Yes, you pretty much have to be some place rural to not have any zoning issues with something like that.
Here in Harford County, with AG or RR zoning you would be home free. Any place around here where you could park a travel trailer or motor home, you could park a box on wheels with model train layout inside.
This county does not have restrictions on that stuff, but some of the cookie cutter subdivisions have nasty HOA’s with restrictions - why do people want to live like that?
Sheldon
On your home, that you have lived in for at least 2 years, capital gains is excluded for $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if you are married. edit Sheldon says you can still buy an equal or more expensive home without consequences. He is in the business, I am not.
If you bought 30 or 40 years ago in many areas in California, NYC, areas around DC or certain waterfront properties, your capital gains may exceed that, even though you have only a summer shack on the property.
My college roommate bought lake side on an old summer camp in NH. It seemed like out in the middle of no where and we were not induce to buy. Just as well because my ex wife would now own it. He is surrounded by mulitmillion dollar homes. The oldest people on the lake, moved 40 or 50 years ago and live in tiny homes. The problem is the NH has no income tax so the property tax is huge. You can be taxed out of your home.
I’ve never been real estate savvy. We just bought some property for our retirement home and the sellers are doing a 1031 exchange, which allows them to roll over the profits into another property.
If one is liquidating their investment properties, then capital gains tax applies. That depends on income. In the unlikely event you have little income, the rate is 0. Above $470K married it’s 20% plus a few percent tacked on for Medicare, plus state taxes, which vary from 0 to 18% NY and CA I think.
Disclaimer: Don’t get your tax advice from some guy on a MR forum on the Internet.
I visited when I lived in Baltimore.
Yes, I will be getting refreshed on all the latest rules as we make all these changes. I pay for good advice but always actually do my own taxes…
Sheldon
[quote user=“ATLANTIC CENTRAL”]
mbinsewi
The task and logistics of removing something like this must be monumental.
The rolling stock, structures, infastructure such as briges, track, turn outs, wiring, signals, wow, a lot of stuff to deal with.
And then there’s the removal of the scenery and benchwork, all into dumpsters, and they are located in a down town city location. It’s not like you can park a dumpster out the door or a window.
What a job.
And I think about when we want to move to a retirement community (5, maybe 8 years) to get away from the stairs in our current cape cod, with a full basement, and my current layout is only about 52 sq. ft. ! A piece of cake!
Mike.
Yes, moving or dismantling the BSME will be a job. They have both HO and O scale layouts.
Retirement community? What kind of retirement community? I would rather just steer the truck into a bridge abutment…but that’s just me, I could not live around a bunch of people in one of those places.
At 61 and 63, the wife and I just moved from the 2-1/2 story 4,000 sq ft 1901 Queen Anne into a 2200 sq ft brick rancher. My plan is to be carried out…
The new basement allows me about 1400 sq ft for my next layout, which will fill every possible sq ft.
But, it will be built in such a way that if/when necessary, it can be removed without cutting it up. Just in case I do want to move again, or someone actually wants the layout when I am gone. If I go first, the wife can give it to anyone willing to move it, trains and all.
Yes, clubs should own there buildings…
Sheldon
Wrong, all personal residences are taxed but the first $250,000 of profit single or $500,000 couple is tax free, 20
I was going to ask where you lived? Not sure what millionaires row is or was. Homeland? Loved the brownstones on St Paul, Calvert and Charles St and Bolton Hill. Tom Clancy’s multimillion dollar home was somewhere near the Inner Harbor. They gentrified Canton, which was where some chrome factory was and where they would park the RB-B&B circus train. I need to go find my pictures of that.
Sheldon, I edited my post. I use an accountant because tax law isn’t entirely black and white. At least some years, he has saved me money and in all years, he has saved me aggravation. He had a radical prostatectomy 2 years ago which they said would be a 95% cure and now his PSA is increasing, should be 0.
The last retired doctors luncheon I went to, half the people were talking about a local, retirement, end of life nursing facility. I would have to take an eskimo walk in the woods before I did that.
[quote user=“rrebell”]
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
Brent, here we have a one time capital gains tax exclusion on the sale of a principal residence. But, on any principal residence real estate sale, there is no capital gains tax if you buy another property of equal or greater value.
So the exclusion is aimed at people like us, selling the big house, and buying one only half its value.
Yes, the sale of the rentals will be taxed, but who cares, they have more than doubled in value in 23 years, and have been largely tax free income as we are allowed to write off depreciation, and apply paper losses against other income.
But once a few repairs are made for sale, the net gain will be reasonable and the capital gains tax reasonable…now that our income is in a lower bracket with the wife retired.
We have always managed our own properties, and only recently, last 3-4 years, has it started become tiresome. At one point we did have 6 rentals, we got out of 3 of them over a decade ago when the market was real strong.
We are also now about 30 minutes farther away from those properties, that is a factor too.
First one those goes on the market Feb 1, likely sell one a year for the next three years…
Our new home was built in 1964, and about that same time, the construction of I-95 caused this little village we live in to be bypassed by the relocation of a state highway. So its a sleepy little spot, but close to everything, and built out enough to likely not change much for a very long time.
We spent $375,000. That buys a fair amount around here, but this place is really worth about $420,000. It was an estate and the 50 year old grown kids just wanted it gone. Their parents took perfect care of this place right to end.
