The Rucker Mansion is now for sale.

"Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo" (thetomselleck) 08/16/2020 at 22:31 • Filed to: Houses

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How’s this for equity?

More info:

Here are my thoughts on the matter: I remain one the dumbest people I know for buying in 2018

https://www.redfin.com/WA/Everett/412-Laurel-Dr-98201/home/2740728?utm_source=android_share&utm_medium=share&utm_nooverride=1&utm_content=link

ranwhenparked > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 22:35

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That woodwork is stunning, and I like that at least one of the bathrooms still has a vintage ribcage shower - most of those were cut up in WWII scrap metal drives.

This is one of the cases where I do understand why the house is priced that way, I wonder if you could even build a new house from scratch with all that detailing and craftsmanship for $3.5 million.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > ranwhenparked 08/16/2020 at 22:40

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I’ve been working in new construction for nine years. So here’s my advice to everyone looking to buy a newly-built home:

Don’t.

ranwhenparked > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 22:48

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I put down a deposit on a newly built house 2 yea rs ago , and took it back after thinking about it for 48 hours. Just didn’t seem like good value for money - whole place smelled like glue and everything felt cheap and flimsy. One of those 4 week wonders where they truck in all the prefab chipboard wall sections and screw them together assembly line style. Plus, it was in an HOA. Monthly dues forever to pay someone else to mow a lawn I could do in 1/2 an hour and fund a clubhouse I’d never use.

lone_liberal > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 22:49

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I love that house. They wouldn’t let my kind in the front door but the folks  who buy that are my kind of rich people.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:05

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And yet, a newly built or rebuilt home will command a price premium over an older house.

At least that’s how it is in my area.

And note that I live in a house that is almost 100 years old... and it has lots of old-house quirks... like not originally having weeping tiles installed to ensure good drainage.   And less-than-great insulation.  

wafflesnfalafel > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:08

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the very nicest place to live in Snohomish County - so do we get automatic entrance into the “robber baron” club if we buy that place?

ranwhenparked > lone_liberal 08/16/2020 at 23:10

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As long as they don't rip out all the original fixtures, paint the woodwork, and tear down the walls to create an open concept. 

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:12

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This is the kitchen

Clearly the style is dated and should be replaced with something nicer and more modern from Ikea...

:-p

/jk

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/16/2020 at 23:16

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My house is 116 years old and I suspect will ruin me.

Still not so bad compared to what I see.

Deal Killer - Powered by Focus > ranwhenparked 08/16/2020 at 23:19

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There’s a trend going on now, where younger retired people, early to mid 60's or so, were buying smaller villas in HOA developments. Decent quality, with small ponds, lawn care, snow removal and club house all for an HOA fee of $150 - $250 a month, on top of all other housing costs. They are now getting out of them, and buying older ranch homes in established neighborhoods, with no HOA’s, because the fees kept going up, with little return. It’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out in a few years, COVID apocalypse not withstanding.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:25

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Tell us some details of what you see... 

ClassicDatsunDebate > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:33

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I’d rename it from the Rucker Mansion to Hootie House.

AestheticsInMotion > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/16/2020 at 23:37

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Wow. I want all those bathrooms.

This house also makes me want to get back into washing windows. Not a single window requires laddering up to... Not even a step ladder! It’s basically the dream home to get on a reoccurring schedule.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/16/2020 at 23:39

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Of my house?

[shudders]

[opens beer]

Oh — of new construction?

I mean... I can’t even run out of material there.

- f oundation cracks before close
- extreme — and I mean extreme — settling within 12 months
- poorly constructed shower pans on top floors and caused 10's of thousands of dollars of damage immediately after use
- the constant push by builders, buyers, designers, all of them, for floor plans/layouts/designs that cannot be done within the constraints of logic, physics, safety, etc.
- the same labor that builds 300k track housing 2 hours north is the same labor that builds 2MM homes 1 hour south... this is the biggest one.

I have some accounts that if I could afford, I’d buy the house at any price because they’re that good. There are many more accounts that I have that do a fine job. There are enough accounts that are described as the above.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > AestheticsInMotion 08/16/2020 at 23:44

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Porches need to make a comeback. Modern homes are shaped like boxes that encroach on the boundaries of the small lot size.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > ClassicDatsunDebate 08/17/2020 at 00:31

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I’m going to venture a guess that few who even slightly resemble Darius Rucker have ever set foot in that house.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ranwhenparked 08/17/2020 at 00:35

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Now that shower is an antique. Why does it look like that?

