I live in house where my roommates and I rent the top 2 floors of a 3 story ~1910 Victorian. The 3rd story is a bit or a converted attic / servant's quarters. There is still a higher attic over part of the house. There are separate HVAC systems for the first and basement and the 2nd and 3rd. We get the benefit of the renter below heat and they get our AC. The 3rd floor bakes in the summer and bakes in the winter. I have completely closed all the vents on the 3rd floor (during winter) because the heater warms the 3rd floor excessively while the 2nd is still cold mostly thanks to drafty windows which we cover in plastic. Also the furnace is on the 3rd floor center and the thermostat is in the center of the house but right next to the open stairwell. The air return is in the ceiling of the 2nd floor right hall above the thermostat and right next to the open stairwell as well. The 3rd floor where I sleep is too hot (in winter). So I was wondering has anyone had luck with hanging a curtain to block the stairwell and to keep the downstairs heat down. Is this worth the trouble? What type of curtain should I use to be most effective? Clear plastic strips? Cloth? How about esthetics? Any suggestions on what might look - well - not that bad? Also, I was thinking that the air return would be better (for heating anyway) if it was closer to the floor to suck up cold air rather than hot. Would it be wise/worth it to extend this from the 2nd floor ceiling to the floor? I could take off the grate and put in a make shift duct for winter. It would look aweful but if it will save me a couple hundred on heating I would go for it. BTW our gas costs $1.30620/Ccf and our winter bills are $300-$350/month. And the 2nd floor is about 1300 sq. ft. and the 3rd is about 950 sq. ft. Too much info? :)

Frankie, 4 to 4.5 hours of fairly early sun. 9AM to 1-1:30 PM. when it gets shaded by the house. On a hill so it takes a little while for the direct sun to hit it.

Houses aren't investment vehicles .... for the wise investor. Since the average person isn't a particularly good investor/saver, the house does pretty well. Given the OP's example, it forces about $2k a month to be put away - in this case to paying off a loan. If instead, he spent that $2k on fancy dinners, he would be worse off. Obviously, putting the $2k in the market and living in a small apartment is the best investment. People always need to live somewhere no matter what happens to the economy so investment in property will usually do well - or at least relatively stable. Generally, the US still has modest SFH pricing compared to other wealthy countries. 6% interest would seem to be a pretty good long term average - its just that the last decade has been held back from a very large world wide financial crisis and then a pandemic hit just as we were coming out of it. When people are telling you "It's an investment into your future" - that sounds like they are selling you something.

It is a lovely bathroom and in my experience Jack and Jill Bathrooms work out fine. My sister's two girls shared a bathroom when they were young and when my sister built a home she built a 1 1/2 story home. The 2nd story had two large bedrooms and a jack and jill bathroom that her girls shared as teenagers and through their college years. Now it is shared by the daughters and their families (one has 2 kids and one doesn't have any kids) when they come home for holidays. One of my other nephews and his wife and 2 kids often stay at her home when they come to visit their parents, who moved to a small apartment when they got older. She also has non-family guests come and stay. It has never been an issue.