<p>oh. btw, regarding ventilation over the stove, now a days, you can have ventilation fans installted on the side of the stove so you do not need a hood. I am not sure the effectiveness of those design, assuming it is good though.</p>
<p>Those are called downdraft vents. I have this one and it’s ok, not great. Since it vents to the outside under the house, it brings in cold air in the winter and I have to keep the vent covered.</p>
<p>[Jenn-Air®</a> luxury kitchen appliances: Official Site.](<a href=“High-End Home & Kitchen Appliances | JennAir”>High-End Home & Kitchen Appliances | JennAir)</p>
<p>^And aren’t those type of vents much more expensive than conventional hoods?</p>
<p>It depends on where you put them. In my case, I was replacing an existing downdraft cooktop so it was much less expensive to buy another downdraft than to install a hood. I wouldn’t choose to install a downdraft, all other things being equal.</p>
<p>
lol… I found a “cute” one when I was looking for a pad… This is a high rise overlooking at the park on CPW, fully furnished. When I opened the door, the edge barely missed the edge of the twin bed and the corner of the desk. the shower is right behind the door. You have to sit on the bed to use the desk and that is it!.. I said to myself, that is “cute”, but do I want to live like this?</p>
<p>S-1’s first place in Manhattan had a loft double bed. By phone, I asked if he could store anything under it? He said: No; the kitchen, bureau and TV are “under it.”</p>
<p>And I don’t know why everyone pays so much for sunshine. In Buffalo suburbs today, for under 300K, you can easily get a beautiful, well-maintained 4 bedroom colonial with view of the Bills-Steelers game.</p>
<p>*If somebody gets transferred from Alabama to the SF bay area…he better get a very, very large raise… *</p>
<p>Hey, even if we had transferred from Southern Cal to SF Bay we would have needed a very large raise. In SoCal, a nice home can still be had for south of $1Mil. </p>
<p>That said, it was really amazing to move to the South and be able to custom build - something that we could never consider in Calif…unless it was a custom built play house for the kids in the backyard. ;)</p>
<p>*I’ve discovered a lot of properties near walking distance to a beach location with ocean view on a large lot(1/2 acre) in So Cal for twice the price of your McMansion in the South. *</p>
<p>Oh I know. I recently saw my cousin’s new home in Newport Beach. It’s about 1800 sq feet and 4 blocks from the beach…no yard except a small front patio…and they paid 1.7 Mil (which was a deal). One home on the water was $14.X Million. </p>
<p>And, yes, I saw bare lots closer to the waves that were over $1M each…and the few “double lots” were priced unbelievably. </p>
<p>That is amazing…the cost of labor in Alabama must be very low…</p>
<p>Yes and no. It’s a right to work state so factory labor and such is lower. I don’t think the STEM jobs are paying much less. The entry engineers are starting around $60k. </p>
<p>The thing here is that LAND is cheap. In Calif, the majority of your cost was for the land - which is evident when you look at the breakdown of your home’s insurance policy. An insurance company will tell you that your very pricey home can be rebuilt for around $300k (or less!)…cuz the lot will still be there after a fire or whatever.</p>
<p>Here, you can buy a large lot (half acre or more) in an upscale subdivision for under $100k. </p>
<p>The nice thing is that many lower income folks can afford to buy homes since there are homes in the $100k range.</p>
<p>Mom2collegekids…I like your post.</p>
<p>That is a very good pint, m2ck- looking at the value of the land vs the house is very telling.</p>
<p>Another thing to think about is property taxes. To a certain extent, we have found that higher prop taxes make for lower priced housing (measure it in $/ sq ft), and vice versa. Kind of like a bond price and interest rates, but in reverse.</p>
<p>We believe that the cost of housing must include Property Taxes and Home Insurance.</p>
<p>In my neck of the woods, it is cheaper to buy an existing house with a horse acre lot than to build an equivalent one from scratch.</p>
<p>(I’m shocked how bad the light fixtures look in the photos of those fancy homes in the posts above - the typical fake Tiffany builder stock fixtures that we ripped out as soone as we could).</p>
