official off topic thread

[Satans Hockey]

The vast majority of my friends no longer have to commute into the city because they are now permanent work from home or only have to go in once in a blue moon for a meeting. A few of them who were actually living in the city bailed to the suburbs and others have moved from North to South Jersey for bigger houses cause they don't have to worry about their commutes being longer now either when they don't have to be in the office or only have to go in once in awhile. 

I'm sure that's having a huge affect on the housing market around here since why pay for a smaller apartment/studio in the city or a smaller house when you can live wherever to work. 

[DevsMan84]

1 hour ago, Satans Hockey said:

The vast majority of my friends no longer have to commute into the city because they are now permanent work from home or only have to go in once in a blue moon for a meeting. A few of them who were actually living in the city bailed to the suburbs and others have moved from North to South Jersey for bigger houses cause they don't have to worry about their commutes being longer now either when they don't have to be in the office or only have to go in once in awhile. 

I'm sure that's having a huge affect on the housing market around here since why pay for a smaller apartment/studio in the city or a smaller house when you can live wherever to work. 

The biggest and likely most lasting change that the COVID pandemic has done to change the American landscape is the WFH revolution.  I have been WFH since March of 2020 and just started going back to the office 3 weeks ago, but it is just 1 day a week until New Years and then it goes to 2 days a week in the office and 3 days WFH after that.  I know others whose jobs have gone permanently WFH.  One of the biggest factors that goes into deciding where to live is the commute and now that is completely gone out of the equation.  I welcome WFH because while my commute wasn't bad (it's about 30 min each direction), that is about an hour a day I am basically doing unpaid work getting to and from the office.  It also saves me on gas and wear and tear on the car, so it's a big help.

[DevsMan84]

2 hours ago, MB3 said:

we’re writing into all of our offers an agreement that we will pay out of pocket the difference between the appraisal and the sale price. but that is cash that’s due at signing, so it eats into our downpayment / closing costs money. 

my friend is a bartender. his wife works at the local public school. they’re 31 and 29. both employed. no debt. but, of course, not a ton of savings. Safe bet is that they make $100k-ish per year, maybe less. How do they buy a home? They can’t offer $50k over appraisal because there’s no fvcking chance they have $50k in addition to downpayment and closing costs. So what do they do? Rent until they die? Wait until they’re 55 years old to buy in the only market in america with inventory? 

What a boring dystopia. 

Add to the growing student loan debt that a lot of college students are incurring, a lot of them are probably kissing ever owning a place goodbye.

It really sucks for the current younger generation as they will never be able to build up equity and real estate is often the key to creating generational wealth.

[Devilsfan118]

6 hours ago, MB3 said:

any of you an unfortunate millennial getting giga-fvcked by the housing market? 

we did everything right. we have 20% savings for a downpayment, we’re each established in our professional field making good money. we we’re pre-approved for a $750k loan, all we want is a cute little 2 bedroom in the $350-$400 range. We have made FOURTEEN offers, ALL of them over asking.

We are 0-14. 

Every house we lose out to someone who bought a 6 bedroom house in 1994 on an olive garden assistant manager’s salary for three nickels who now has $900k in equity to offer $100k over asking waived contingency. Half of the communities near me are 55-older, but if you’re not 55 or a trust fund baby it’s impossible to buy a house right now. Our landlord knows it so, with our firstborn due in a few months, he’s putting a gun in our mouth and DOUBLING our rent if we want to stay another year. This guy can’t even spell, aggressively forgets what day of the week it is, but because he bought this place for the price of a VCR in 1996 he has all of the power. 

It’s a sh!t game in a broken system and I’m about to go juaquin-phoenix-style joker if i have to do it much longer.

I can absolutely sympathize with you - my wife and I have been hunting for a house in the Phlly suburbs since fall 2019.  Technically started in the fall, met our agent, started the process with the intent of finding a home in spring 2020.  

We put our first offer out on a modest little starter home in Havertown on 6/20/2020 and got promptly "learned" about how fvcking stupid people were being with money.  At the peak it was not uncommon to see folks throwing 40k+ over list at these homes, waiving inspections, waiving appraisal guarantees.  We're like you, working late 20s/early 30s who have saved diligently but simply don't have the capital to be able to bring another 50k to the table, not to mention it feels fvcking ridiculous to spend FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS OVER LIST on a home built in the 1940s.

