I know all you guys that live up North buy train rooms with houses on top. I get it. Down here, no basements and no attics, so train rooms are hard to come by.
.
This house is for sale in my neighborhood.
It has a three car garage and a four car garage. It is not a duplex. That four car garage could easily become my 24 by 40 foot train room.
The house has been on the market for a few months. It is now below $400,000.00 asking price. If you want to see details in Zillow, the address is 1710 NE 6th ST, Cape Coral, FL, 33909.
With my possible downpayment, the payments would be about $1,500.00 per month on a fifteen year amortization of mortgage.
I am now beginning to consider this house, not seriously, but I have an interest and some curiosity. There are a lot of downsides to it compared to my current house. It is too big, it is on a non-access canal, and the location is worse. It is on a road intended to be widened to four lanes in the next ten years, and it is close to a cement plant.
The house is 15 years old, and all original. It is just about to begin having problems with A/C, roof, etc. It is also not built to Category 5 Hurricane Standards.
And... It is not very well-off in the curb appeal department.
It currently takes me 1.8 days at work per month to earn enough to pay my mortgage. That would change a lot.
But... It has a train room! That is one heck of a huge plus.
It seems irresponsible to buy a house just to get a train room. Especially when I have a remodel and track plan to put a layout in this house. This house also gives me extreme financial security.
But... It has a train room!
-Kevin
Living the dream.
No reason to rush. Houses come up for sale all of the time. Even houses with an excessive amount of garage space. (I would think Floridians have an excessive amount of cars, boats, or ATVs, relative to other places)
If you want to expand your layout space from what you have, finding a different house from where you live now seems like a very good way to enjoy life into old age.
Take your time. No need to rush if you feel a house doesn't make sense in all ways that matter to you.
- Douglas
As a fellow Floridian who has a layout in a single car garage layout attached to a double wide in central Florida, I moved from another home in our park to the one I now have expressly for the garage, and a slightly larger home. I had no negative aspects other than a slightly higer price paid for the newer home. The garage layout has proven to be a big success
Given all the negatives you list about the home in question, holding off to look for better alternatives seems prudent.
Yes, consider the possibilities -- all the possibilities. I wouldn't get too fixated on this one before looking somewhat farther afiield, as you may come up with something even better.
Does not generally apply in Florida as you noted, but I bought my house just because it had a great potential train room in the basement. In Urbana, dry basements are hard to find. I walked downstairs and smelled only dry air. Bingo! I knew this was a keeper. It needed finishing, but the basic space was ideal - other than I could have used another course of cement blocks to get a little more headroom. Oh well, you can't always get what you want but you get what you need.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Don't know all the details by you, but wouldn't it be cheaper to just ''add on'' to your house ?
UNCLEBUTCH Don't know all the details by you, but wouldn't it be cheaper to just ''add on'' to your house ?
Yeah, if you have the land that seems more reasonable to me! My grandpa built a big barn on his property with enough room for a layout in the top room (specially designed with trains in mind!).
Regards, Isaac
I model my railroad and you model yours! I model my way and you model yours!
Buying a house just for a train room can be a great idea just so long as the stars align as far as the pro's and con's are concerned. A house is most peoples largest investment and should be treated as such.
I had this house up on the mountain in North Vancouver across the harbour from Vancouver. It had a basement but thinking ahead about wanting to get married and have a family I needed breathing room.
So I sold and moved to the farm belt SE of Vancouver and got this on acreage for the same price. A no brainer for me. The only downside was going to work in a Honda Civic instead of my RX-7 because of the increased commute. I really like the quiet out here and the train room is large enough for me, however, there is room to double the size if I choose to do so and had planned on doing just that, however, I am finding the size of layout I have large enough to look after at this point in time. We all know what we like or don't like about choosing a place to live. Backpacking in the Rockies is heaven for me while going to Disneyland would be like getting a root canal.
So I sold and moved to the farm belt SE of Vancouver and got this on acreage for the same price. A no brainer for me. The only downside was going to work in a Honda Civic instead of my RX-7 because of the increased commute.
I really like the quiet out here and the train room is large enough for me, however, there is room to double the size if I choose to do so and had planned on doing just that, however, I am finding the size of layout I have large enough to look after at this point in time. We all know what we like or don't like about choosing a place to live. Backpacking in the Rockies is heaven for me while going to Disneyland would be like getting a root canal.
