EEEKKK - More rage and frustration

People that shop at my sale seem to have "functional fixedness" and don't think of repurposing things - drapes are drapes. They aren't as clever as Scarlett O'Hara. Although one woman bough a few panels and asked if I had the hooks. Haha....only about 10 pounds of curtain hooks. She picked out about a dozen, then suddenly tossed them all back in the box and said," Never mind, I'll sew cloth loops on them."

curtain hooks.jpg
 
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debodun said:
People that shop at my sale seem to have "functional fixedness" and don't think of repurposing things - drapes are drapes. They aren't as clever as Scarlett O'Hara. Although one woman bough a few panels and asked if I had the hooks. Haha....only about 10 pounds of curtain hooks. She picked out about a dozen, then suddenly tossed them all back in the box and said," Never mind, I'll sew cloth loops on them."

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Deb,

Your post reminded me of this old skit.

 
I received the tax bill for my new house and it has the STAR exemption applied. For those who don't know what STAR is, it's a special discounted tax rate for seniors living in New York State. At the closing, my attorney informed me that I could only have the STAR applied to one house, so I opted to keep it on my current one, which has the higher assessed value. I figured that when I sell it I can transfer the STAR exemption to the new house.

I emailed the local tax assessor and asked about the STAR being applied to my new house. If I understand her reply (below), I can't transfer that exemption to the new house. I think my attorney should have told me this at the closing. Now I'll have to pay full tax on the new house.

The STAR exemption for 9 Independence Row is under the previous owners. The one for your house on Hudson Avenue, is under your name. Therefore, you do not have two STAR exemptions. Just remember for the 2022 roll 9 Independence Row will not have a STAR exemption on it. Even, if you switch yours to there. The State is going to make you go under the new program. It will never come off the tax bill again.
 
debodun said:
I received the tax bill for my new house and it has the STAR exemption applied. For those who don't know what STAR is, it's a special discounted tax rate for seniors living in New York State. At the closing, my attorney informed me that I could only have the STAR applied to one house, so I opted to keep it on my current one, which has the higher assessed value. I figured that when I sell it I can transfer the STAR exemption to the new house.

I emailed the local tax assessor and asked about the STAR being applied to my new house. If I understand her reply (below), I can't transfer that exemption to the new house. I think my attorney should have told me this at the closing. Now I'll have to pay full tax on the new house.

The STAR exemption for 9 Independence Row is under the previous owners. The one for your house on Hudson Avenue, is under your name. Therefore, you do not have two STAR exemptions. Just remember for the 2022 roll 9 Independence Row will not have a STAR exemption on it. Even, if you switch yours to there. The State is going to make you go under the new program. It will never come off the tax bill again.
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Deb,

I didn’t read all of this but it sounds like you will need to reapply for a new version of the STAR exemption when you move into the new house and sell the old one.

https://www.tax.ny.gov/star/

Does your tax bill on the new house reflect the new assessment based on your recent purchase price? In this area the new assessed value wouldn’t show until next spring.
 
Stood up 4 times yesterday.

1) woman made an appointment to look at flags I had listed on NextDoor. Didn't appear at specified time. This morning I had an email saying she had bought another one and no longer needed mine. At least she let me know; albeit a day late.

2) woman wanted to see my votive candles for sale. Didn't show or answer repeated PMs.

3) another women wanted a flag. No show. She emailed me about an hour after the appointment time saying she couldn't find a parking space. I don't understand that - there's curbside parking all over the place.

4) on NextDoor, a man that said he did part-time lawn mowing, was supposed to give me an estimate on mowing the lawn at my new house at 4 pm. Said he would call when he got out of work at 3:30. Never did and isn't answering PMs.

I'm beginning to think everyone around here is brain-dead.
 
debodun said:
Then why do they feign interest?
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They think they are being polite, and/or just making conversation. They are not required to buy, and probably feel awkward looking at your stuff with you looking at them. Then, when they are alone, they realize they didn't want to buy, just passing time.
 
