Well, its been 2 1/2 years -don't ask :) :)! and for heaven's sake don't hire your friends even if they are contractors :) L shaped ranch house. completely demolished the long side of the L - living room, dining room, kitchen, pantry, bedroom, bathroom, & garage. The only thing left standing was a rock fireplace that we wanted to save. short side of L (now fondly called the "west wing") we planned on leaving until we finished the other part of the house. 2 bedrooms, 2 baths and laundry in this part of the house. Contractor got a "little" carried away and removed all the siding and insulation in the west wing at the same time he did the planned remodel area. luckily we have a finished basement. We didn't want to spend a fortune heating the outdoors so we kept the heat in the west wing to a bare minimum and moved into the basement. Our plan was to add on about 1400 sq ft and a third garage bay. 1st year we slept on cots in the basement during the winter (we live in snow country) and in a 5th wheel trailer in the driveway in the summer (unless we had company---which we did a few times--and then we slept in the yard under the apple tree). We had no electricity in the remodel area so we used flashlights to find our way around through the mess upstairs and down to the basement. We cooked on the outside grill and had a microwave, crockpot and coffee pot in the basement. Luckily,we had an old beer fridge down there too. We moved everything we could to a rental storage unit but basement took the over flow with boxes stacked everywhere. Periodically the police would show up in the middle of the night saying they gotten a 911 call. Our phone lines got cut early on and the phones liked to do their own thing. No joke!!! We hung one of our old patio doors in the doorway to close off the upstairs as much as we could. I spent a lot of time duct taping around the jam to control the dust and dirt but, believe me, a lot made it through. When we finally got a sub floor we cooked pizza in our new wood fired pizza oven for 50 or 60 people and a few of their 4 legged friends. We strung contractors lights from the ceiling, built a huge fire in the old fireplace and put out some folding tables and lawn chairs. We didn't have to worry about damaging anything or the mess and it was great. Second year I insisted on adding some insulation to the west wing so we at least got to turn the heat up a little and go back to our bedroom. Still cooking outside---have learned more and more dutch oven cooking and cooking over a campfire. We have a great firepit that we sit around in the evening summer and winter. Still under a couple of down comforters at night but as soon as we finish the first part of the house we'll get started on the west wing and hopefully it won't take as long. To tell you the truth it isn't all that bad and we have loads of stories. For me the worst part is cleaning and cleaning and cleaning to try to control the spread of dust and dirt that's constant. For my DH the worst part is lack of privacy and the commotion and noise level. If I had it all to do over I would really think about demolishing the whole house and starting from scratch instead of trying to make an old house new. We didn't do that originally because DH didn't want to move out. He felt it would be easier and cheaper to stay in the house. It wasn't easier and it sure hasn't been cheaper but we're surviving and maybe we respect and appreciate each other more now. We still laugh a lot. So who's to say what's best? Having a shower, toilet, washer/dryer and fridge made all the differnce. Don't think I could have survived going to the laundramat all the time. Silly but true. You might want to think about those things that you can't live without. Long narrative but hopefully thought provoking. Good luck.

Waco, you are funny. Not a realtor, just someone who has bought and sold during different economic times. And real estate is local. My area, and many others, did not collapse during the financial crisis and inventory was quite low. Every town, county, state is different, so you can't just make blanket statements. Everyone should analyze their local market data and their personal financial situation and then make decision based on that, and not some national data summary or doom and gloom media coverage. The world isn't ending. I am sure those that died would trade places with someone that is just having real estate issues. Perspective. Pessimists are gonna spread pessimism ...

I think it's reasonable to expect supply-side issues in the near term as some manufacturers are operating at less than full capacity or even at zero capacity and distributors and shipping companies are operating with less than full staff. What the effect is on prices of construction materials months from now I can't predict. I can tell you from experience that prices don't always move in the direction you'd expect. Large-scale production builders typically negotiate long-term contract pricing on materials so their material costs are more stable. Small builders and remodelers live with more volatility in material pricing. Historic low interest rates and ongoing demand for housing are two forces that should work together to continue demand for new residential construction and remodeling. Demand will vary by region (all real estate is local, as they say.) I think the migration of folks from high COLAs like the northeast states to southern locales will continue.

