting a new motorcycle, but didn’t want to keep it outside at our apartment. I’ve now realized if I get the house, I can’t afford the motorcycle.

lone_liberal > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:40

The last apartment I lived in had individual garages for each unit, but they didn’t have enough room in them to do any real work. They were basically storage units that were large enough to park reasonably sized cars in.

Tripper > Snuze: Needs another Swede
03/15/2016 at 15:49

Haha right! I can just lean the ladder up against the power lines for easy access to the tree!

The searching/buying process is really sucky. At least it was for me because I’m impatient. So I wish you good luck there.

Funny you mention the motorcycle, I snuck in a Honda Grom right after we moved in. I had a little money left over after all of the move in BS. So I thought “well I better sink it now before I have to do something responsible with it.” No regrets though I love that thing, and I can ride it right into the basement!.

Rico > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:55

Just get some gasoline and a match that tree will be gone in no time!

Tripper > Rico
03/15/2016 at 15:55

Believe me all redneck solutions have been considered;)

RallyWrench > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 15:58

Yeah, about that... Instead of car stuff, it’s rebuilding fences, repairing faucets, and fixing the roof. The cars will wait.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 16:01

As long as the ladder doesn’t cross lines you should be fine...

We have a family friend who manages a big real estate office in the area so I’m going to call her tonight to see if she can put us in touch with a realtor who can help us. We’ve done a lot of looking on Zillow, and more or less figured out our finances so I think we’re ready to get serious.

Maybe that’s how I’ll get the bike...

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 16:27

“and gets the animals all drunk toward the summer.”

Sounds like a tree worth keeping! I always liked mulberry trees.

Cash Rewards > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 16:30

Dominion is the same. Pole to pole is their problem, but once it crosses the sidewalk that’s on you. We’re getting quotes for our tree once we get enough leaves on it to see if it’s worth having trimmed, or if it’s just more cost effective to have it gone

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > atrombs
03/15/2016 at 16:40

I park my car in the back of my house. In the front, I have people constantly parked on the street. So those purple bird shits are a reason why I’m thinking of getting a mulberry tree for my front yard to replace the crabapple tree I currently have (which is slowly dying).

LOL

just-a-scratch > Tripper
03/15/2016 at 20:31

That gif looks like it was shot just up the hill from Gasworks Park. No?

atrombs > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly
03/16/2016 at 16:09

That's pretty brilliant actually.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Tripper
03/24/2016 at 14:52

Those wheels are the sex.

Tripper > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
03/24/2016 at 14:58

I want em so bad!