I really like the quiet out here and the train room is large enough for me, however, there is room to double the size if I choose to do so and had planned on doing just that, however, I am finding the size of layout I have large enough to look after at this point in time.
We all know what we like or don't like about choosing a place to live. Backpacking in the Rockies is heaven for me while going to Disneyland would be like getting a root canal.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
My wife and I have purchased four houses over the years. When viewing a potential home, she evaluates each room, the yard, the neighborhood, the schools......
I just walk in and think... ok, its gotta a roof, kitchen, and bathroom. Ok, where's the train room?
Seriously though, first and foremost - the house is a home, second, a major asset investment, so if there are significant concerns, as you suggest, perhaps this isn't the one.
Dare I say it (I could get thrown off the Forums for this!)... do you really need a 24' x 40' train room?
Jim
What with sea levels rising and Florida in hurricaine country, I think I'll pass.
Dare I say it (I could get thrown off the Forums for this!)... do you really need a 24' x 40' train room? Jim
Need? or want? what about an aircraft hanger.
We have it pretty posh here in America where many can afford to have that much space for a hobby; on my visits to Europe on a number of occasions, that kind of space is something can only dream of. In the area I live, my wife and I did a lot of looking and nothing that big in our budget. But I can't really complain.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
DoughlessNo reason to rush. Houses come up for sale all of the time. Even houses with an excessive amount of garage space. (I would think Floridians have an excessive amount of cars, boats, or ATVs, relative to other places)
This one goes beyond "excessive" in the garage space, I mean 7 cars, really??? I don't think that will come up too soon. This is enough room for the Mustang, my workshop, lawn equipment, and still a massive train room.
Don't want to go into all the legal details, but no. Adding onto this house is possible, but what it would do to my tax bill, I would be better off tobuy another house instead.
SPSOT fanMy grandpa built a big barn on his property with enough room for a layout in the top room
Barns and detatched garages are not allowed in Cape Coral.
BATMANGoing to Disneyland would be like getting a root canal.
I don't care for Disneyland either. That is why I live so close to the Walt Disney World Resort. I had a root canal on Friday. I would have rather gone to Disneyland.
Your aversion to fun confuses me.
hardcoalcaseDare I say it (I could get thrown off the Forums for this!)... do you really need a 24' x 40' train room?
No. The current plan is to build a 22 by 12 foot train room in the current house within the existing footprint. I have a track plan. I built a full size mock-up to prove the design would meet my needs.
I would not change the plan much in a larger space, but I would add running distance through rural scenery which the current space does not allow.
riogrande5761What with sea levels rising and Florida in hurricaine country, I think I'll pass.
Sea level rise is real, but it will not be a real problem in my lifetime. Most concrete docks are underwater in Cape Coral at high tide now. When I was in High School the docks stayed 18-24 inches above the water. That was 35 years ago.
We get a lot of hurricanes, but not that much damage, and we are prepared for it.
"Ain't got no worries except the Hurricane Blows" -Micheal McCLoud, Key West
hardcoalcase My wife and I have purchased four houses over the years. When viewing a potential home, she evaluates each room, the yard, the neighborhood, the schools...... I just walk in and think... ok, its gotta a roof, kitchen, and bathroom. Ok, where's the train room? Seriously though, first and foremost - the house is a home, second, a major asset investment, so if there are significant concerns, as you suggest, perhaps this isn't the one. Dare I say it (I could get thrown off the Forums for this!)... do you really need a 24' x 40' train room? Jim
We just spent four days house hunting on Vancouver Island. Our rules are the following.
If there is a line painted on the road it is too busy.
Train room has to be in the house.
Has to be a least 20m above sea level. We were looking at waterfront lots and homes.
Needs to have terrain suitable for all our dogs.
Floors need to be dog-friendly as in no carpet as well as other dog requirements.
We will most likely have to build to suit our needs and that is what we would prefer to do anyway. We found lots of shacks on the ocean where we can live while they build our house. (with the perfect trainroom)
There is no such thing as too big a trainroom, a guy needs breathing room, it is nice to be able to expand if required. If you don't fill it up you can put in a bar/lounge recliners to watch hockey from, a pool table.....
