Quit looking at tract homes, and find a custom home builder. Even a tract home, you can get upgrades on.
If you can't afford to build a custom home, you have no one to blame, except yourself.
Heh, perhaps.
I have lived/worked in the land of Harvard, Yale, MIT, cash galore, and now live in the land of many who did not even get their diploma's and now farm, raise cattle, hunt for food, and do whatever they can for a living. Oddly, its very much the same in both locations.
You can see in the media regularly "Jennifer Aniston seen shopping at Wal-Mart". It is not an issue of wealth or location. Its greed and human nature. Although those two things are virtually one in the same.
Mark
Think: demographics, now and a generation ago.
A generation ago, people bought a house expecting to live there for 10, 20 years or more. Today it more like 2-3 years. In a way, a basement is for long term storage, and moving things in and out every couple years is not desirable.
In many areas of the southwest, garages are a recent feature. Prior to about the 1980's, carports were considered adequate.
Surveys show people want basements, but they also show people are unwilling to pay the premium required to build them. This is more a matter of tastes and demographics than any form of "greed".
In short, people pay less attention to the WHAT of a home, than the WHERE (closer to work, schools) and basements are wayyyy down on the list.
Build a house with a basement and, say, 1800 sqft for $340K, and a house for $300K, and 2000sf, and the $300K house will sell first, often by weeks or months, especially in the dense cookie-cutter developments.
Custom homes are quite different.
People used to speak of it as Cadillac tastes with a Chevy budget.
Note: AKA champagne tastes and a beer budget, but premium beer costs as much as some champagne these days :~(
Basements require proper techniques to keep them dry and many builders won't go to those lengths and/or don't have skilled crews to do the work. If you look at older homes, it seems some got the basement right and some didn't. A common complaint in new homes now is water in the basement. There are many products that seem designed to keep it out temporarily, but long term, it comes down to a building co's skill and attention to detail.
"Greed" being defined as, what?, people getting the most bang for their buck?
BTW, why is someone WORKING to make a better/more secure life "greedy", but politicians and parasites demanding more in taxes "benevolent public interest"?
From
Main Entry: greed Pronunciation: 'grEd Function: noun Etymology: back-formation from greedy : a selfish and excessive desire for more of something (as money) than is needed
In the context of my my posts this would mean throuh greed people are solely looking to pay as little as possible regardless of the total costs. These are mostly people who know full well there are serious short, long, global, and local, negative consequences linked directly to their actions yet they do it anyway for personal benefit. Its called a lack of social conscience but it is manifsted through greed.
Sticking with the Wal-Mart/Anniston model, many who shop there are not ignorant to Wal-Mart's well established business model with regards to human resources, employee compensation, global market practices, vendor practices, its in the news daily. Yet people like Jennifer Aniston, who by far has the resources to shop at far more conciencious outlets, shops there by choice.
With her bajillion dollars in the bank she smiles cutely at the cashier as she hands the cashier her gold card knowing full well that the cashier likely has no paid vacation, no paid sick days, may full well be intentionally held at weekly hours _just below_ full time in an well publicized effort by Wal-Mart to not pay full time benefits, barely exists on their wages, on and on. Forget about the global ramifications of Wal-Mart bankrolling manufacturing overseas where they dump waste straight into the river, in holes in the ground, child labor, and the like. For 20 years now we have been bickering back and forth that what other countries do to their country side should be no concern of ours. Yet now atmospheric studies are showing clearly that the waste plume leaves Chinese air space within hours and is over the west coast of the US in days. Western China has, and will continue to have, some of the cleanest air on the planet. Ironic that the very waste plume from our low cost goods is actually raining back down on the rockies. So much for the outa sight outa mind philosophy.
The Jennifer Aniston's of the world, and the vast majority of the rest of us, are well aware of these issues and have the means to shop elsewhere but choose not to. Forget about the fact that the consumer is willing to accept low quality (or dilludes themselves into thinking it is quality), thats fine. You can buy junk all you want. Where will the the social conscience of the worlds major retailers, and the customers who gobbled up the low cost goods, be for the numerous cancer pods
50,000 strong and more each caused by effluent outflows from manufacturing facilities constructed to feed our greed for more. Multiply China by what 20, 30, or so other countries where we are doing the same thing? We already did all this to our own country and have been cleaning it up for 75 years. Now, because lord knows we cant act responsibly and learn from our mistakes, we are doing it elsewhere but we sleep soundly because we arent actually "doing it", they are doing it to themselves.These are the exact reasons why the very politicians and taxes you whine about exist, because we are too selfish, greedy, and irresponsible, to police ourselves and behave in a responsible manner. We cant even manage that locally, forget about globally. You are the very reason these laws and taxes exist, we all are. Its why there are laws about beating your children, chaining your dog, speed limits, drugs, dumping trash, murder, j-walking, sending your children to school. Christ! We have to make it _a law_ to send your children to school! People have to be TOLD to send their children to school and you are wondering why we have politicians and laws?!?! Hell, there ARE people out there who believe(d) that chaining your children in the basement should be an acceptable form of punishment. These people have to be told otherwise by the government and the laws it creates. After that vast amounts of taxes need to be collected to pay the dog officer, cops, EPA, DHS, DHHR, BATF, NEA, and so on.
Its very simple, if you want less government just make the EPA go away. Companies should have been smarter and not polluted rivers, lands, and air. The EPA wouldnt even exist if we were a responsible lot. There would be no need for the EPA. But greed makes people dump into the river rather than go through the expense of proper disposal hence an enforcement agency is born out of the citizens irresponsibility. The same for Unions, OSHA, Labor Laws, Corporate laws, NEA/Education, DHHR, on and on. Dont force miners into the mines without safety equipment and a law wont have to be created that mandates it for you. But greed prevails. It always does. Its human nature. Laws, and taxes to enforce them, soon follow.
Mark
I had a realestate agent come to look over my property, not for immediate sale, but because I wanted to make sure the changes I make don't divert too radically from the marketplace. The problem with the industry is that everything is reduced to a "national market" where everyone is presummed to have the same tastes and preferences. All buyer personalities are reduced to a uniform corporate mold. Also, the realestate computer listing system seems to favor new homes and recently developed neighborhoods. The search criteria is really crude, and so property values favor the newer over the old, it seems to me. The realestate agent doesn't seem to have professional skills in terms of matching buyers with sellers, really, it seems from my observation. Builders do their best to reduce costs, which means a slab foundation, 2 story building, on a tiny lot. I agree with you though, none of these things are what I want in my house. I like a raised foundation, single story, and large lot. In the long run, I'm pretty sure my tastes will better the average marketplace profit, as we have purchased a large lot on the waterfront with deep water access, and a single story ranch style house, which I'm currently fixing up. One thing is for sure though, now is NOT the time to sell.
Take that elitist/collectivist "social conscience" crap and stick it where the sun don't shine.
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