Luxury Problems

[Andrew Joiner]

I'm unraveling a mystery. My neighbors down the street built a huge house during the pandemic. It was a long slow build with lots of expensive materials like a copper roof. It had ornate landscaping on the oversized lot. It was finally completed and sat empty for over a year and no one lived there.

Then a year ago the landscaping was completely torn up and redone with even more elaborate expensive rock work and an artificial stream and waterfall. Still no one had lived there.

I was curious, who can afford to do a project like this? I did some research found out they're a very wealthy couple who live out of state. I think it must be a hobby for them to build this house. It looks like they spent a few days there last summer. Other than that, this "perfect" home has sat empty.

Today I see a Luxury Appliance service truck there. I can only imagine they remotely got notified of a problem and sent them out. They live 1000 miles away. I call that "luxury problems" :)

[Bill Howatt]

I'm out-of-state but you can remove me from the possible list of owners based on "very wealthy" :).
In Ontario, some cities have implemented a Vacant Unit Tax surcharge - an attempt, good or misguided, to help reduce the shortage of housing. I doubt the 1% property tax surcharge would deter people like your neighbors though.

[Jim Becker]

It could just be some wealthy folks who like to change their mind. Or a mobster laundering money. :) :D

[Mike Soaper]

Russian spy safe house?:)

[Tom M King]

Sounds like money laundering to me.

[Andrew Joiner]

Sounds like money laundering to me.

So the Luxury Appliance service truck is probably working on remotely controled money washing machines. Mystery solved!

[Andrew Hughes]

I would wager a box of good cigars they work for the government. Money wasters

[Patty Hann]

When your net worth is in the stratosphere, you can't have too many luxury houses (or jets, or yachts...)

[Jim Koepke]

I would wager a box of good cigars they work for the government. Money wasters

If I were a cigar smoker I'd take you up on that.

Most government workers don't make enough money to waste it in such a manner. Of course, it could be a Congress person or a Senator trying to hide bribe money.

jtk

[Rob Luter]

I'm out-of-state but you can remove me from the possible list of owners based on "very wealthy" :).
In Ontario, some cities have implemented a Vacant Unit Tax surcharge - an attempt, good or misguided, to help reduce the shortage of housing. I doubt the 1% property tax surcharge would deter people like your neighbors though.

I was out in Vancouver BC last year and they have a real issue with that. There is a major shortage of affordable housing. A one bedroom rental is about $3K monthly and going up. There are thousands of vacant properties in the city that were built by Asian nationals as hedge investments. Whole highrise buildings sit dark at night. A local told me that the government levied a modest vacant unit tax on the owners in an attempt to get them occupied. When you're wealthy enough to buy a multi million dollar condo, a 1% surcharge is like a rounding error. There was talk of a law in development that would require the owners to either occupy the property or make it available for lease.

[Steve Demuth]

I have no interest in cigars, good or otherwise, and I don't gamble, but I'd take your bet with odds that you're wrong. Working for government is no way to get rich at the "I can afford a luxury home that I never use" scale. Actually drawing a civil service paycheck will make you at best, upper middle class comfortable, with only a few exceptions - football coaches at state universities being one of the more outrageous examples.

Contracting to the government, on the other hand, works out very nicely for some people. The wealthiest people in our county, e.g., got to be multimillionaires doing road construction and maintenance for the government - basically, hauling rock and mixing concrete. They might well own such house. None of the people who draw a government check, local, state, or Federal, in our county would come close.

More broadly, none of the actually rich people I know (quite a few, through my own work as an executive in the tech industry), got their dollars by working for the government.

[Ron Citerone]

I have a cottage in a modest bay beach town in NJ. There are about 60 houses there. Hurricane Sandy wreaked havoc on the town and we are threatened by worsening erosion and flooding. For some reason two houses were sold some years back. They were basically torn down and rebuilt way bigger than the original cottages. They dwarf all the original houses in size and quality. Nobody ever uses them, they go unused year after year. Andrew, I don’t get it either.

[Peter Mich]

Agree wholeheartedly with you Steve.