My bar in the trainroom.
I also have my guitars in there to play while the glue dries. I spend a lot of time in the train room so it has to be a nice place to be.
I also have my guitars in there to play while the glue dries.
I spend a lot of time in the train room so it has to be a nice place to be.
Not to split hairs or anything, but it is probably more accurate to say we're really talking about buying a house due to its train room, not buying a house just to get a train room. I mean you also intend to live there.
I think most of us when house hunting had the train location in mind in one way or another. I know we looked at houses that had wonderful basements but the headroom was too low for me to consider using it for trains (I was 6'8" when we were in house hunting mode), or the access to the basement would have been awkward for lumber. Locations of staircases matter too.
Dave Nelson
dknelsonNot to split hairs or anything, but it is probably more accurate to say we're really talking about buying a house due to its train room.
You are correct. I should have been more clear. I am not looking for a house. I am, happy with my current house. This one is just so tempting.
Also, I am currently flirting with a job offer in Janesville, Wisconsin. Maybe my interest in this house is just my subconsience telling me to stay in Florida.
dknelsonwonderful basements but the headroom was too low for me to consider using it for trains (I was 6'8" when we were in house hunting mode),
I feel your pain. I am 6' 7" tall, and the world just is not built for us.
We bought a house in South Florida in 2013. It's our snow bird house. Three bedroom 2 car garage. As soon as we walked in bedroom #3 was more of an office (double door, no closet-more of an office or den) and the wife made the statement: This can be your train room! 12'x13' room just for me and she said that she wants me to have my trains down here just like in NJ. Happy wife, happy life, happy me!
I'm still building the layout, 2 level point to point with a helix, and I work on it whenever I/we go down there. Next visit is in 3 weeks for 4 full days of train nirvana!
Despite it being almost half the size of my NJ layout, I'll still have fun building it. Found a few other people in the development that like model trains (over 55 complex), and the railroad is being designed for 1-3 operators.
These topics always generate interesting replies.
I admit, I'm spoiled. Not just in terms of layout space, but in terms of housing life style issues.
I could not live in some community or sub division that would tell me I could not have a detached garage or outbuilding, or that has any other kind of busy body house nazi's tell me how to live.
I just moved out of a house with a six car detached garage, and a 24 x 40 train room above that garage.
I have a nice big basement under my new to me 1964 rancher, and over 2 acres to build more garage space....
My new train room is bigger, and yes hardcoalcase, I need every sq ft........
The drawings for both the garage and the layout are in the works.
Kevin, sounds to me like this other house has lots of negatives, I would hold off. I don't know anything about housing prices there, but it seems like a lot of money for 2200 sq ft on a slab and a postage stamp lot, garages or no garages.
And how does a house get built in 2004 and need a remodel in 2012? Not in this market up here.
Sheldon
SeeYou190 I feel your pain. I am 6' 7" tall, and the world just is not built for us. . -Kevin .
My parents had friends that were very tall. The parents and three kids were all close to 7'. They had a house built for them with high doorways and ceilings and showers and whatever else they needed. It sold quickly 30 years later to other giants.
Have you ever thought of getting a house built that had what you wanted in it, like a perfect train room?
ATLANTIC CENTRALKevin, sounds to me like this other house has lots of negatives, I would hold off. I don't know anything about housing prices there, but it seems like a lot of money for 2200 sq ft on a slab and a postage stamp lot, garages or no garages.
It does have a lot of negatives. My current house is not perfect, but it does have my wife's dream kitchen. That is probably a deal killer right there.
The price has been coming down since it was listed. I think the original asking price was $440,000.00. I think they thought a car nut would snap it up. However, for that price, a car nut can get a house with a six car garage, lift, and overhead trolley hoist. This one does not have a high enough ceiling to install a lift in the garage. I think the car nuts are out.
I drove by this house probably 1,000 times, and not once were any of the garage doors open. I have no idea what was in there.
For Cape Coral, it is on a HUGE lot. My house is on a double lot, this one is one triple lot. And, it is on a canal, even if it is a non-access waterway. Most new communities build 3,000 sf houses on 0.08 acre lots... YUCK!
The listing says it is lakefront. That is a lie. It is two houses away from the lake.