<p>A friends son is getting his PhD at UAB and his fiance is in medical school there. They just bought a bright, cute house on her stipend and his RA salary. They are happy as clams. They didn’t want to go to Alabama at first and now they are thrilled with Alabama.</p>
<p>I’m embarrassed to say I bought a home without a hood. My kitchen is gorgeous, with vaulted ceilings and I never realized it was missing until one night when I needed it. I have since installed a downdraft cooktop, but as others have mentioned, it’s not nearly as efficient as having overhead ventilation system.</p>
<p>Downdrafts are completely ineffectual for the type of cooking I do. I need a real hood with a powerful motor, vented to the outside.</p>
<p>Of course, if I were putting in a new kitchen I’d be putting in a 6 burner professional-type gas stove with a grill and two ovens. I have it all picked out, and it is even a comparative bargain. The brand is American. They have been making restaurant equipment for decades and recently went into residential. I regard Jennair as tinkertoys. </p>
<p>I’m just a tad opinionated on this subject :D. It stems from years of extreme frustration with my current kitchen, which is fine in some ways, but a big problem in others.</p>
<p>Come on, Consolation, give with the brand! I am in the throes of planning a kitchen remodel. Current kitchen has a five burner bosch and a very old 4 burner Jenn Aire on the island, both with down drafts. All together 10 burners. At first, I thought how ridiculous, but have grown to enjoy it. I also know the received wisdom is to put the burners against a wall with overhead venting but I love doing my cooking on the island. It is much more sociable and I like all the counter space for spices and dishes and utensils around me. Have several friends who remodeled and moved the cooktop to the wall and off the island and miss doing their cooking on the island.</p>
<p>*
We believe that the cost of housing must include Property Taxes and Home Insurance. *</p>
<p>Oh yes!!! If you’re buying a $1M house and your property taxes are 1.5% then, yikes, you have to add $15k per year just for prop taxes. </p>
<p>I don’t know how some pay their prop taxes in some areas. When we were going to be transferred to a north suburb of Chicago, I was blown away by how much the property taxes are there. And, I think Texas is also crazy (but they don’t have state income tax there). Long Island also seems to have crazy property taxes. </p>
<p>I’m shocked how bad the light fixtures look in the photos of those fancy homes in the posts above</p>
<p>Yes, that’s a way builders sometimes cut corners. I think it’s because many change those to personalize when they move in. People have been known to replace those, save the old ones, then put them back up when they go to sell so that they can take their pricey chandeliers/fixtures with them to their new homes.</p>
<p>Bet Consolidation is talking about a Wolf stovetop & oven.
</p>
<p>
In CA, you can transfer the proper taxes of your primary residence if you are over 55. Some counties allow it and some don’t.</p>
<p>^
That’s thanks to Prop 60 and 90 which grandfather in your tax base. Only 8 counties allow this.</p>
<p>And that only helps financially if you’re not downsizing. But then again, if you’re downsizing, your property tax would (in theory) be lower unless you’ve owned your current home forever. Property tax bills can vary as much as $20,000 from one house to another depending on what the purchase price was and when the purchase was made. We can thank Prop 13 for that :(</p>
<p>^I think you are making a general statement. I’m not downsizing but I bought my properties in the mid of the 90s recession so it still works for me. I’ve seen house that was much higher in the peak and now has come down 50% or more. In my case, the house would be 25% larger. Again, it depends on the area.</p>
<p>I like prop 13 because your purchase price and your improvements set your prop tax, not your neighbor’s purchase…which may occur years later.</p>
<p>Where I am moving to…I am sure most of my neighbors don’t want my purchase to set their prop tax. </p>
<p>I am taking advantage of prop 60 too. :)</p>