McMansions A Lasting Legacy Of The Housing Boom – Gee, Thanks

I’ve often had people raise their eyebrows when they see where I live. A very modest 4 bedroom home in the heart of older Olathe. Problem is, I can’t stand a lot of the newer construction and it’s uniformity. The lack of trees.

Heck, just look down the street in a neighborhood built here in the last 10 years and you will see EVERY driveway has a dark colored SUV and the front yard has an 8′ tall oak tree planted dead center. (Where it will eventually block the view of the house for decades to come.)

No, if I’m going to live in the suburbs I’m at least going to live in an older neighborhood. Cheaper, too.

Here’s an aside: One of my favorite stories as a REALTOR are the people who want me to discount my fees because they don’t have enough equity. How could that be? They keep telling me about their trips to warm places in the winter and that SUV outside is less than a year old. (Home equity loans. That’s how. Now I’m supposed to subsidize that?)

Anyway, here is a great read over at Inman about the lasting legacy of the housing boom we experienced.