I don't even mind sharing the address of the most absurd case we ran into - 600 Covington.  Despite what is now being shown on Redfin/Zillow, I can tell you the list was $379,000.  My wife loved the house, we offered something like $455,000, included inspections "for information" (more or less accepting the house as-is but reserving the right to walk away), and agreed to bring cash if needed to help if it didn't appraise.  Like, frankly, an absurdly aggressive offer that I was like "there's no way anyone could be more irresponsible than this".  Well, as you can see, it sold for fvcking $480,00.  There were THIRTY (30) offers submitted.  Our agent couldn't believe it.  Flight from Philly to the burbs was in full effect.  

We then decided to look across the river in Cherry Hill - not much better, because now we were contending with both Philly money and (somehow) New York money.  Put out 6 offers before miraculously getting lucky on our 7th - we close on 12/15.

Moral* of the story - it'll happen when it's meant to happen.  I know that means fvck-all and offers no consolation whatsoever, but.. you'll get one.  My honest advice - back off the 20% down, accept that you'll be paying PMI (which also fvcking sucks), and use that extra cash to incentivize your offer.  It's financially moronic and we're going to look back on this in 10 years and be like "can you believe people were this financially reckless" but it'll get you into a home and mortgage before rates start to climb again.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Devilsfan118
moral not morale

[Devilsfan118]

4 hours ago, MB3 said:

Banks won’t lend $500k to first time homebuyers on a house with a $410 appraisal. So what do we do? How is there no room in the wheel for the 30 year olds starting a family with $80k in savings and a joint salary over $200k? How is that even remotely possible? We did everything right and we’re fvcked — what about those who weren’t as lucky as we are? Those who had trouble getting a job after the economy was torched while they were still teenagers? 

It's absolutely beyond fvcked, and people wonder why our generation is frustrated with the status-quo.

[Devilsfan118]

2 hours ago, Colorado Rockies 1976 said:

nd on a side note, it's pretty obvious that it's well-known in my area that many young people will be stuck paying rent, because "Luxury Apartments" (apparently every new apartment is a "luxury" apartment) are sprouting up EVERYWHERE. 

We currently live in Manayunk (am I doxing myself in this post?) and it's been very upsetting to see this happening all over the place.  Developers buying up charming/classic homes, demo-ing the block and putting up cookie-cutter boring ass "luxury apartments" or "high living condominiums".

As we drive around watching block after block after block being built I ask my wife "who the hell is going to pay 3k to live in a 'luxury apartment' next to the train tracks'"?  It blows my mind but people are lining up to buy these places.

I just do not understand this housing market whatsoever. 

[DevsMan84]

11 minutes ago, Devilsfan118 said:

I can absolutely sympathize with you - my wife and I have been hunting for a house in the Phlly suburbs since fall 2019.  Technically started in the fall, met our agent, started the process with the intent of finding a home in spring 2020.  

We put our first offer out on a modest little starter home in Havertown on 6/20/2020 and got promptly "learned" about how fvcking stupid people were being with money.  At the peak it was not uncommon to see folks throwing 40k+ over list at these homes, waiving inspections, waiving appraisal guarantees.  We're like you, working late 20s/early 30s who have saved diligently but simply don't have the capital to be able to bring another 50k to the table, not to mention it feels fvcking ridiculous to spend FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS OVER LIST on a home built in the 1940s.

I don't even mind sharing the address of the most absurd case we ran into - 600 Covington.  Despite what is now being shown on Redfin/Zillow, I can tell you the list was $379,000.  My wife loved the house, we offered something like $455,000, included inspections "for information" (more or less accepting the house as-is but reserving the right to walk away), and agreed to bring cash if needed to help if it didn't appraise.  Like, frankly, an absurdly aggressive offer that I was like "there's no way anyone could be more irresponsible than this".  Well, as you can see, it sold for fvcking $480,00.  There were THIRTY (30) offers submitted.  Our agent couldn't believe it.  Flight from Philly to the burbs was in full effect.  

