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A sheet of 4 X 8 plywood BEFORE COVID was $8.

Last week-—cheapest sheets in Lowe’s were $24.

You want to demand minimum wages which DO NOT ALIGN with SKILLS. AND NO ONE wants to work STEADY & PRODUCTIVELY. NOT dependable & drugs always an issue. HIGH Workmen’s Comp insurance.

Trucks for construction workers are $$$$$$ expensive & NOT reliable.

When Covid hit-—I was offered OBSCENE amounts of money for my truck which was 45 Years old THEN. I refused to sell it-—I NEED IT. STILL NOT SELLING & have had recent inquiries.

Gas to get to jobs sites is off the charts. TOOLS are not as reliable as some I have had for over 50 years. I have lots of tools from doing so much MYSELF.

PERMITS TAKE FOREVER & ARE MORE EXPENSIVE THAN EVER.

EVERY SINGLE ASPECT of building a house is NUTS -—AND the contractor needs to make his profit, also.

THEN -—THE LOCAL state/county/city property taxes are obnoxious. Schools stink-—not teaching anything & kids are bullied all too often.

There are older/smaller homes that can be restored/and saved, but today’s kids want the best-— the most-—right out of school. IT doesn’t help that so many cities have let their criminals get out of control & areas that used to be decent are now NO GO places.

I bought my first house in SO CALIF in 1966 (built in 1953)—for $25,250 and the mortgage payment was exactly $1 more than my payment on a 2nd story 2 bedroom Unfurnished apartment. Assumable Fixed loan. I was making about $6 an hour-—if that. Bought washer/dryer—used. Bought stove-—still have it. WESTERN HOLLEY...

I PAINTED-—inside & out.

I caulked windows.

I hung window equipment for curtains.

I DID landscaping & maintenance-—planted trees-lemon-avocado-Italian cypress—flowers. EVEN GREW TOMATOES.

I found a concrete contractor who would do 5 driveways—3 on one side of the street—adjacent & 2 on other side-adjacent-—ALL ON THE SAME Day— peel up the asphalt/remove & regrade as necessary——and it was about 1/2 price because we 5 all got together & did the UPGRADE. At the same time. EVERYBODY WON. CONTRACTOR was delighted. Concrete trucks just kept coming from Bonanza.

I traded sprinkler installation for bookkeeping services.

I added a better heating system-—traded for bookkeeping services.

I installed better carpet with a local guy—price was right.

I took care of that property.

I found roommates I could trust & who were grateful to have a room-— cooking privileges-—laundry-—parking—and company at a reasonable cost. Mostly —guys I knew from drag racing and they were great company. I got car repairs & assistance at no cost !!!! They also TAUGHT me ALOT. I still can do simple maintenance on my truck & car & horse trailer.

I refinanced that property for $125,000 paid off some items-—but bought a foreclosure in N Calif for $105,000. 5 acres & log house...less than 2 years old. Rented it out log house & sold 1st property 2 years later.

Bolted SO CALIF in 1993-—I NO LONGER FELT SAFE. Went to N Cal PROPERTY-—— empty at that time...with 3 horses & 1 dog.

I cleaned up that 5 acres-—used UP 7 Chains on Stihl chain saw & used into the 13th gallon of chain oil. Added fencing/ cross fencing/gates,shelters, etc. Didn’t buy wood for LOPI stove for 7 1/2 years. Cut it myself. NEVER HAD HELD A CHAIN SAW PRIOR.

Sold it for about $370,000. Liberals were FLOODING N CALIF rural areas. NOT my cup of tea.

Had enough profit to buy current property for CASH. 5+++ acres/brand new house/well/septic/power. Added garage/gravel & Fencing/ cross fencing ==12 enclosures for horses. Moved here with 6 horses & 3 dogs. Spent 13 straight 7 day weeks designing & building fences. Over 2 1/2 MILES of hot wire.

Property taxes under $1000. Power UNDER $100 a month. Propane $2.50 a gallon for heat-cooking-hot water. Rural/quiet/good neighbors. Nearest 7-11 is over 25 miles.
NO street lights. NO SIDEWALKS. Wild horses (protected by BLM) wander by with new babies every year. GOOD neighbors who watch out for each other. Skills are traded.

IF someone tried to buy this-—I wouldn’t even consider a penny under $450,000-—maybe even more.

I am not subject to IMPULSE buying-—so I do NOT spend a lot of $$$. O cell phone—NO pay tv since 1993—No new cars—and clothes—NO DELIVERED MEALS.

If most these ‘graduates’ today could see MY budget they would think I am pretty dull-—MAYBE I AM.

BUT I OWN EVERYTHING. ALL MINE.....I am 84 now & STILL FEMALE.

WITH a high school education & 4 years of night school taking Accounting classes—with 4.0 grades & full time job.