Sheldon
I understand.
Sheldon
[quote user=“rrebell”]
ATLANTIC CENTRAL
mbinsewi
The task and logistics of removing something like this must be monumental.
The rolling stock, structures, infastructure such as briges, track, turn outs, wiring, signals, wow, a lot of stuff to deal with.
And then there’s the removal of the scenery and benchwork, all into dumpsters, and they are located in a down town city location. It’s not like you can park a dumpster out the door or a window.
What a job.
And I think about when we want to move to a retirement community (5, maybe 8 years) to get away from the stairs in our current cape cod, with a full basement, and my current layout is only about 52 sq. ft. ! A piece of cake!
Mike.
Yes, moving or dismantling the BSME will be a job. They have both HO and O scale layouts.
Retirement community? What kind of retirement community? I would rather just steer the truck into a bridge abutment…but that’s just me, I could not live around a bunch of people in one of those places.
At 61 and 63, the wife and I just moved from the 2-1/2 story 4,000 sq ft 1901 Queen Anne into a 2200 sq ft brick rancher. My plan is to be carried out…
The new basement allows me about 1400 sq ft for my next layout, which will fill every possible sq ft.
But, it will be built in such a way that if/when necessary, it can be removed without cutting it up. Just in case I do want to move again, or someone actually wants the layout when I am gone. If I go first, th
So Brent, I had some of the current details wrong, but the overal result is about the same as it applies to our situation.
Sheldon
Actually, they go sit out on the ice flows and wait for the next Polar Bear.[dinner]
I agree wholeheartedly about the old geezer’s facility, no thanks. I have been careful to observe those that came and went before me, none of them that surrendered to the old folks home did well, it was a short stay.
My family still shows a somewhat hearty side displayed by the family pioneers of the past. I use to backpack into the mountains, even in the middle of Winter. I think I will put all terrain tires on my scooter if I ever need one and head into the Rockies. Won’t be a Polar bear, but maybe a Grizzly.[(-D]
Close enough.
Do you have old houses that are designated “heritage houses?”
My Brother-in-law bought two houses designated heritage houses side by side about thirty years ago and has not done that well as far as increasing value of the properties. He is regretting the move I am sure. He is so limited on what can be done with them, fewer and fewer people would be interested in buying a house with such restraints. He has fixed them up nicely but it is two heritage houses surrounded by modern development.
We have a saying up here in Vancouver. “if you ever leave you can never afford to come back”. Real estate prices are so high that in Vancouver proper, 2 million CA will get you the dumpiest place in town.
In 1960 my parents bought a brand new house outside of Vancouver for $16.000.00. I noticed it sold for just over 2 million not long ago. In 1960 it was a nice new middle-class home in a nice new subdivision. The area is still really nice but the house is old and will likely be bulldozed in the near future.
My kids are resigned to the fact they won’t be living in the Vancouver area. My son will if he continues on in the movie biz, but then he will make enough doing so. A decent house will cost you 3 million. That’s $20,000.00 a month mortgage payment. Only New Zealand where our friend Bear lives is more expensive.
The short answer is no, no “heritage houses”.
But the detailed trut
Beautiful home Sheldon. I have always liked front porches even on modern homes… Something about sitting out front with the guitar even on a rainy day.
You said once your house was on a TV show. What’s it called? It’s may be on You-Tube. Would like to see that tour.
Our house was on Restore America, a show on HGTV in the early 2000’s. I would have to look up the info. We have it on video cassette, I have no idea if it is on the web anywhere.
It was very short segment done with still photos. They wanted us for their live action feature house, but we could not be here for their shooting schedule in this area.
So it was my 6 minutes of fame…
Sheldon
In Annapolis, there was a court battle over of plastic trellis at a home in the historic district, locally nicknamed the hysterical district.
I’ve seen Sheldon’s house a couple times. And it is lovely.
This was granddaddy’s house. Admittedly a weird design. Built by a bootlegger at around $60K and bought at discount by my grandfather when the owner went to prison. He died too young, as the treatment for hypertension back then was a rice diet.
We have a film of my uncle’s bar mitzvah in 1937. The basement had beautiful brick walls and people were literally drinking like fish and smoking like steam engines. Freshman year in college had nothing on those folks.
As harsh as it sounds, my grandmother sold when an Afro American doctor moved in a couple houses away. This house was turned into apartments at some point. It looks like someone has restored it and from it’s nader.
In 2008 it sold for $371,000
In 2012 Fannie Mae (a US govt mortgage firm) sold it for $163,000 9000 square feet and a view of a lake (reservoir.) That tells you all you need to know about the neighborhood.
In the 30’s to early 1950’s it was the place to live and send your kids to public school. Now not so much. My grandmother made the right decision.
Somewhere there is a picture of me as an infant in or outside the house, I do not remember it or more than a single snapshot memory of my grandfather.
If I could find it, maybe I would break my Baltimore ban and knock on their door with my metal detector. Family history has it that grandfather buried gold coins in Prince Albert tobacco cans in the tomato garden.
Henry,
By the way, thanks to both Henry and Brent for their kind words about my previous home and my work.
It is a privilege to earn a living doing something that you love.
Sheldon
Very reasonable, houses were I used to live avg. $2,660.000 Cad and in Palo Alto, close by the