"100% of people who do not save money do not have any!"--Dave Ramsey

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

The crown bodyline is higher, which led me to think it was taller, since it wouldn't make sense to make the greenhouse taller.

According to U.S. News and World Reports, the Crown is 3.7" taller and 4" longer, with a 1" longer wheelbase, and it weighs 770 pounds more, but has virtually identical interior dimensions, with the Crown actually having rear hip and shoulder room.

Unlike the TARDIS, it's bigger on the outside.

All true - but small changes to the body do not turn a sedan or hatchback into a crossover or SUV. A hatchback becomes a crossover when it is "designed for off-road travel" and there are physical dimensions a vehicle needs to meet to make that jump. Those dimensions are below and a vehicle needs to meet 4 out of the 5 to be a crossover.

(i) Approach angle of not less than 28
degrees.
(ii) Breakover angle of not less than
14 degrees.
(iii) Departure angle of not less than
20 degrees.
(iv) Running clearance of not less
than 20 centimeters.
(v) Front and rear axle clearances of
not less than 18 centimeters each.

I'll give the marketing guys some creative flexibility if their vehicle has ground clearance in the 7 to 8 inch range but less than 6 inches = car.


Those Crown vs Camry interior dimensions are a bit misleading. The Crown uses its extra height to raise the seats to make it easier to get in and out and put children in and out of car seats. So there is no extra headroom above the seat but the Camry is already huge and doesn't need any more. The higher seat also puts the passengers in a more chair-like position so even though the legroom doesn't measurably increase it does have a more comfortable position with more room for legs.

[Xist]

Mom always complains about my sister renting a Camry, claims it had less elbow room, alleges "You couldn't do this, "and then made chicken gestures.

Instead of complaining about her telling the same story over and over, the last time I asked:


I periodically laugh about becoming rich through no fault of my own and paying to have Mom's Camry stretched so my brother has more leg room on road trips.

He never speaks a word of complaint, but nobody else who rides back there is happy!

One thing I liked about my Forester was the back seats reclined, so if he could have legroom and a reclining seat he should be able to nap quietly!

We love it when he is quiet!

[freebeard]

...and then made chicken gestures.

Chicken noises to go with them?

[Isaac Zachary]

In the Avalon I can put my front seat to where I'm comfortable and get in the seat behind it and still be confortable. Personally I like more of a "feet up" seating position, although I will admit it's a bit harder to get in and out of.

Most SUV's I've been in (RAV4, Honda Pilot, Nissan Pathfinder) have a more "dinning room chair" seating position, but not much room to stretch out the ol' legs. That works for short trips, but for distances that take a few hours or more I makes my knees hurt.

Or course a couple of those SUV's were three-rowers. The minivans I've been in usually have more leg room.

[Xist]

Originally Posted by freebeard

Chicken noises to go with them?

No, Mom definitely makes WAH WAH WAH noises, like in "Peanuts."

When I was a kid Mom complained about needing to climb into a truck, but whenever I drive her somewhere I ask if she needs help getting out, so a crossover would be ideal?

[Isaac Zachary]

Originally Posted by Xist

No, Mom definitely makes WAH WAH WAH noises, like in "Peanuts."

When I was a kid Mom complained about needing to climb into a truck, but whenever I drive her somewhere I ask if she needs help getting out, so a crossover would be ideal?

I'd say you need a lowrider with a hydraulically lifting suspension.

[freebeard]

a lowrider Camry with a hydraulically lifting suspension.


https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?...&ipo=images


https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?...&ipo=images

[Xist]

I found a property rental management company up here that charges 10%. I had read they usually charged 8-12% plus fees, so that was better than I expected.

If we rent out this house hopefully that would be enough to buy a house in the Mesa area.

My housing allowance has increased over $1,000 since 2012 and somehow I qualified for a $100,000 loan back then, but supposedly only 41% of my take-home pay can go towards my mortgage, which puts me at $108,000, and the only thing that I can find for that much is one empty lot, although it is only going for $25,000, leaving a whole $73,000 to pay for... utility connections.

I reinstalled the 2002 Civic head, so I am in the home stretch, right?

Right?!

I just cannot imagine making the time to put Chorizo back together, which is a shame.

Mom has pushed me to have her hauled off for years--Chorizo, not Mom.

I guess that I need to finish the portable garage after all, pile everything from the shed on and around Chorizo, finish the drywall, take down the greenhouse, and start moving everything from the house to the dump, a thrift store, and Mesa.

I also want to order my first set of books and start going through them, which I tried to do while working on my undergraduate, a lot of good that did me.

When the heck would I do that?!

[JSH]

Originally Posted by Xist

I found a property rental management company up here that charges 10%. I had read they usually charged 8-12% plus fees, so that was better than I expected.

If we rent out this house hopefully that would be enough to buy a house in the Mesa area.

From this cryptic post it sounds like:

1. You have been accepted to an in-person grad program in Mesa, Arizona
2. The whole family is moving to Mesa
3. You are thinking of renting the house in Show Low and buying another house in Mesa.

Am I correct? If so - congrats.

My property manager charges 10% of rent on a normal month and 50% of the first month's rent. If the house turns over in less than 6 months there isn't another 50% to find a replacement renter.

However, you have to be careful with how much income you expect from the rental. Our properties rent for $1400 a month so the gross rent should be $16,800 a year but in 3 years we have owned it we have only brought in an average of $6500 a year after expenses and we don't even have a mortgage on the property and we have had it rented about 90% of the time.

You have the 10% off the top for the management company. You still have to pay property taxes. You will also have to pay income taxes on any profit you make because you are now a business. Then there is insurance on the property and liability insurance that covers you if the renter or someone else tries to sue you. You will also have some months it isn't rented and you will have to pay the utilities for those months.

You will also have to have a cash buffer on hand because if something breaks you are legally required to fix it in a short period of time (check your local laws), you are going to pay to have the work done, and you can't wait to shop for sales. For example the refrigerator in my rental broke earlier this month and that was $900 out of pocket to get a new one in the unit within 48 hours.

[freebeard]

For example the refrigerator in my rental broke earlier this month and that was $900 out of pocket to get a new one in the unit within 48 hours.

That was my brother's experience when he tried that path to riches. Plus he had to drive to the location in Oregon City.

Was the rental management company involved with the refrigerator?

My parents had better luck remodeling what they were living in. When we were kids we slept in sleeping bags in the family room for months while the upstairs was gutted.

They sold two adjacent properties in McMinnville to build their dome. When the buyer defaulted on the balloon payment, they took them back and let the house at the coast go. But they still had two properties with small shops on the street.