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 00:39

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People want big back porches now and the front facing side is there purely for formalities. Shame. 

ranwhenparked > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/17/2020 at 00:44

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Multiple shower heads, designed to massage your body.

Back in the day, it was believed that showers were too strong for “delicate” female bodies, so most houses with indoor plumbing only had a bathtub, since middle class families weren’t going to spend money on a fixture that only a few people in the household could use. Consequently, showers were a luxury item installed only in the wealthiest homes , and were made suitably elaborate. 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ranwhenparked 08/17/2020 at 00:51

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Huh. I suppose that makes sense according to the societal norms of the time. Never knew that. 

Nick Has an Exocet > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 00:58

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You just described why I want to self-build. Grand Designs is one of the best TV shows ever made for someone like me.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 08/17/2020 at 00:59

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True....old money can smell a country music fan a mile away.

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > ClassicDatsunDebate 08/17/2020 at 01:03

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Sure, that’s what I was getting at.

ranwhenparked > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/17/2020 at 01:04

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O n the plus side, at least showering didn’t cause bicycle face.

fintail > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 01:07

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Awesome house and would be double that in Seattle and even a little more in 98004/98039/98040, but 3,5MM to live in Everett would be a bit much for me.

Something I especially like about that house is the legit sympathetic restoration - not a Victorian infused with generic contractor grade mcmodern finishes like is the rage in Seattle.

ClassicDatsunDebate > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 08/17/2020 at 01:09

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:)

Dead_Elvis, Inc. > ClassicDatsunDebate 08/17/2020 at 01:20

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Also, as a native New Englander, hearing about “old money” & what passes for old homes here in Washington makes me snicker.

Even if no part of my family knows anything about that old money, we do know from old homes. I grew up in what was a newish house for the area - built in 1906-07 . The homes across the street were all from the 1840s.

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 01:24

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That would be at least 8 Million in SF/Marin. Two bedroom condos facing Mt. Tam are 800k now. 

Merfthemadmauler > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 02:36

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All it takes is money.

kanadanmajava1 > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 08/17/2020 at 03:46

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That’s indeed pretty strange looking contraption. Built for safety in mind?

Kiltedpadre > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 07:41

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And it should be a crime to put on the faux porches that I see quite often today. They look like porches from the street but are so narrow that you can’t even put a chair on them.

i86hotdogs > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 08:02

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All that house and no garage? CP or Gb or whatever we’re calling it these days

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 08:19

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And now tell us about your house... you could do a series on this for our entertainment!

As for foundation cracks... I recall a story where a builder told some gullible buyers “those are just the settlement cracks which are normal”. Of course those gullible people got pissed when they tried to sell and people pointed out the cracks in the foundation would cost $$$$$ to fix and people didn’t buy the BS that they bought from the builder.

In my own house searches, I remember going into one older house that had mega foundation issues. The basement floor had been painted to hide all the haphazard repairs done as the floor didn’t slope the way it should and had hills where there should not be hills.

In the kitchen, I did a “marble test” to show that the floor had a distinct slope.

I estimated that the place was only worth the property value and should probably be torn down and something completely   new from the foundation up should be built.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ranwhenparked 08/17/2020 at 08:26

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Wouldn't want that at all.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > kanadanmajava1 08/17/2020 at 08:27

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Maybe just elaborate for the sake of being elaborate. More than one shower head is interesting. 

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 09:17

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Roughly equivalent to a 7.5% average annual return in the stock market.

Granted, you can’t live in stonks.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo 08/17/2020 at 09:18

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How old/new is the sweet spot?

ClassicDatsunDebate > Dead_Elvis, Inc. 08/17/2020 at 19:30

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Now I’m picturing you in a bucket hat and fishing vest. Anything over 100 years old is remarkable out here in the NW. Same with the moneyed families. No real old money in the sense of pre-Victorian landed gentry. Our old money is based around turn of the last century lumber and mining barons and the associated financiers. They have been eclipsed by the influx of Chinese black money though.

zipfuel > Manwich - now Keto-Friendly 08/17/2020 at 20:19

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We’ve been driving past those new tall town house/condo block things they built on the Vincent Massey field a lot recently. Looking at the listings they are suu uper builder basic inside and for this they are asking $ 1-1.2 million!