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Pastimes : Let's Talk About Our Feelings!!! -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ish who wrote (54769)	9/5/1999 5:12:00 PM
From: Ilaine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

I understand the cost-benefit calculations to the builders, but why do the buyers go for them? Why would anyone with that kind of money buy them? I know three people who have one, one is the client I had the big case with, he had a lot of money all of a sudden, and he is disabled. It's just a waste of money, I think, but it's his money. Maybe it's his way of compensating for what was done to him. The other two are owned by people whose kids went to school with Benjamin, the fathers are corporate executives who just moved into the area, the mothers are stay-at-home moms, and the houses look like showcases, but we had nothing in common except kids so I never really talked to them. I made friends with some other parents, one mother who teaches Russian history at George Mason University, one mother who used to be a social worker, and is now a librarian, one mother who's a substitute teacher, one couple where the father is a computer programmer and the mother is a stay-at-home mom but is into quilting. All people with occupations and interests, and none of them lived in McMansions. The mothers of the kids who lived in the McMansions never had anything of interest to say, and the fathers were never around. I know it's too small a sample to draw a valid generalization from.

To: Ish who wrote (54769)	9/5/1999 8:39:00 PM
From: Michael M	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 108807

Excellent pt. re. cost per sf, Ish. I finally got our builder to do a contract that reflects the actual cost of building with percentage for him, in addition to some specific professional services and incentives. Staggering how many people around here (Hilton Head) do million dollar homes on one paragraph (short) contracts. I even had him hire me as personal assistant to avoid expense of menial labor on site and allow me to deal with subs (better I shoot around the corner to pick up a a two dollar item at Home Depot than pay a $50 an hour plumbing guy to wander off for a couple of hours. I have done this before. It can save big bucks and even be fun (can't play golf ALL the time). We started last week! About 3/4 acre on golf course. Big live oaks (w/moss) on perimeter. Only 2400sf -- just two of us (but hoping mom-in-law will move down from Short Hills NJ). No roof line madness, Coby! Getting a builder around here to go along with that's almost as hard as making MS Explorer NOT be your default browser. Kind of hybrid design. Southern, with big porches front and back but wide open inside with 12ft cls. and glass galore to let in the light and beautiful outdoors. Land price still not bad here (going up fast though -- we have about doubled money on the "other" lot we're not building on, in nine months. My bro in McLean is about to sell a tear-down tiny 3/1 on very nice 1/2 ac. Should bring about 1/2 million.