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Hellraiser97

Certifiably Surly
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Posts posted by Hellraiser97

  1. You have to pay taxes on Amazon purchases in Texas because they have s physical presence here in the form of a huge distribution facility. That's been the standard. 
    As noted above its been the policy that the consumer was obligated to voluntarily pay sales tax to the proper taxing entities. Of course no one does. The policy was set when internet sales were very modest and it wasn't worth the effort. 
    Its been a while tho. The truth is, this policy change is waaaaaaay overdue. 
    I think there are some sales thresholds though so that some guy selling a cd on "the eBay" won't be affected. 
    Doesn't this go back to catalog sales? You were only required to collect sales tax in the state or states that you had s physical presence. The rest was on the consumer

    I do not like OU

  2. 8 minutes ago, jimmyjazz said:

    I'll bite . . . how so?

    If I get unlazy, I'll dig it up the article I read about it, but essentially it goes like this:

     

    1) You have to use those 'reusable' bags like you buy at HEB something like 250 times before the environmental impact of them is a net positive over the disposable ones.  It's like the Christmas tree real vs fake debate.  You need to use the fake one for 30 years before you're helping the environment.  People just aren't doing that.  You run to HEB and forget your bags or leave them in the car.  You tear them or just get them nasty and toss them out, well before the break even number.  I bet we've purchased 50 of them in the three years we've lived here, maybe more.

    2) Instances of salmonella poisoning have increased significantly.  They technically can still give you the disposable ones for meat, but a lot of people use the reusable ones, or put the disposable one inside it.  

    3) There was a much better solution that was completely ignored.  There's a plastic made from vegetable oil.  They use it at the AT&T conference center for the disposable drinking cups.  Once wet, it fully dissolves in something like 72 hours.  They can and do make disposable bags out of it., though they are more expensive of course than the traditional ones. If they had mandated using bags made from that for any disposable bags, points 1 & 2 are irrelevant, but that would have made too much fucking sense and didn't read as well with groups like the 'Campaign for the Environment.'

     

     

    • Like 2
  3. 29 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

    that is all true, but the developer isn't leaving meat on the bone.  They will max out the site per the code to get as much return as possible, regardless what it does to the neighborhood (good or bad).  They aren't being altruistic, it is a business. 

    Replacing the 1200sq ft Victorian with a three story 3500sq ft home maxing the slab is the norm, not the exception.  And if given the option they would certainly demolish single family homes in the middle of neighborhoods for higher density, it's just more profitable. 

    There are no good guys here..... just no middle - lower class housing and that segment of the population grows every day.

     

    I never said anyone was being altruistic.  The point is that right now, the ONLY thing we can do in many cases is tear down a <1500 sq ft home and build a 2400-3500 sq ft home in its place or a duplex/condo with ~2000/1000.  That house being torn down is barely livable, but we can't replace it with 3-4 <1500 sq ft homes, even if there is enough land to do so.  Very rarely are you seeing a house torn down that doesn't have major structural issues with it, and when you do (like one I recently demoed), while the house might be ok, due to it being built over a build line or something stupid like that, and that getting a variance is damn near impossible, there's no opportunity to do ANYTHING to the home to make it more appealing, etc. 

    To give you how asinine our current code is, I have a project near Shoalmont.  The house is a 900 sq ft 1948 piece of crap that wasn't built particularly well in the first place.  After 70 years of minimal maintenance, nearly pier is rotted out, there's severe mold and the roof is shot.  The lot it is on is 11000 sq ft.  It's deep, but still has about 60' of frontage.  In any normal city, you could put 3-4 housing units on this, with each one in the 1500 sq ft or so range.  That's three additional households not commuting down Mopac and I-35.  And while they obviously wouldn't be priced at $100k each, they'd probably all fall in the $350-500k range.  

