If you read
@starkey480 build thread recently, you may have noticed that there are some changes coming to my build. As I've noted a few times, we have been trying to move up north to Flagstaff for some time now, We miss the seasons and would like to be in an area that the kids can actually go outside in the summer. We have felt for a while now that we are living a "backwards" life - where we are stuck indoors all summer and have to do everything during the winter (while also doing things like sports, activities, school, etc). It's just not conducive to a healthy, balanced life in our opinion and have wanted to change
Unfortunately, the Flagstaff housing market has exploded over the past 2 years, thanks in part to retiring or relocating Californians and Asian investors. A modest 1800-2100 sq-ft home with a 1/3 acre plot is listing for $550-575k and are selling for $625-650k and even at this price point, the houses are often dated and in need of at least some remodel.
Here's one of the houses we put an offer on:
View attachment 237444
It was cute - though a bit on the small side at 1680 sq-ft. It had a good sized yard and plenty of room to build a shop in the back/side yard. It was also in a great, quiet neighborhood with a good school nearby. It needed some upgrades and remodeling, as evidenced by the pink tile bathroom sink and carpet...
View attachment 237445
It was originally listed at $475K, which would have been great as this would have left us with some cash on hand to do some significant remodeling rather quickly. We put in what we thought would have been a competitive offer ($485k, with a shortened inspection window since we could go view and hire an inspector quickly). The house ended up closing in 10 days, with two cash offers after 3 days, with the top offer of $530k...
The other two houses we considered ended up going for $75,000 and $80,000 over asking price and also closed (not contracted, actually closed!) in ~20 days.
After doing some soul searching and thinking about it some, we have decided that we are going to move back to northeast PA. I have a lot of friends that are still back there, including my best friend and college roommate. Housing is way cheaper, career opportunity is higher (Flagstaff was always "high risk" in that regard), there are seasons and plenty of good schools in the area, and we have a lot of nostalgia for the region. Plus, NYC (my birth town) is only 2 hours away - we can have our country home and city-getaway in close proximity.
So, what does this mean for the build? Well, PA needs fenders and probably won't really benefit from the Savvy MidArm kit. As a result, I sold Starkey my brand-new GenRight Boulders and will be going back to the GenRight 4" aluminum fenders (non Hi-Fender, since it's not really needed now). There will be some risk, since even with the 4" front fenders and 4" rear "Extreme" flares, the 35" x 12.5" tires will stick out ever so slightly (PA law actually says the tread must be covered, though it's often misinterpreted by local cops). This won't be a daily, just a nice weather toy, so hopefully no one bothers me too much
For the rest of the build, nothing really changes. The stretch will still make it fine for longer climbs up rutted forest roads and wood trails, and the Hemi will still be awesome. What it really means is that I need to get moving at the speed of light now to get this completed by the end of May. This means paint, body, motor and everything completed so that I can use June to shake down and beta test and then ultimately move in July.
Speaking of which, time to get moving - this bumper ain't gonna mount itself...