I am low on stamina, but a few clicks here and there help us out. Unfortunately, the Yahoo Groups FreeCycle has closed down, but there is still Craigslist. Dallasannie, while I do get a lot of what you are describing, overall, I have to disagree while agreeing. But I sure do get the desire to find a best fit home for some things. Our mom would drive us a tad bonkers with her seeking perfect matches in various realms. I think you might have burned yourself out. And I truly understand how that can happen. I have had up and down medical woes and many commitments over the years. Then we inherited a lot of family things as our parents “aged out” of housing all sorts of thing. Huge collections of family photos and professional photos. Tools, furniture. Then there is the “our” stuff. On the other side, I have given great stuff away ($2500 organic natural/real, barely used queen latex mattress in a protective covering. Too firm and it took up too much real estate. I probably could have gotten some real useful cash for it, but pre Marie Kondo and with fatigue and aches decided just to give it away. Lots of calls and it went to a nice couple who’d been sleeping on the floor. They were thrilled, I was happy. When we need something, I keep watch on Craigslist etc.. Free pretty new good brand clothes dryer Free, nearly new KA white dishwasher. Guy said the grinder/disposal made a noise. We bought new crumb grinder. Nothing was wrong with it. Quiet unit, 3 years now. Purrs. Free. The couple really just wanted stainless, not white. Yay. Our smooth top kitchen range with convection fan oven broke on the top. Part not available. Found a free one, used it for a year, but burners were without enough OOMPH. One day, I looked for a used convection oven. Bada Bing! Local, nearly new. Spotless. Not white, but stainless-black. $200 versus $900 to $1600 for DW new. It had barely been used. Super clean. Shiny. Manuals online, for free. Score! I’ve given plants, shrubs, whatever away. Met a good buddy or two. Alisand, I have a colorful, not drab large oval braided wool rug that my sweet late MIL made. Needs to be repairs and resewn a tad. I have pure wool — kilt from Scotland, a navy pea coat, and some wool challis I bought decades ago before I came to understand that orange, spring leaf green and soft brown (paisley) were not the best colors for me. And I was never doing to use that otherwise wonderful fabric. I can use some of the (3-4? Yards) fabric to fix a few braided rugs, but, instead of my searching high and low for the one or two souls who might find it useful, I want to offer it to you. And, I always figuredI’d have time to get around to creating “painted” hooked rugs with nuanced shading, not “by number.” Who knew life is rich and jam pack with “To Dos?” PM me if you like it or want to see pic of fabric. And that doggone wool plaid short kilt, about size 8 or 10. Pleats stitched down at waist to hip. Looks cool with leotards or opaque stockings and kicky boots. Above knee length. Circa 1968. Too sweet to tear into strips for a rug (read Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar — remember the comment on her boyfriend’s or MIL’s rug? All that labor and care by a woman, only to have men’s thoughtless shoes trod over it. Wonder if that help conclude her decision to head toward the gas oven. Incredible sad. What a talent losses. ~~~ I love, collect, fix up vintage sewing machines. They take up time and space. Sometimes people give machines to me. I tune up machines for others, give some away. Help people resolve problems via online. Never worry about finding the perfect recipient who will appreciate something. Even a working vintage sewing machine (usually) will migrate to an appreciative new owner. Some don’t. One point A to point B efficient acquaintance just chucked a lovely Singer Redhead (“red eye”) treadle into the trash without even bothering to look for a taker. (“Free at curb...”). She’s a ismissive sort who Is e known for decades. A bit defensive, cold. Well, lo and behold surprise, a few weeks ago, she got into another psychological projection snit and hung up on me. Truly. What tha?! I am not surprised and don’t miss walking on eggshells. But, jeepers. Upshot: life has depth, connection, meaning and challenges. Give thoughtful fairness and decency. Don’t fritter time away over “stuff” you no longer want to fuss with. Share love, peace, goodwill, passion, fun, creativity. Don’t fret over dusty possessions or shallow, imperious people. There’s a lot of important real connection within your walls and beyond your threshold. Peace, stuff and beyond stuff ;-)