[Andrew Hughes]

I have no interest in cigars, good or otherwise, and I don't gamble, but I'd take your bet with odds that you're wrong. Working for government is no way to get rich at the "I can afford a luxury home that I never use" scale. Actually drawing a civil service paycheck will make you at best, upper middle class comfortable, with only a few exceptions - football coaches at state universities being one of the more outrageous examples.

Contracting to the government, on the other hand, works out very nicely for some people. The wealthiest people in our county, e.g., got to be multimillionaires doing road construction and maintenance for the government - basically, hauling rock and mixing concrete. They might well own such house. None of the people who draw a government check, local, state, or Federal, in our county would come close.

More broadly, none of the actually rich people I know (quite a few, through my own work as an executive in the tech industry), got their dollars by working for the government.
Don’t play dumb you know who I meant. Politicians that don’t have to worry about filling taxes.
The whole family business model is vacuuming money.

[Andrew Joiner]

The couple that owns the house do not work for the government. I live in a scenic area so it's common for people to own vacation homes here. Only about 50% of the homes in my area are occupied by the owners year round.
The home in my original post is an unusual example. The property taxes are $13K a year on an empty house:confused:

Two other neighbors are more typical. They own (mostly vacant) homes with property taxes in the $6K range. They stay in them 10 to 20 days a year.
I'm a frugal retired guy, so this stuff amazes me.

[Stan Calow]

When I was a kid in the '60s, it was common for working class neighbors (auto plant, steel plant, etc.) to have a vacation home on Lake Ozark. Now, I have enough trouble keeping up one home. Some people have too much money. If I was only going to stay in a home in a resort area for 10-20 days a year, I'd rent something.

[andrew whicker]

I think your underestimating how many wealthy people there are AND how wealthy those people are.

I do work in ski resort areas and mountain towns. People here own 2 million dollar houses, w/ HOA's, don't use AirBnB's to fill it when they're gone, spend $10k's on upgrades every year and use this house a few weeks out of the year.

Maybe there's a few politicians doing it (statistically there has to be, but what like maybe 100 at most?), but I'm sure the majority are a combo of old money turning into even bigger money, etc thru who knows what. Lawyers, doctors, business owners, finance, CEO's, etc. Growing up with connections, growing up with a huge safety net, etc. You know, the American dream.

[Mark Gibney]

This is a problem all across the western world. A small percentage of our population gets wealthier and wealthier, and the rest struggle more.
So the wealthy can park their money in real estate or whatever investments they fancy.
It deadens communities, often whole cities - as Rob Luter said about Vancouver. Our friends from London talk about how so much of the city is owned by middle eastern and Russian money, with nobody living there.

[Rich Engelhardt]

Meet - Ryan Kaji (https://www.legit.ng/ask-legit/biographies/1559069-ryan-kajis-age-parents-ethnicity-net-worth-ryans-world/).
Ryan is 12 years old.

Ryan has a YouTube channel.

Ryan has a net worth of $100 million dollars.

Ryan isn't alone in that. There are several child multimillionaires.

[Patty Hann]

Meet - Ryan Kaji (https://www.legit.ng/ask-legit/biographies/1559069-ryan-kajis-age-parents-ethnicity-net-worth-ryans-world/).
Ryan is 12 years old.

Ryan has a YouTube channel.

Ryan has a net worth of $100 million dollars.

Ryan isn't alone in that. There are several child multimillionaires.

Kid has a lot of self discipline. Good for him. :)

[Doug Garson]

Meet - Ryan Kaji (https://www.legit.ng/ask-legit/biographies/1559069-ryan-kajis-age-parents-ethnicity-net-worth-ryans-world/).
Ryan is 12 years old.

Ryan has a YouTube channel.

Ryan has a net worth of $100 million dollars.

Ryan isn't alone in that. There are several child multimillionaires.
Says something about our society that a 12 year old with a Youtube channel can build up a net worth of $100 million while about 38 million people in the US, 47 million in Mexico and 2.4 million in Canada live below the poverty line.

