Living in an expensive neighborhood is unexpectedly expensive

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m in the exurbs and the same thing exists. We’re in what’s considered an UMC neighborhood, known for trees and acreage. We get…OK prices.

Our friends moved from this neighborhood to a country club gated neighborhood, golf course, boating lake, pool club, etc.

Our water heaters both went out about the same time. Both gas, both same volume.

A $1800 job for us, and they were getting quotes between $5k and $7k

Same brand and location in the house?

[Anonymous]

Yes! I knew this pre COVID .

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you get three or more estimates from referrals, you will know whether you are being overcharged by one or more. The reputable tradesman don't do this because they want repeat business.

They also think that people are stupid - especially "rich" people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If it makes you feel better, I live in PG county and some companies just exclude the whole county from their service zone.

Suck it up and pay up, you’re rich. It’ll be fine.

Nope. Not sucking it up and refuse to be ripped off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inflation has caused things to cost more. I live in the same neighborhood as I did precovid and everything costs more, handyman, housekeeping, etc.

This. You might be right, but please understand, costs for these kinds of house maintenance projects has absolutely skyrocketed.

I think a part of it is reduced immigration, particularly illegal immigration, which started under Trump but was maintained under Biden and, in the case of legal immigration/visas, further reduced due to the pandemic.

I live in a more blue collar neighborhood and trust that my eyes are also bulging with sticker shock.

Illegal immigration has exploded under Biden to a staggering number. Millions. By contrast it was in the thousands under Turnip. I have to concede this point to the Republicans.

This is patently untrue. What has gone from hundreds of thousands (not “thousands”) under Trump to over a million under Biden is the number of encounters at the southern border. These result in apprehension or expulsion, not immigration. There are no statistics showing a huge surge of unauthorized immigrants such as you say. See, e.g., https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/01/us/undocumented-immigrants-exodus-us.html or any of the monthly CBP reports. And don’t forget that a huge fraction of unauthorized immigration is visa overstays, not border crossings. Don’t let the Republican scare tactics fool you.

You love the taste of the kool-aid, don't you? Of course they're getting through. The CBP has admitted it and asked for more help to keep it to just "encounters".

Since this point is so obvious to you, it’s surprising that you can’t cite any actual data.

[Anonymous]

I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

So you admit you’re ripping people off if they live in a fancy zip code.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

What about people who have lived in the expensive neighborhood for 25 years and bought below $500k and couldn’t possibly afford to buy their house at today’s prices?

[Anonymous]

Shrewd, successful contractors are fully aware that rich people are NOT STUPID. They did not become rich by making poor financial decisions. In fact, the rich are usually more prepared than the non rich. When I provide a quote in an upper brackets neighborhood, I have to sharpen my pencil. Signed...licensed HVAC contractor.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

So you admit you’re ripping people off if they live in a fancy zip code.

I am not the business owner, but this is one reason we bought in an affordable area that people on this board make fun of.

Lots of costs are associated with living in expensive houses. I mean, duh, you have to (1) keep up with the Joneses in order to fit in and (2) most people will assume you are rolling in cash.

[Anonymous]

Another trick for people who don't know: the most expensive looking house and cars in a neighborhood are usually the first target for thieves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

What about people who have lived in the expensive neighborhood for 25 years and bought below $500k and couldn’t possibly afford to buy their house at today’s prices?

25 years ago 500K was a lot for a house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I own a small business, and yes, if you are living in a 2-million dollar home, then I am going to charge you more than the person living in a 500K home. It's more like a discount for the other person than like an increase for you, but if you are living in that house and you want my services that badly, you can afford to pay it. I hate cheap rich people.

So you admit you’re ripping people off if they live in a fancy zip code.

I admit I'm not going to let people in fancy zip codes rip me off. They're not getting a discount, and I'm not taking anything off the price. They don't need it. I do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Inflation has caused things to cost more. I live in the same neighborhood as I did precovid and everything costs more, handyman, housekeeping, etc.

This. You might be right, but please understand, costs for these kinds of house maintenance projects has absolutely skyrocketed.

I think a part of it is reduced immigration, particularly illegal immigration, which started under Trump but was maintained under Biden and, in the case of legal immigration/visas, further reduced due to the pandemic.

I live in a more blue collar neighborhood and trust that my eyes are also bulging with sticker shock.

Illegal immigration has exploded under Biden to a staggering number. Millions. By contrast it was in the thousands under Turnip. I have to concede this point to the Republicans.

COVID was a shock to the employment market. There was a boom in demand for house maintenance projects while at the same time the labor force for maintenance projects fell sharply. Some of the contractors I worked with at the time said a lot of the workers were taking advantage of the free checks the government was sending out during COVID to the unemployed to stop working and when that happened, contractors had to raise their wages to keep other workers, which triggered a spike in cost of services.

Labor costs are much higher now.

Inflation exploded under the Biden Administration as well. The result of reckless spending in the first two years of a Democratic Congress. I doubt idea is aware though as he doesn’t seem to even know what day of the week it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It seems everyone charges more. The plumber, electrician, housecleaners, everyone is charging us significantly more than when we lived 15 minutes from here, but in a less expensive zip code. I get needing to make money, but don't be ridiculous.

I'm trying to find a new housecleaner and quotes I'm getting are easily 2x what we paid in our previous neighborhood, and for a smaller house.

We have lived in Bethesda for 20+ years, and everything here is more expensive because of the zip code, it has nothing to do with covid. I have friends who live in 20854 / Potomac. Whenever they need a contractor, they say they live in Rockville for the same reason, there's an upcharge for Potomac

1000% This.
I live in Potomac and my friend lives in Silver Spring. I called a plumber to replace a bathroom faucet, I was shocked with the price they quoted. The next day I asked my friend to call the same plumber for the same service and the quoted price was lower.

They charged you a higher price because they correctly picked up that you would be a pain-in-the-@ss customer who would create extra work for them by doing things like asking for phony quotes.

You need a plumber to change a faucet?!? Really?