    Instead, we're building a 3000 sq ft home on it that will sell for $1.3M.  I'm much rather build four units like I described above, but I can't because minimum lot size is 5750 sq ft, which means I can't split the lot legally into to and even if minimum lot size was not an issue (and most major cities that have minimum lot sizes are in the 3500 sq ft range), we also have minimum 50' fronts on lots (again most major cities have much smaller if they have it), and if that wasn't an issue, it's zoned SF-2, so I can't even put a duplex/condo on it, I can literally ONLY build a single family residence, and at $385k for the lot, it would be impossible to build something any smaller than about 2500 sq ft and actually make a profit.  

    Our existing code is specifically designed to prevent affordable housing.  Don't let anyone tell you any different.  It all goes back to the 1929 plan that segregated the city and pushed all the blacks to the east side.  

    • Like 1
  4. Developers aren’t out to make neighborhoods more affordable or decrease property taxes.  
    And those dumbass bike lanes ain’t going to get used any more than they already are when it’s a hunnert degrees outside. 
    Developers are out to make money. And it's a lot less risky to sell three $350k houses on a lot than 1 $1m house. Restricting development just increases prices and this taxes. Has zero top do with developers. Most of us would love to see lower property taxes as it makes up a good chunk of carry costs.

    On affordability, it's something most of us would like to see, would support initiatives that actually allow for it and would work with in programs that promote it, but the current zoning makes it economically impossible to build anything even remotely affordable to any but the top quartile of income earners in the urban core.

    Sent from my SM-G965U using Tapatalk

  5. My brother is looking for a new tenant for his garage apartment, starting August 15th.  

     

    http://cartymedia.com/duval/

    • Built in 2014
    • Large 12x12 bedroom and 12'x12' livingroom
    • Huge walk in closet (5'x8')
    • 9' ceilings
    • Full kitchen including range, fridge, dishwasher, disposal and microwave
    • Washer, dryer in unit
    • Central Heat and Air
    • Private entrance
    • No smoking; No pets
    • Water/Trash/Gas (water heater only) paid by landlord
    • 1 Block to Hyde Park restaurants, coffee shops and grocery
    • 1 Block to Shipe Park, pool, basketball court and tennis courts
    • 1 Block to #7 bus stop
    • 3 blocks to IF (Intramural Field) UT Bus
    • Street Parking only

    For more information contact:

    Chris Carty
    512-947-4246
    cecarty31@yahoo.com

     

    exterior.jpg

    kitchen_2.jpg

  6. Goiod article on the affordability crisis (which CodeNEXT was supposed to help with):

    https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/news/2018/06/14/as-home-prices-soar-realtors-warn-of-crisis.html

    TLDR:  Median income up 17.5% over 5 years while median home prices are up 42.5%  

    Quote


    As home prices soar, Realtors warn of deepening affordability crisis; is CodeNext the answer? 

    ABOR leader warns, 'We can’t continue to export affordability,' as most homes sold in region are outside Austin

    Austin's soaring home prices are setting records and a local real estate group argues that the city's current land code is making the affordability crunch worse.

    Within Austin city limits, the median price for a single-family home reached an all-time high for the month of May at $389,000, up 4 percent from $375,000 in the same month last year, according a report from Austin Board of Realtors.

    There are more people buying homes but there are fewer homes listed for sale compared to last year. In May, home sales jumped 5.9 percent year-over-year, hitting 1,037. At the same time, the inventory of homes for sale on the market dipped 6.8 percent to 1,533 active listings.

    ABOR put some of the blame for the affordability crisis on the city’s current land development code, which it argues is stifling new housing construction. City Council is reviewing the third draft of CodeNext, a massive effort to rewrite the city’s land development code for the first time in 40 years.

    “Our current market imbalance in Austin is made worse by an antiquated land development code that places unnecessary constraints on building the number and variety of homes our community needs,” said Steve Crorey, 2018 president of the Austin Board of Realtors, in a statement.

    “Austin’s lack of housing choices disadvantages first-time homebuyers, families with children, and middle and lower-income buyers. Coupled with rapid population growth, it’s driving an affordability crisis that leaves many residents looking for homes far from job centers and essential services," he added.

    The rapid rise of home prices is outpacing income growth for Austinites. In the past five years, Austin-Round Rock median family income increased 17.5 percent, according to data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, while median homes prices increased 42.5 percent, according to ABOR.