As far as remodels, in this market if the house rennovation is more than 6 years old it is dated and unwanted. Nearly all houses get gutted immediately after purchase. That is those where the whole house does not get removed. My current house will most likely be bulldozed by the next owner. It is too small for this neighborhood now.
If this one gets down to $350,000.00, then I might be even more interested.
For now, I will hold off on viewing the house.
BATMANHave you ever thought of getting a house built that had what you wanted in it, like a perfect train room?
I am sure you have read posts of mine where I mention the "Dream House Layout" that I built in N scale.
I did design and build my own house once. It had an upstairs just for the layout, workshop, and CTC room.
The whole thiing was a disaster from beginning to horrible end. I will never build a new house again. Rennovation/remodel is a much better option.
BATMANWe just spent four days house hunting on Vancouver Island.
Brent, I assume you decided against the house with the indoor pool? If I remember correctly, weren't you wondering if the room could be changed into a layout room? Did you give up on that idea?
York1 John
Three decades back, I sort of burned out trying to make my 26' square layout function, so I decided to sell privately with layout included. I had found a sweet deal for 6 acres about 20 minutes north. Now I could design the perfect house for an MR which I did....it was a 40'x 80' (foot print) ranch house with living quarters in the 3200 sq. ft. downstairs with the train room being on the upper level with stairs in center. The lower level would have had an ample amount of windows on one side as it was on a steep grade. The upper level had no windows except artisically installed T-111 paneling. All lighting was to be through skylights and hanging spots. There was to be a large door on one side to allow materials to enter. I should comment that I had just retired at age 49 after selling my business and had made up my mind to play choo choo for my remaining years.
Well things changed....'could not sell the house, no real estate agent would list it with the railroad intact, so I pulled the plug and built my first addition which more than doubled the layout size. Then 7 years later I built another which again increased the size to almost 3000 sq. ft. I was about to add yet another addition, but looking in a mirror one day realized my age. It would have been great fun, though. Of course I did much of the work myself and having a good friend with a backhoe did not hurt. I also did all of the drawings and got the county approvals which saved a bunch. No, I'm not a multi-millionaire, but with some creative accounting with some professional help was able to pull this off. If I had any intention of later selling the house, I never would have done this as of course I could never recoup my funds put into this venture....so believing my favorite saying....."Life is not a dress rehearsal"...all was quite easy for me.
If you are in an area with basements and are buying a new house and of course are an MR, think only ranch house with a full basement.
York1 BATMAN We just spent four days house hunting on Vancouver Island. Brent, I assume you decided against the house with the indoor pool? If I remember correctly, weren't you wondering if the room could be changed into a layout room? Did you give up on that idea?
BATMAN We just spent four days house hunting on Vancouver Island.
We went by to have a second look at it on this trip (Tuesday) because it needed a whole house reno and we knew that. Just as we pulled up the realtor said it had been sold. It had been on the market for a very long time and we are more keen on building a West Coast designer home that has everything my wife and I require. Pools make houses hard to sell up here where they get limited use.
We really want waterfront so I can do a morning paddle by just walking out the front door. Nothin like it.
We looked at a few waterfront lots very similar to this one. Some had newer houses on them and some had dumpy cottages. The ones with the cottages we preferred so that we can live in the cottage while our house is built.
This is very close to my cousin's waterfront house on the island which is where the photos I posted in the diner were taken.
An hour up the coast from Victoria is beautiful and much more sparsely populated.
We are going to cash in our real estate lottery ticket and buy a house on Vancouver Island like the one above for half of what we will be selling ours for.
This is the kind of house we like.
http://www.keithbakerdesign.com/
It's a no brainer.
So where are all the environmentalist wackos that should be railing about the wastfullness of remodeling perfectly good houses after only 8 years of use?
Our old house we just put on the market could use a few things, but we renovated and restored it 24 years ago. And most of it still looks great. OK, someone might want to freshen up a bath or two, or paint different colors, and the outside could use a new paint job. But again, it's been 24 years......
We only paid $375,000 for the new to us 2400 sq ft house over top of 1700 sq ft of train room (basement), a two car garage and 2.3 acres that we can actually use as we please........to build a detached garage. Actually, a significant percentage of the homes in our area have deteched garages and out buildings.
