@#$%^!!! Have to move!!!

[jrfuda]

As some of y'all know, I have to move every few years, and becuase of this I am a "serial" renter.

Last week our property management company called us and told us that the home owner's daughter's family was moving back to San Antonio and will be moving into the house.

So now we're going to have to move 1-3 years ahead of schedule. We sure are lucky! Oh, and they want us out by June 15th, but our lease is through June 31, and the property manager says they can't make us leave a day sooner than June 31.

So now I have to uninstall all my hard-wired switched, my OTA antenna setup, my video & IR distro system, and my AB8SS/Elk speaker system. I may not have the will nor the means to reinstall them after we move.

I finally got the WAF high and now it's going to go away. We've both really gotten used to the things we have automated. My automation will probably be limited to the living room/home theater when we get where we're going.

We're also expecting our second child (due in October) and we're going to be moving while my wife is 6-months pregnant (just like the last time).

This whole deal really stinks. We've been excellent tenants, in fact, I voluntarilly pay my rent 2-months out (just in case I have a brain-lapse), have never been late, and have probably improved the appearance of the guy's yard 10-fold since we moved in. My wife said she's pulling up all the flowers when we leave :lol:

 

[realolman]

@#$%^!!! ............... tsk, tsk... such language! :lol:

So what's needed is portable automation!



Military people put up with a lot... besides the obvious ... thank you, and your family!

.

 

[jrfuda]

So what's needed is portable automation! :lol:

Thanks.

Yes, wireless everything, and the ability to turn every dumb piece of hardware smart (remember how the lady terminator in T3 could "automate" 'bout anything just by touching it.) I need a magic wand I can wave over all the hardware in any home I move into and make it respond to X10, Insteon, or whatever....

A fella can dream....

 

[upstatemike]

I wonder if X-10 might not be the best choice for on-post housing? Smarthome has slashed the prices on most of their high end X-10 switches and many of them work without a neutral. They are good quality switches which should mitigate some of the normal problems associated with X-10. And since they are so cheap you can just leave them behind next time you move and not feel bad about it.

Icon switches might also be a way to minimize your investment in a temporary situation.

 

[jrfuda]

Icon switches might also be a way to minimize your investment in a temporary situation.

The switches I do have are all Icon. I used to have Zwave too, but I sold it all. The switches are not as big a deal as the speaker and video distro are. Those are the things that will be the biggest hurdle to overcome.

 

[huggy59]

Ah, that sucks, JR, but hang in there. I moved and I own the place, and I still haven't gotten the bug to do it all over again, but I'm starting to make plans...

I wish you luck with the housing situation.

 

[jrfuda]

Thanks huggy.

I think we're starting to move into the acceptance phase. The whole first week we were in denail and even considered buying the place to avoid having to move (the landlord had offered). I did some calculations an determined I'd have to hold the place for 1.3 years to break even after all closing costs and commisions and such. After going around the house and realizing how much work it needs, and considering a few other factors, I decided against it. Given the desperation of the owner's family to move back in, I think they would have asked above market value for the house anyway (even after the deduction for the cost of repairs) to discourage us from buying it, but to come out ahead if we did.

Anyway, The wife and I drove through the on-post housing yesterday afternoon. I saw a lot of sattelite dishes and antenna on poles in yards, so at least that's allowed - I'll still be able to get my 30+ channels of HD OTA and via Dish

 

[jrfuda]

Oh, and this may also be an opportunity to finally changeover to HS 2.0, since I'll be pretty much rebuilding everything anyway

 

[jrfuda]

The house next door to us went up for rent yesterday.

This morning I talked to the property manager and have an appointment to meet with their leasing agent this afternoon.

It sounds like they're going to agree to a 2-year lease and a 10 June move-in date. This will give us 5-days to move from the old house to the new one and be out in time for the owner's requested 15 June move-in date (and we'll get out June rent prorated).

I already have a few volunteers to help with the move, and given the wooden fence between properties, I can remove a panel and move out/in from the old hous to the new from the front and back at the same time.

The only bad thing is the old house has a nice storage shed and the new one does not. It does, however have an uncovered back "porch slab" on which we can erect one of those portable tool sheds Sam's Club sells (like this: http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate....amp;item=196170 ) (that we can take with us or sell when we move). Also, since the remainder of the porch will remain uncovered, we'll have to look into getting some sort of covering for it. Sam's Club also sells a nice offset unbrella ( http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate....amp;item=320205 )and has some screen-ed porch offerings as well....

The new house is also 1700 square feet versus the 1500 of the current one. It had 4 bedrooms versus 3 in the old one as well. It'll be a little more to heat & cool.

So, other than having to take a week off of work, there should not be too much expense associated with the move since it'll be a DIY. It will also give us an opportunity to clear out a bunch of old junk. I'm going to start putting stuff on Ebay and maybe join-in on the next neighborhood yad sale!

 

[huggy59]

Congrats, JR. In some ways I wish my move last year was only next door, but then again, it still would have done in my back! LOL Have fun!! An extra bedroom - oh boy - a workshop for all your HA projects!!!