We then decided to look across the river in Cherry Hill - not much better, because now we were contending with both Philly money and (somehow) New York money.  Put out 6 offers before miraculously getting lucky on our 7th - we close on 12/15.

Morale of the story - it'll happen when it's meant to happen.  I know that means fvck-all and offers no consolation whatsoever, but.. you'll get one.  My honest advice - back off the 20% down, accept that you'll be paying PMI (which also fvcking sucks), and use that extra cash to incentivize your offer.  It's financially moronic and we're going to look back on this in 10 years and be like "can you believe people were this financially reckless" but it'll get you into a home and mortgage before rates start to climb again.

If you do that, you do run the risk of if the housing market does a 180 that you could potentially be underwater on your loan if you try to sell.  I would only recommend what your advising if you plan to stick to that home for a long time to pay enough down on the principle.

Meanwhile, my wife and I are talking about moving yet AGAIN in a year or two.  That would be the fourth home in about 13/14 years for us.  I told my wife that the next place must absolutely be someplace where we live for at least a decade because I am starting to feel like a vagabond.

[Devilsfan118]

21 minutes ago, DevsMan84 said:

If you do that, you do run the risk of if the housing market does a 180 that you could potentially be underwater on your loan if you try to sell.  I would only recommend what your advising if you plan to stick to that home for a long time to pay enough down on the principle.

Meanwhile, my wife and I are talking about moving yet AGAIN in a year or two.  That would be the fourth home in about 13/14 years for us.  I told my wife that the next place must absolutely be someplace where we live for at least a decade because I am starting to feel like a vagabond.

Yes, sage advice.  But I'm figuring anyone trying to buy in this crazy market will be doing so for the long-haul - no one can predict the future but it's hard to imagine housing prices continue to climb this aggressively.  Especially if interest rates finally start to creep up.  Then again, I said the same thing in the fall of 2020*.  And prices continued to rise and rise.

But yeah, we're settling into this home for the long-haul.  I still expect to lose money but.. it is what it is.  We couldn't stomach the idea of living in this 900 sqft apartment in Philly much longer with our rent likely making a big jump in the spring at renewal time.

Edited November 9, 2021 by Devilsfan118

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

Just now, Devilsfan118 said:

We currently live in Manayunk (am I doxing myself in this post?) and it's been very upsetting to see this happening all over the place.  Developers buying up charming/classic homes, demo-ing the block and putting up cookie-cutter boring ass "luxury apartments" or "high living condominiums".

As we drive around watching block after block after block being built I ask my wife "who the hell is going to pay 3k to live in a 'luxury apartment' next to the train tracks'"?  It blows my mind but people are lining up to buy these places.

I just do not understand this housing market whatsoever. 

I live in Clinton NJ and commute daily to Hillsborough...about 25-30 mins each way.  On 22 (I take that road a good chunk of the way), there's a couple of "luxury rental apt" complexes underway.  Also a new townhouse development that's nearing completion (with several people already having moved in).  Right in Manville (my business is near the Manville border, but in Hillsborough), in what used to be dense forest...another luxury apt complex is going up.  In the gym where I work out (HealthQuest, near Flemington), the baseball field was torn down, and being built in its place is...take a guess.  Luxury apartments are being built on Route 31 too, near Flemington.  Also near the train station in Somerville (along with townhouses galore).  It just never seems to end.

And considering the home market, and how insane it is...I think people in my situation (in the middle of a divorce) will try to suck it up and realize that blowing up the finances and forcing any children that they have to live in much less pleasant surroundings than they're used to might not be the best way to go.  We get along "well enough", all things considered, and we both love our daughter dearly (she's currently in 8th grade)...for her sake, as long as me and my future ex aren't at each other's throats and can effectively co-parent and work almost as business partners in raising our daughter until she's off to college...yeah, there's plenty missing, but I can live with that.  Better that than that poor kid having to bounce back and forth between mommy and daddy's places, neither of which will be as nice as where she is now (along with her bedroom, she has a room that is completely all her own, for hanging with friends, doing homework, etc)...and neither of which will truly feel like home to her.  Put our kid through that just as she's about to enter high school, which can be overwhelming and confusing enough as it is?  I'd rather not.  