    Escalating home prices within Austin city limits continue to push homebuyers into the suburbs, such as Pflugerville, Del Valle and Manor. Last month seven in 10 homes sold within the five-county MSA were sold outside of Austin city limits, ABOR found.

    “We can’t continue to export affordability beyond Austin city limits,” Crorey said.

    Focus on 'missing middle housing

    ABOR is part of the Evolve Austin coalition, which generally supports a CodeNext process that would boost density and transit-oriented development along major roads.

    Emily Chenevert, ABOR’s CEO, said she wants Council to start its CodeNext deliberations using the Planning Commission’s recommendations, which include support for accessory dwelling units and increased occupancy limits in residential areas.

     

    The fact that Council this week started talking about trying to boost the city's housing stock is an encouraging sign for so-called “missing middle” housing, Chenevert said.

    “That middle-density product is something that we continue to strive for more of,” she told Austin Business Journal. “It’s the element that we lack the most.”

    Chenevert said she’s optimistic and hopeful that Council will approve a version of CodeNext this summer.

    “Our community deserves better than an out-of-date plan that doesn’t meet today’s needs,” she said in reference to the current land development code.

    Here are some other key stats from May’s monthly housing report:

    • Overall in the Austin Round Rock MSA, the median price of a single-family home increased 4.8 percent year-over-year to $325,000, up from $310,000 in May 2017.

    • Home sales increased 4.2 percent year-over-year in the Austin-Round Rock MSA to hit 3,210 sales in May compared to 3,080 sales a year earlier.

    • Inventory within Austin city limits shrunk to two months of supply — in other words, it would take two months to sell all of the homes currently listed in Austin at the current rate. A balanced market typically would have at least six months of supply.

    • In the Austin-Round Rock MSA, housing inventory was 2.7 months in May, down from 2.8 months in May 2017.

     

     

    • Like 1
  7. Late change of plans and it looks like we are going to Chicago to visit friends for the last week of July.  I've been to Chicago once for work in January.  That sucked ass.  I'm told Chicago is awesome though, and that either it has beaches or there are beaches reasonably close.  My 6yo and 3yo want a beach as part of the summer vacation, so I'm trying to accommodate.  What does Surly recommend?  (besides drinking heavily, which is a given).

  8. I'm not worried about my retirement (socially/work, financially might be a different story), I'm the type that is always involved in something, Church, Texas Exes, whatever, so I'm sure I'll find something to keep me social and keep my brain engaged.  My father on the other hand, I don't know what to do with him. 

     

    He's 73 and literally, I think his brain is atrophying and has been for some time.  He last held a full time job when he was 49.  He got laid off and financially secure enough that he could just do some consulting on the side, which he did on and off for about 8 years.  He finally admitted he was retired around 2002.  His last full time job was as CFO of a fairly large jewelry manufacturer.  He got canned shortly before it went in the toilet.  He could have found another full time job and worked easily another 10 years at his max earning capacity, but like I said, he didn't need to.  Instead, he and my mom bought a travel trailer and they traveled anywhere from 3-6 months a year as the consulting became less and less.  They loved those trips and as he likes to tell it, hit 46 of the lower 48, plus several parts of Canada.


    I could see that his mental capacity was decreasing even then.  Outside of managing his investments and planning his next trip, he just didn't have any intellectual stimulation.  He eventually started volunteering with the AARP to do taxes (he's a CPA).  That's good, but it's only about 6 weeks total a year.  Part of me has always felt that it was a mistake for him to retire so early, regardless of how much they enjoyed their travel, but then my mom died about 2 years ago.  She'd been sick for close to 2 years (F Cancer).  In retrospect, if he had worked until 65, they'd have been a hell of a lot richer, but they would have only had 2-3 years of travel time. 

    Would his brain be in better shape? Almost definitely, but is that worth not having those nearly 20 years of travel? If he was objective enough to admit what's going on with his brain, I think he'd say it was worth it.

