Rant: PSA to builders, housewives, and general complaint

When we moved from NY to Texas, our original goal was a minimalist modern design- did not exist without a custom build that would have cost big money. A lot of expensive "modern" houses in town are just boxes that are cheaply made, with IKEA like finishes for a few mill plus. We wound up in a Victorian Queen Anne that had been restored by a preservationist over the course of 20 years- the quality of construction is unparalleled --

Though the house is "historic" downstairs- upstairs it is more like a modern loft and that’s where I put the main system. We put a small "home theatre" (flat screen) in the downstairs front parlor. On the TV mounting, my wife found an old heavy artist's easel- thing weighs about 200 lbs- made of oak. It required only minor repair- and the TV got mounted to the easel using a standard mount. It looks good, and is very sturdy. 

I guess my experience, wherever you are house shopping, is to get the feeds from the multilist from your broker (good to have a buy side broker) and do your due diligence- many of the houses in Austin had unpermitted additions from back in the day. These don’t show up on the tax rolls, either. But the first time you need an inspection for, say a kitchen upgrade, they might flag you for that unpermitted garage/guest house/whatever. Our broker would pull the permit file on any house we were serious about.

FWIW, it is hotter than hell here right now--I don’t run the big system when the grid is under strain. You might use a furnace two or three months a year and most of the time, it’s not very cold in the winter. Summers, though, place heavy demands on your air-conditioning.

Where in Texas are you house shopping?

@dtximages--best of luck on your move. Nashville was not booming like it is now when we were initially looking- we wanted no winter, a university where I could teach part time (I'm retired) and a good rowing culture-- my wife is into competitive rowing. Since we never had kids, we had a little flexibility but if you are patient and have access to the multi-list, targeted by zip code and price, you can exclude a lot of houses and maybe luck out. I was up in Dallas the other day to visit one of the known audiophiles here- it was 10 degrees cooler than Austin, but was told it was just an anomaly - they had a break in the weather. The hardest part of Texas for me is the summer heat- I like the people, I like getting out into Deep Texas and exploring.