[Brian Brown]

I have seen this situation up close a couple of times. There is a house across the street from me that has been empty for 4.5 years. Somebody comes by to remove the snow, and mow the lawn. The house looks great, just nobody living there. Ever! We found out the caretakers are the grandkids of the owners. Still don't know the reason, but if I had to guess, it would be the same reason as the other house I am familiar with. What if the new owner was planning to retire, and bought a new house in a new state. then said owner announced his retirement at work, and the powers that be offered X amount of extra pay and bonuses to keep a valuable worker. They are now just waiting for the time when they can make a 2nd effort at retiring. The second house I am aware of was in the mid nineties, an 11 million dollar property, built into the side of a ski hill in a resort community. A ski in and ski out home. Nice place, and when I was there, nobody had lived there. You could tell people had stayed overnight, but empty house. The owner was a big wig in a Japanese telecommunications firm. After building the house and announcing retirement, he was offered an incredible amount of money to stay on 5 more years. I hope he has time to enjoy such a house when he does get retired, if he is not already.

[Patty Hann]

Says something about our society that a 12 year old with a Youtube channel can build up a net worth of $100 million while about 38 million people in the US, 47 million in Mexico and 2.4 million in Canada live below the poverty line.

I hope you aren't blaming the kid for this. He reviews toys and writes up kid centered science projects.
People pay him, advertisers pay him. How is he at fault for being paid for his work? Are you not paid for your work?
There are probably not a few people that if they knew your salary (or salary when you worked if you are retired) might think you were overpaid.

If you think he is overpaid, who is doing the overpaying? Shouldn't you be faulting all the people subscribing? especially all the advertisers?

[Doug Garson]

I hope you aren't blaming the kid for this. He reviews toys and writes up kid centered science projects.
People pay him, advertisers pay him. How is he at fault for being paid for his work? Are you not paid for your work?
There are probably not a few people that if they knew your salary (or salary when you worked if you are retired) might think you were overpaid.

If you think he is overpaid, who is doing the overpaying? Shouldn't you be faulting all the people subscribing? especially all the advertisers?

My comment was "Says something about our society", so no I am not blaming the kid. I would say the same thing about that baseball player who just signed a $700 million contract. So, what do you think that says about our society? I know what I think, just curious what the general consensus is.

[Patty Hann]

My comment was "Says something about our society", so no I am not blaming the kid. I would say the same thing about that baseball player who just signed a $700 million contract. So, what do you think that says about our society? I know what I think, just curious what the general consensus is.
Oh....OK.....

[Mike Wilkins]

Saw similar properties in the North Carolina mountains while working insurance claims there. Snowbirds/Florida property owners who only used these luxury homes a couple of weeks per year.
I'm not mad at them.

[Warren Lake]

its a weird world. Just bought groceries looked at Kitchen mags not many left. See Taylor Swift person of the year. Instant thought no my retired cabinetmaker friend Bob whos wife has had MS for 55 years and he ran his shop and took care of her and still does full time all this time. 95 out of 100 would have put her in a home. He cares for her like a saint and through all she has had to deal with is still happy and fun.

No offense to Taylor like Jay Leno she gave a whole big gaggle of money to her crew and both of them get that they have more than enough and its important to value people that helped them get there. Speaks highly of her. Just heard someone famous say that forgot who but it was basically its not just me its all these people around me that made this all possible. Humble wish I remembered who it was.

Been around and worked for money. I asked the old guy about an older businessman once worth over 600 million and still working and pushing ever day. he said you dont get it. I said I dont what is it. He said its about power.

Who gives a damn about that, its not power. My friend who cares for his wife thats power.

Oh remembered it was Arnold who said a number of times its not just him its everyone he was working with and how they helped and together did the stuff. Unique man ego under control, there is a sense of humour with it.

[Sam Force]

My orthopedic surgeon is a man that could put himself above others, I'm sure he makes plenty of money. But instead he is a very humble man, tells me he knows everyone that enters his operating room, from the scrub nurses to the janitor. He would be the first to tell you that without them he could not do his job. He lives in a modest home, in a midscale neighborhood. We could use more people like him

[Warren Lake]

know of one that has serious car collection old Ferrari, aston Martin and more. So yeah some of them make big coin.

for sure have at least one friend in the 100's of millions and they do lots for helping others. Worked for one guy past well known was told to charge him more that he expected it. Didnt like the logic so just charged him the same. Later on got 15 years work from others that knew I did his work. Paid off more than I ever would have imagined. Hes gone but lived to make people happy.