I am beginning to think I bit off more than I can chew buying that other house. The other house has just about reached it's capacity of contents and I still have the back porch, garage, kitchen and dining room to sort through as well as moving my bookcases, knickknack shelves, bed, dresser, dining table and other furniture too large or heavy for me to move myself. No estate sellers around here are interested in doing a clean-out sale for me, as I have likely mentioned in some thread.

I worked over an hour this morning in the garage going through two of my dad's utility cupboards. Put a lot of odds and ends of assorted tools, nails, screws and nuts & bolts and assorted other items in 4 large boxes. Now what to do with it? Most of those tools I don't even know what they're for and if I have another sale and put then out, people with paw through mix everything up, dump nails all over the place, then haggle over 10¢.
 
Time for the dumpster, Deb. If you don't NEED things and others have pretty clearly demonstrated they don't want them either, it's time to say goodbye.

Please don't turn your new home into a cluttered mess before you move in, simply because you're hung up on hoping to recover the "sunk costs" of items that are now worth very little or nothing.

From: https://www.smh.com.au/opinion/the-...ned-to-ignore-sunk-costs-20160204-gmlnv1.html

"But, as usual, I take comfort from economic theory. One of the main pieces of advice economists offer is to ignore "sunk costs". Money we have spent in the past should not influence future decision making. Just because you paid $15 for that burger and chips doesn't mean you must finish every one. Just because you spent $350 on that dress doesn't mean you should keep it if you will never wear it again and it bothers you that you have no room to store it.

Decluttering is basically a huge exercise in ignoring sunk costs. And only when you have learnt to do that, can you begin to make better decisions in the future.

Economists also advise to make decisions "at the margin". In other words, in the here and now. Ignore everything that has transpired: you should only do something if the marginal benefits will exceed the marginal costs. Never act out of regret, fear or guilt. Think always and only of your future happiness. What will make you happy now and tomorrow?

As it turns out, letting go of the past is not easy. It can open an uncomfortable void: if that object I thought was important is not, then what is? That empty space is liberating and terrifying at the same time.

But the process of discarding has taught me that the things that bring me true joy are not things, but people. They're not memories of the past, but ideas about what the future could bring.

Could it be that nagging feeling of emptiness is not a void but a vessel, waiting to be filled with new adventures?

It is by learning to ignore sunk costs that we attune ourselves to future happiness. And that is worth a little discomfort."

Edited to add italics and quotation marks.
 
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debodun said:
I am beginning to think I bit off more than I can chew buying that other house. The other house has just about reached it's capacity of contents and I still have the back porch, garage, kitchen and dining room to sort through as well as moving my bookcases, knickknack shelves, bed, dresser, dining table and other furniture too large or heavy for me to move myself. No estate sellers around here are interested in doing a clean-out sale for me, as I have likely mentioned in some thread.

I worked over an hour this morning in the garage going through two of my dad's utility cupboards. Put a lot of odds and ends of assorted tools, nails, screws and nuts & bolts and assorted other items in 4 large boxes. Now what to do with it? Most of those tools I don't even know what they're for and if I have another sale and put then out, people with paw through mix everything up, dump nails all over the place, then haggle over 10¢.
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Deb,

IMO you shouldn’t concern yourself with how
much your new home can hold. Concentrate on taking the things that you need to make the house a comfortable home.
 
@debodun ...I know you don't have designer gear to sell.. but the principle is the same, it can be very dangerous to have people you don't know coming to your home to buy things....especially if they have reason to believe you might have something more expensive they can have...

Take this story from todays news in the Northern city of Manchester...

A trio of knife-wielding robbers dragged a young mum out of her car and almost drove off with her toddler in the backseat.


Courtney Slater screamed out in terror as she desperately tried to protect her two-year-old child as the men attempted to steal her car in a horrifying Snapchat set-up.


What started as an innocent sale of some designer accessories on the social media app, ended as a terrifying carjack.

https://metro.co.uk/2021/09/18/manc...n-after-he-posted-ad-for-sunglasses-15278255/
 

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