In a nice neighborhood, with a small community lake, community playground/beach, no HOA fees, no HOA rules, 8 minutes from a small town rated one of the best places to visit by Smithsonian Magazine.
Yes, I thought I wanted out of Maryland until I hear some of these stories.......
Brent, good luck with your venture, hope you find the perfect spot.
We sure found the perfect spot for us.
Our house is 17 years old, and now a bit the worse for wear...will sell as a fixer upper.
After at least one of the boys gets out...yes, I want to have a new ranch house built with a full basement--and you can do that a couple blocks away from where we are now--if you have $275,000. Some of the lots have a view of the former PRR Rockville Bridge--from above on the hill--but those are sold and those homes were not $275,000.
John
I changed the title of this thread to be closer to the actual topic I intended.
SeeYou190Also, I am currently flirting with a job offer in Janesville, Wisconsin.
Do you think you could live up here in snow country? We never did get a hot summer this year, no "dog days of August", maybe one, but that's it. Spring didn't arrive until June, some summer in July, and now August is cool, I keep waiting for the furnace to start during the night.
I'm about 30 miles from Janesville.
Mike.
My You Tube
mbinsewiDo you think you could live up here in snow country? We never did get a hot summer this year, no "dog days of August", maybe one, but that's it. Spring didn't arrive until June, some summer in July, and now August is cool, I keep waiting for the furnace to start during the night.
I don't know. This job would require 30-35 weeks a year of travel, most of it international. Almost no travel Thanksgiving through the end of Feburary.
That means I would be gone for all the good weather, then need to hole-up in Wisconsin for the worst of winter. My entire family is from the Madison area, and a lot of them are still up there. My wife's family is all from the Chicago area.
There is a good offer that has been presented to me. I still have not seen the corporate travel policy or benefits package, so that is one of the hold-ups.
I have been with my current employer for 29 years. This new job is exactly what I am doing now, only for a much smaller company. I am not sure how I feel about that.
I would not be required to relocate to Wisconsin until 2021.
The Zillow listing says room for a pool. Really? A kiddy pool maybe, on that little lot. In the front, because it looks like there's about 6 feet outside the back door before you fall in the canal.
It appears there IS a lift in the one garage from the pictures. And the listing is also claiming it IS high enough for a lift.
As for needing a remodel after 8 years - never underestimate the materiality of some people. "But it's 8 years old, I want the NEW stuff!"
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
rrinker The Zillow listing says room for a pool. Really? A kiddy pool maybe, on that little lot. In the front, because it looks like there's about 6 feet outside the back door before you fall in the canal. It appears there IS a lift in the one garage from the pictures. And the listing is also claiming it IS high enough for a lift. As for needing a remodel after 8 years - never underestimate the materiality of some people. "But it's 8 years old, I want the NEW stuff!" --Randy
Yes, I saw the lift too.
After 25 years of rural bliss, I could never live in the cookie cutter subdivision on a postage stamp like that.
I don't want to be that close to that many people.....
The floor plan does not suit my lifestyle either, but that's another story........
Well Kevin, they have basements up north if you take the new job.......
I have always found your dream house, dream layout story interesting, not really understanding what went wrong there.
I too would rather remodel than build new, but my reasons have a lot to do with my knowledge of construction. To build a new house to my specs, way too expensive. My new to me 1964 house was really a bargain.
On a related topic, changing jobs, I never worked for someone else for more than about 4 years, and have been self employed for 30 of my 44 adult years.
I can't even imagine working for some big company for 29 years, nor could I travel like you do.
I'm not sure they have printed enough money yet to motivate me to spend 35 weeks a year traveling for work.
So good for you since it appears to be your kind of thing, and good luck no matter what you decide.
dknelson Not to split hairs or anything, but it is probably more accurate to say we're really talking about buying a house due to its train room, not buying a house just to get a train room. I mean you also intend to live there. I think most of us when house hunting had the train location in mind in one way or another. I know we looked at houses that had wonderful basements but the headroom was too low for me to consider using it for trains (I was 6'8" when we were in house hunting mode), or the access to the basement would have been awkward for lumber. Locations of staircases matter too. Dave Nelson
LOL. In my youth and vigor, I too was 6'8" tall. I tell folks now that I am gathering in the middle, as I now stand 6'7" but am much wider.