# I'm morbidly curious about what my neighbors have going on upstairs **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 7, 2014, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064 "2014-08-07T23:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/41 "2014-08-09T07:36:39Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > There is a curved discontinuity in the upper front siding and for a moment I was going to call BS/Photoshopped. but it appears to be genuine. Not sure why or what would cause a curved line in the siding. Definite digital artifact. That black line running from the left up near the roofline is the power line running from the street. See the discontinuity in that line right at that breakline? Trace the power line back above the street and you’ll see an even bigger one. > [@StGermain](#): > > to me it looks like put a second, metal roof over an existing roof. The horizontal boards you can see is what they screwed the metal roof down to. When I had my house reroofed, they did the same sort of horizontal boards over the existing metal roof because it had been mailed down with 4" nails and would take too long to take up. Step to the left of the house and turn and look back, you’ll see the other side isn’t much better. It looks like the house is a remodel job that is going slowly, probably because the owners don’t have a lot of money. The siding skipped the windows because replacing them would have been much more espensive. The roof is a patch job. ---
**Author:** ![Gilbert1984](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Gilbert1984](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilbert1984)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/42 "2014-08-09T15:09:15Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > The place houses an ICBM. I concur. Useful for those ‘get off my d\*mn lawn’ moments ---
**Author:** ![Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bosda_di_chi_of_tricor/32/16845_2.png) [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/43 "2014-08-09T15:44:47Z")
It’s a factory for Orphan Sausages. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_Bow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/85f322/32.png) [@Jim\_Bow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_Bow)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/44 "2014-08-09T20:29:12Z")
Zillow says it’s 812 sqft, and valued at a whopping $77K. ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/45 "2014-08-09T20:43:11Z")
In house hang shed for drying tobacco? ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/46 "2014-08-09T20:50:21Z")
> [@Jim\_Bow](#): > > Zillow says it’s 812 sqft, and valued at a whopping $77K. Are you sure you have the right house? The link is to the house across the street, number 275. The mystery house is number 280 which comes up considerably larger and more expensive - 2800 sf and $175k, IIRC. (You can just make out the house number on the mail box post.) ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/47 "2014-08-09T22:09:51Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Are you sure you have the right house? The link is to the house across the street, number 275. The mystery house is number 280 which comes up considerably larger and more expensive - 2800 sf and $175k, IIRC. > > (You can just make out the house number on the mail box post.) The tax assessor’s website says that 280 South St. is 2252 square feet (plus an additional 164 square feet of open porch,) and has an assessed value of $73,700 (land and home/sheds/etc.) In my experience in Georgia, tax valuation is about 20% below market value. In this case, however, the market value may actually be lower than the assessment! :dubious: The more I look at it, though, the more I think it really does look like a converted church… or a tobacco barn. But probably it’s just a budget remodel that’s moving slowly due to financial constraints. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/48 "2014-08-09T22:15:08Z")
> [@GreedySmurf](#): > > It’s obviously for the Vampire lair. You don’t want any risk of sunlight getting in through windows, who knows when a neighbourhood boy will accidentally hit a baseball through the window and then suddenly _poof_ there goes the master vampire from the beam of sunlight straight into his coffin. Look at the “playground” in the front yard of the house up the street. Who builds a playground like that in the front yard, unless it’s a trap for small children? I distrust the whole community. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/49 "2014-08-09T22:26:22Z")
Is medical marijuana legal in your state? they could be farming pot up there, because if they farmed it in the open, they have too much trouble with poachers. The security they need around an open field-- like electric fences, and the insurance they’d have to carry, if they had them, might be worth raising it in an enclosed space under sunlamps. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2014, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/50 "2014-08-09T23:11:25Z")
If it were a medical marijuana grow house, they could afford to fix the roof. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/51 "2014-08-10T00:04:55Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > The tax assessor’s website says that 280 South St. is 2252 square feet (plus an additional 164 square feet of open porch,) and has an assessed value of $73,700 Assessed values don’t always correspond to market values. They are often a smallish percentage of the last sale price or street assessment. Zillow had an estimated price in the upper $100s. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/52 "2014-08-10T00:39:00Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Assessed values don’t always correspond to market values. They are often a smallish percentage of the last sale price or street assessment. Zillow had an estimated price in the upper $100s. [This](http://www.homes.com/property/2672-crestworth-ln-ne-buford-ga-30519/id-300015280609/) is a $170K house in Buford, Georgia (tax valuation $126,700.) Or [this](http://www.homes.com/property/2200-oakpointe-ct-ne-buford-ga-30519/id-300015104761/) (tax valuation $143,900.) Zillow’s “Zestimates” are more like “guesstimates” in areas with low real estate prices. (And property taxes are based on 40% of the property’s assessed value.) ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/53 "2014-08-10T02:17:37Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > If it were a medical marijuana grow house, they could afford to fix the roof. And build a 'copter pad. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 9:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/54 "2014-08-10T09:37:38Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > Assessed values don’t always correspond to market values. They are often a smallish percentage of the last sale price or street assessment. Zillow had an estimated price in the upper $100s. Heh, I was over on [Realtor.com](http://Realtor.com) looking at random properties and the asking price for a falling down shack of a house with overgrown paddock and a sort of pole shed in miniature that purportedly housed a horse, with 1.5 acres of land was $150 000 … flip to the next tab, appraised structure was $16 500 and land was also $16 500 … I honestly do not understand how they think the place is worth $150 000 … I would have trouble offering more than $50 000 for the entire property, and that would be mainly because I wouldn’t have to scrounge around for electrical service, a deep well and a septic tank/leach bed system. All I would have to do is let the cat use a wall as a scratching post and clear the rubble to build a new house. [URL=“[http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/](http://www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/)”] ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/55 "2014-08-10T18:11:24Z")
Heh indeed! I was looking at a nearby home, listed now for over 1.5 years - price has dropped from about $200K to $110K. The “Zestimate/Guesstimate” was $300k, based (I assume) on the fact that it’s about 3000 square feet, with 1.8 acres, in town, and in a good school zone. However, we looked at that house when we were in the market: the foundation is cracked, the interior is a gut job (for mechanical reasons, not cosmetic,) the brickwork needs a complete overhaul thanks to the foundation problems, and the neighborhood is doing the opposite of gentrification (old homeowners dying off, estates renting out the homes, more and more transient, that sort of thing.) It’s a $100K house right now, and with another $100K worth of rehab, it will be a $160-$175k house. $300,000 was before the real estate bubble burst, and in mechanically perfect condition… ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [August 10, 2014, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/56 "2014-08-10T18:53:45Z")
> [@Irishman](#): > > If it were a medical marijuana grow house, they could afford to fix the roof. Actually, I’ve heard that growing and selling pot legally isn’t terribly profitable. Your pot garden has to be inspected and conform to a lot of regulations, there are all the usual rules that commercials growers have to follow regarding what kinds of pesticides and fertilizers are legal, and you get taxed, plus you set your prices at what the retailers can afford, and their prices may be fixed by insurance companies. It’s not nearly as profitable as being a drug lord, but there’s the side benefit of never having to go to jail, or get shot in a turf war. ---
**Author:** ![Urbanredneck](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ea5d25/32.png) [@Urbanredneck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Urbanredneck)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/57 "2014-08-11T05:20:16Z")
I for one work nights and sleep days so I would welcome a windowless room. It is very hard to darken a room with alot of windows like mine. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/58 "2014-08-11T15:08:09Z")
I had a neighbor that did this to his house. I think the idea was to get it finished and cut out windows at a later time. He eventually added windows, but it took years. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2014, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/59 "2014-08-11T15:19:54Z")
> [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > [This](http://www.homes.com/property/2672-crestworth-ln-ne-buford-ga-30519/id-300015280609/) is a $170K house in Buford, Georgia (tax valuation $126,700.) Or [this](http://www.homes.com/property/2200-oakpointe-ct-ne-buford-ga-30519/id-300015104761/) (tax valuation $143,900.) Zillow’s “Zestimates” are more like “guesstimates” in areas with low real estate prices. (And property taxes are based on 40% of the property’s assessed value.) No argument, I was just reporting on the actual house we’re looking at and not the one across the street that the OP’s link points at. I certainly wasn’t interested enough to do a full property search. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Quercus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/7ab992/32.png) [@Quercus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quercus)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2014, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064/60 "2014-08-12T16:25:40Z")
> [@picunurse](#): > > To me, it looks like an old farm house. It has the old tin roof that houses from the early part of the 20th century had. Windows were expensive. And still are. Upstairs was where the bedrooms were and bedrooms were for sleeping. Windows were expensive, but wax for candles and/or whale oil was even more expensive (and dangerous). Quite a lot of architecture before about 1950-1960 or so was about making sure that every room had enough windows to illuminate it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/im-morbidly-curious-about-what-my-neighbors-have-going-on-upstairs/695064.md?page=4)