    The question though is what to do with him now?  He's spent 2 years liquidating his house in anticipation of moving .... somewhere.  He wants to be near a university so he can attend cultural and intellectual things, but he really doesn't like Austin, where he actually would have a good in on those things.  My brother and I have contemplated involving him more in our business (Home building), but he doesn't want a full time job and frankly with his speed, or lack there of, combined with his propensity to launch into hour long stories, I'm not sure we could survive his help!  He alternatively berates us for 'never taking his advice' or 'not asking for his help', when in reality we did ask for his help a couple times and only once was he really interested.  

    So, yeah, not sure what to do with him.  Haven't read through this thread yet as its fairly long, but I'm going to and see if maybe I can pick up some ideas.  I fell like his brain would recover if he were simply engaged in something, as his physical health is largely fine.

     

     

  9. Just started reading Mistborn since I liked Sanderson's finish out of Wheel of Time.  Not far enough in to have an opinion yet.

     

    Also listening to Steamborn, mainly because for one Audible Credit, I got three books and it was well rated.  First 6-7 chapters seemed kind of boring, but its picked up and I like the Steampunk setting.

  10. 11 hours ago, Keflex said:

    Yep, I finished it up last week.   It's a shame that Jordan passed away.  I was wanting to get more stories about the Seanchan and Shara.

    Yeah Sanderson is a god.   If you haven't read his Cosmere novels you need to start.  It's amazing how quickly he pumps out books with such quality.  Rothfuss and GRRM  need to take some lessons from him on how to plan out your novels.

    Sanderson said he had enough material that he could have done 3 more books out of what became the last book.  Part of me would have liked to of seen that, but it probably just would have been too much.  It's a shame Jordan never did the other two prequels.  A lot of people were expressed interest in books from the 4th age, but I'm glad its not going to happen.  While it could be cool, I remember what happened with Dragonlance and how bad those novels got.

    10 hours ago, SimonBolivar said:

    I started Wheel of Time a couple hours ago...be back in 10 years. Actually I'm not into it after first chapter but gotta get further along.

    It took a bit for me to get into it and frankly, I wasn't completely hooked even at the end of the first book.  I liked it, but it just didn't seem anything overly special.  I could have stopped there and been satisfied.  Ultimately, based on the reputation, and my desire to have something to occupy my time in the car for the next 2 years, I pushed through.  Very glad I did, thought reading nearly straight through, there are plenty of spots where it seems repetitive or it just drags.  Overall though, I think its worth the investment.

  11. And just finished the Wheel of Time.  Man, that was a great read!  I thought Sanderson did a great job.  He tied up just about everything.  I googled one thing from the end and found a chat he did at torbooks.  Turns out most of the things he left open ended Jordan had left in his notes that that was supposed to be that way!

    • Hook 'Em 1
  12. On 5/6/2018 at 7:56 PM, TKthunder2 said:

    Took me from middle March of last year till right before a Christmas to finish the entire WOT series straight through.  My only complaint was that it dragged really bad towards the end of Robert Jordan section but the last book he wrote and the final 3 that Sanderson finished we’re amazing and made it all worth it.

    Yeah, as I got through the last of the Jordan Books, I had to listen to one, then take a break and listen to something else, between each one.  Just seemed a lot of repetition of scenarios and I found myself saying "Not this shit again!"  Still liked them, but hard to do back to back.  I've been listening to the series for about a year and a half or so now.  It's something like 400+ hours.

  13. On 5/1/2018 at 8:44 AM, Keflex said:

    True.  It's taken me about 6 months, but I'm on the last WoT book now.   I'll probably do the Malazan series later in the year.  I haven't read the latest Stormlight Archive novel yet and that's top of my list right now. 

    I'm listening to the last book right now.  

     

    Spoiler

    I expected it would be pretty in depth, but damn, I had no idea that the Last Battle would end up so detailed!  I'm only 50% through.  I thought it was almost done since I'm on chapter 37, but then I saw there are something like 15 parts of it!  I've never seen a fantasy battle described in such detail before.  It's pretty amazing

     

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