Relocating to Alaska - hoping for the Mat-Su Burrough (home, rent)

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by HighlandLady

Thank you for the link...that is what I was thinking, but I had seen some listed as in-floor heating and others radiant and I wasn't certain if they were virtually the same. I hope you are having a lovely day of it....the sun has finally appeared here!

Thanks! It got up to 90* here today, ugh.

[arctichomesteader]

Originally Posted by HighlandLady

Thank you for the link...that is what I was thinking, but I had seen some listed as in-floor heating and others radiant and I wasn't certain if they were virtually the same. I hope you are having a lovely day of it....the sun has finally appeared here!

Radiant can also refer to old style radiators or baseboard heaters (I know, technically they aren't true, pure radiant heat sources but in common usage they are called such).

[HighlandLady]

Oh ugh...90º? That is daft. We struggled to reach 40º but still have the windchills to contend with. Snow still abounds on the mountain, but the sun at least showed his face this day.

Thank you, arctichomesteader....I didn't notice any baseboard heaters in any of the images or in the virtual tour. The home does have a fireplace, but there was some sort of device sitting in the midst of it and a similar device upstairs. However, they claim it has been remodeled recently with new flooring...who knows eh? It will be one of those things I will have to see for myself. All I know is they listed it with 'radiant' as the heating source and I was a wee bit perplexed

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by HighlandLady

Thank you, arctichomesteader....I didn't notice any baseboard heaters in any of the images or in the virtual tour. The home does have a fireplace, but there was some sort of device sitting in the midst of it and a similar device upstairs. However, they claim it has been remodeled recently with new flooring...who knows eh? It will be one of those things I will have to see for myself. All I know is they listed it with 'radiant' as the heating source and I was a wee bit perplexed

You could always hire Marty as a consultant to assist you with looking at the different homes...

[HighlandLady]

Yes, you are quite right. In fact his site is on my bookmarked list

[Barkingowl]

Originally Posted by HighlandLady

Yes, you are quite right. In fact his site is on my bookmarked list

I like watching his home movies of going through houses with his camera. I had my eye on a piece of property in Willow that was around 250 acres with a tiny cabin on it. It had a mile of paved road & it had electricity a mile in, not to the cabin though. I think it was around $350k. I really wish I'd had the money. I'd move some friends onto the land as caretakers till I could get up & build a house. That's my dream anyways. One day...

[RayinAK]

Radiant heating can be in the floor as well as against the wall such as Slant Fin heating pipes (with fins). If you saw something like "in-floor heating" and "radiant heating," more than likely one is in-floor-radiant, and the other just next to the wall radiant heating. Both systems are widely used in the interior. Both require a boiler and circulating pumps to run either hot water, or a mixture of glycol and water.

In some areas near Anchorage, natural gas is used for heating the house, which is much cheaper than heating fuel. There is no natural gas available to consumers in most of the interior, so heating one's home costs a fortune these days. Some folks are paying around $1,000 per month just on utilities alone (heating fuel and electricity), but I am paying around $600.00 per month ($600 x 12 months a year) at the moment, since my home only has 1,700 Square-feet of living space plus a dual heated-garage. By summer I will be paying around $800.00 per month, since both heating fuel and electricity will reach a higher price.

[HighlandLady]

Barkingowl: Yes, he actually is pleasant to listen to (my apologies for rather chatting behind yon back, Marty ) There is one place he spent a LOT of time in the woodshop and my husband still is drooling. I do hope you are able to realize yon dream one day. What is sad, Wyoming used to be the least expensive place to live, and in some aspects this is truth. However, housing costs are out of this world...what would cost perhaps 200-300k in Alaska is now averaging 600-700k here.

RayinAK: thank you for that 'heads-up'. Those figures are daunting to say the least. Natural gas has increased substantially these past few years, last Winter nearly did us in. I do appreciate the information.

[Marty Van Diest]

OK...that's embarrasing. I better get off my duff and put up some more videos.

Highlandlady, I think that you are wise in waiting until you actually see the property before you commit. I always suggest that people not buy a house without walking in it, smelling it, tasting the water, looking at the neighbors, listening to the train rumble through the back yard...etc.

We realtors take photos of the most attractive parts of any property...that's our job. If you see a lot of photos of the outside of a house...but none of the inside, that's a hint. And the same is true in reverse. Some old time alaskans let the outside of the house look unfinished when it's like a palace inside. They never let the tax assessor darken the doorway.

So you need to personally inspect any property that you buy...before you commit.

Videos are much harder to hide stuff with. If I take a video of a house...you know it's a nice house, because I can't hide the ugly parts.

[HighlandLady]

Originally Posted by Marty Van Diest

OK...that's embarrasing. I better get off my duff and put up some more videos.

Highlandlady, I think that you are wise in waiting until you actually see the property before you commit. I always suggest that people not buy a house without walking in it, smelling it, tasting the water, looking at the neighbors, listening to the train rumble through the back yard...etc.

We realtors take photos of the most attractive parts of any property...that's our job. If you see a lot of photos of the outside of a house...but none of the inside, that's a hint. And the same is true in reverse. Some old time alaskans let the outside of the house look unfinished when it's like a palace inside. They never let the tax assessor darken the doorway.

So you need to personally inspect any property that you buy...before you commit.

Videos are much harder to hide stuff with. If I take a video of a house...you know it's a nice house, because I can't hide the ugly parts.

And you are appreciated for the videos you have posted. I do hope the man reads this particular missive...he wishes to purchase the home I found in Willow...and wants it purchased yesterday. The visual tour is adequate, showing both inside and out fairly equally, but I do know that it doesn't show ALL. And yes, I agree...if one is going to make an investment of this sort, being physically THERE is of the utmost importance. I would be fibbing a wee bit if I didn't say I hope this particular home becomes our own...my heart is set on it also. Bah, I hope time flies until I fly up next month. This will be my first visit to Alaska, for all of 5 days of home searching/purchasing...the husband states I really should leave the camera and gear home - HA. I can certainly multi-task!

And I do apologize if I did embarrass you... I stumbled upon the video of that particular home a few months ago and had to hear about the woodshop and all the tools for WEEKS. I am all for tools...am quite proud of my collection...but he was as a kid in a candy store. You did a grand job with that one!