[Satans Hockey]

2 hours ago, Devilsfan118 said:

We currently live in Manayunk (am I doxing myself in this post?) and it's been very upsetting to see this happening all over the place.  Developers buying up charming/classic homes, demo-ing the block and putting up cookie-cutter boring ass "luxury apartments" or "high living condominiums".

As we drive around watching block after block after block being built I ask my wife "who the hell is going to pay 3k to live in a 'luxury apartment' next to the train tracks'"?  It blows my mind but people are lining up to buy these places.

I just do not understand this housing market whatsoever. 

The only "luxury apartments" I'd ever consider living in would have to be something directly across from Prudential Center or Red Bull Arena(which now has like 3 of these giant complexes and all are filled cause it's right next to the path train) and I would have to hit the lotto so I can buy the entire top floor and turn it into one giant apartment lol

[Satans Hockey]

3 hours ago, DevsMan84 said:

The biggest and likely most lasting change that the COVID pandemic has done to change the American landscape is the WFH revolution.  I have been WFH since March of 2020 and just started going back to the office 3 weeks ago, but it is just 1 day a week until New Years and then it goes to 2 days a week in the office and 3 days WFH after that.  I know others whose jobs have gone permanently WFH.  One of the biggest factors that goes into deciding where to live is the commute and now that is completely gone out of the equation.  I welcome WFH because while my commute wasn't bad (it's about 30 min each direction), that is about an hour a day I am basically doing unpaid work getting to and from the office.  It also saves me on gas and wear and tear on the car, so it's a big help.

Everyone I know loves it too, some of them are saving 20 hours a week in commutes now and they can't believe they use to actually waste almost an entire day on commuting each week. It's insane looking back at it. 

Not to be too much of a tree loving hippie but work from home for people who can do it and have no reason to be in an office is an easy way to people off the roads and make our planet greener.

Obviously there are many jobs that people simply can't work from home but at least giving the option for everyone should be the way forward for many settings. The only people I know who have bosses who are firmly against wfh are very old or have owners who are very old and simply don't trust people that will actually work from home without pointless micro management. My friends who are stuck at those places have either quit or are currently looking for other jobs. Eventually that will end when those ignorant bosses/owners either leave the work force or die out. 

Edited November 9, 2021 by Satans Hockey

[point]

Well, it certainly is an absolutely crazy real estate market right now. Can I put some perspective on this market?

We bought our first home in 1975. A charming place with 2 small bedrooms but a fantastic fireplace in Point Pleasant Boro. Three years later, and with 2 sons we decided to get a bigger place, still in Point Boro, since Pt Pleasant Beach was always 20% higher. Anyway, in1979 it took us nine months to sell the place. That was when mortgage rates were 9%, that's NINE PERCENT.  

I've seen collapses in home prices. 1987, 2009. It isn't pretty. But the bubble in home prices isn't a NJ anomaly. My niece took a job in central Michigan and she and her husband were in the same situation recounted here, where listings disappeared in days going for well above asking price. Reminds me of 2007-2008, where I saw clients selling homes and buyers closing with 100% financing, seller concessions, and walking out of the closing with more cash than they came in with. Now, that was crazy.

In a couple of years baby boomers will start to die, leaving lots of pretty homes their kids will want to offload at bargain prices. And a lot of those boomers still have mortgages on their homes. HELOCs to pay for kid college tuition, mostly.

Two years ago a tax client was struggling with his daughters' college loans. He was a lower level GM forced retiree working as a bartender. Those guys got royally screwed. Anyway, I told him to call me in May to discuss his options. Sure enough, he called me in May......

He had hit the NJ lottery for $150,000. I ran the numbers and he could pay off those collage loans, pay the tax on the winnings and still be about $10,000 to the good. The best lottery story I have.

Another client won $10,800,000, and really didn't need the money. It caused a lot of grief between him and his sons.

So, MB, be patient. You can still find stories about the folks who lost their homes in the Great Depression, and the guys who bought the homes were the guys who were renting from them.