I like one friend, hours away from dying the surgeon says you should have been in here three weeks ago. So did the whole big deal heart thing, veins didnt work right him cut up more than just the operation. Some point after the surgery in to see the surgeon, he says thank you Dr.... for saving my life. Doctor non chalont. no problem :)

Ill do anything to a chunk of wood but being a surgeon and the responsibility to not screw up and have to deal with more than you signed up for at times. Amazing what they do.

[Bill Dufour]

Monterey county California passed a law that homes can not be rented out for less then one month at a time. Hoping to prevent people driving up house prices by using RBNB to pay their mortgages.
BilL D.

[Rob Luter]

Saw similar properties in the North Carolina mountains while working insurance claims there. Snowbirds/Florida property owners who only used these luxury homes a couple of weeks per year. I'm not mad at them.

It's a place to park money. Real estate is a decent investment in inflationary times. I've known a number of folks that invested in a second "vacation" home they didn't use much. Usually a smaller place on a lake or in the country. When it came time to retire they cashed out their primary residence and moved to vacation land.

[Ron Citerone]

It's a place to park money. Real estate is a decent investment in inflationary times. I've known a number of folks that invested in a second "vacation" home they didn't use much. Usually a smaller place on a lake or in the country. When it came time to retire they cashed out their primary residence and moved to vacation land.

That makes a lot of sense and probably explains a lot of it.

And there is also the curve balls of life. With vacation homes and big boats people buy them with intentions to use them and out of nowhere comes a curve ball and their plan changes in an instant.

[Tom M King]

Both of those happen all the time on the lake here. I've never heard of anyone losing money on one though, except for the boats. There are pontoon boats going for 170 and wake surf boats over 300, and more people are buying them than using them to amount to anything. Even in poorer economic times, I never kept a spec house over 2 weeks after I put a price on one. That with no advertising and no realtor involved. Just a 2' square sign at the road and on the lake side once I decided on a price to put on it.

[Rick Potter]

Have you checked the internet to see who owns it? I would not be surprised to see it belonged to a corporation out of the country.

Personally, I would be happy to have it in my neighborhood, as it would indirectly help the value of my house.

[Pat Germain]

Taylor Swift person of the year...

There's a lot of minsunderstanding about TIME magazine's Person of the Year. Probably most controversial was 1938: Adolf Hitler. (Yes, really. It's not a myth.)

Most people I talk to about this believe Person of the Year means TIME Magazine thinks they are great people, the best people, the most amazing people, etc. Nope. It's about having an influence on the world; for better or worse. And who had more influence on the world in 1938 than Adolf Hitler? Taylor Swift is a cultural dynamo. She has a HUGE influence on popular music and, more recently, the movie business. While most movies are bombing at the box office these days, Taylor Swift's concert movie made over $250,000,000. Yeah, that's a lot of influence no matter what kind of person she is. (I've never met her, but all indicators suggest she's actually good person despite her collossal success.)

As for the expensive house down the street which is almost always empty, it's likely a tax writeoff. A member of my extended family sold his business years ago and retired. I don't know how much he got for that business, but I expect it was multiple millions. He owns many houses; some he rents. Some sit empty. He can either use his money to buy houses or he can give his money to the goverment in the form of taxes. He chooses to buy houses. Likely the people spending all that money on that house in Oregon made the same decision.

[Lee DeRaud]

There's a lot of minsunderstanding about TIME magazine's Person of the Year. Probably most controversial was 1938: Adolf Hitler. (Yes, really. It's not a myth.)

Most people I talk to about this believe Person of the Year means TIME Magazine thinks they are great people, the best people, the most amazing people, etc. Nope. It's about having an influence on the world; for better or worse. And who had more influence on the world in 1938 than Adolf Hitler?

Wasn't the personal computer "Person of the Year" sometime back in the 1980s?

[Pat Germain]

Wasn't the personal computer "Person of the Year" sometime back in the 1980s?

Yes, I forgot about that. Just looked it up. It was 1982. And it 1988 it was Planet Earth.