Edited by Jay Merton to protect Fred & Annie’s (not their real names) privacy. Parenthetical notes are mine.

Jay asked us to review Lisa Dunn’s cost comparison schedules from her (post of 11/08/06). Annie and I sat down and plugged in our numbers. We had no idea what our home was worth, so we called Jay & Med’s friend (“REALTOR®”) Teresa Boardman and asked if she would tell us what our home would sell for. She came by, and we told her that we weren’t contemplating selling now, and explained why we wanted the figure. When she heard Lisa’s name she laughed, apparently she knows Lisa. She looked the house over, took some measurements (and did a few other mysterious REALTOR® things☺, sorry Teresa, I had to add to their comment—Jay), and said she’d get back to us.

Our home is small, about 950 sq ft, 1½ storey, 1¾ bath, 2 Br with a 3^rd (non-conforming) bedroom, no garage (or room to put one), well-maintained, with a newer furnace, water heater, and insulation, which was done as a Christmas gift from our sons two years ago.  

(“REALTOR®”) Teresa gave us what she believed the house would actually sell for, and we plugged that, and the rest of the numbers in to Lisa’s worksheet. We would save about $250/month using this worksheet. While not as high as the $587/month shown on her worksheet, it’s still a significant amount.

Still, we are healthy, the house is pretty low maintenance, yard maintenance costs us nothing, when you have two neighbors with snow blowers, you never shovel, and they refuse any form of payment—except an occasional apple pie—Annie’s specialty! For now, our memories in our home are worth more than $250/month, but, when the time comes, as it surely will, we have the necessary information. Thank you Lisa. Fred & Annie

Submitted on behalf of Fred & Annie by Jay Merton