[DevsMan84]

16 hours ago, Satans Hockey said:

Everyone I know loves it too, some of them are saving 20 hours a week in commutes now and they can't believe they use to actually waste almost an entire day on commuting each week. It's insane looking back at it. 

Not to be too much of a tree loving hippie but work from home for people who can do it and have no reason to be in an office is an easy way to people off the roads and make our planet greener.

Obviously there are many jobs that people simply can't work from home but at least giving the option for everyone should be the way forward for many settings. The only people I know who have bosses who are firmly against wfh are very old or have owners who are very old and simply don't trust people that will actually work from home without pointless micro management. My friends who are stuck at those places have either quit or are currently looking for other jobs. Eventually that will end when those ignorant bosses/owners either leave the work force or die out. 

Another reason is that companies have spent a ton of $ on office buildings and other infrastructure over the years and are hating the fact that it may be money down the toilet at this point.

[mfitz804]

Nothing like offering $30k over asking price for a meh townhouse. 

[Colorado Rockies 1976]

14 hours ago, point said:

Well, it certainly is an absolutely crazy real estate market right now. Can I put some perspective on this market?

We bought our first home in 1975. A charming place with 2 small bedrooms but a fantastic fireplace in Point Pleasant Boro. Three years later, and with 2 sons we decided to get a bigger place, still in Point Boro, since Pt Pleasant Beach was always 20% higher. Anyway, in1979 it took us nine months to sell the place. That was when mortgage rates were 9%, that's NINE PERCENT.  

They reached over 16% in 1981.  Insane that it got THAT high.

We paid off our 15-year fixed in 6.5 years...we were all done as of December 2019.  Our rate was 3.125%...doubt we EVER see that again.  Really hoping to not have to sell until my daughter is settled at college (still has 8th grade and high school to churn through), but should it come to that, there will be money for each of us to buy our own places...not without some serious downsizing though (not that our current house is huge...it's more "efficient".  Two-story colonial with a walk-out basement...the basement came finished, save for a decent-sized storage room, so it feels more like a three-story house...no dramatic high-ceiling entrance like you see with most McMansion houses these days, and most of the rooms aren't particularly large...that's why I call it "efficient").  But hard to imagine that unless we go REALLY cheap on each of our homes, that we won't need new mortgages for whatever we would buy.  

[mfitz804]

51 minutes ago, MB3 said:

yeah unfortunately we're backed into a corner. baby coming soon, no place to live in 2 months, and if we stay here we're paying infinitely over market value and locked into an annual lease. it's a rock and a hard place. 

I feel for you, my man. However nice your current place is, its about to become WAY smaller. I hope you have better luck. 

[point]

2 hours ago, MB3 said:

yeah unfortunately we're backed into a corner. baby coming soon, no place to live in 2 months, and if we stay here we're paying infinitely over market value and locked into an annual lease. it's a rock and a hard place. 

Oh, that really sucks. Not a time frame to wait out the market.

[titans04]

It's insane and I feel for you guys that are stuck looking to buy in this market.  It's absolutely insane here in Seaside Park people paying 500k for knock downs just for the 50x100 lot.  A lot we paid 250k for in 2016.  There's people paying as others have pointed out up to 100k+ over asking prices on almost every listing.  Our neighbor is a agent with a relatively small real estate co says the bidding wars start before the signs even go up on most properties just within their office.

The builder we used builds one model house, one house at a time. So we closed 4 years ago this week, the last one he finished about 4 months ago 10 streets over same exact lot location relative to the ocean/bay and it sold for 515k more and the finishes inside were much more builder grade.  People are buying houses that haven't been raised (so they can't get mortgages) for these crazy  prices too so they're essentially paying cash.  Some of the bigger realtors are buying up houses and lots like crazy 7 on this beach block alone, they knocked everything down and those "new" houses which were just floor plans were all sold in no time at insane prices. So even though times are tough somehow the housing market is crazed and honestly I don't understand the math here.

Try to not get too discouraged, we had to bring a 45k check to our first "sale" because the bottom fell out of the market.  Some times treading water while far from ideal is better than getting in over your head.

   

[point]

There will be a lot of misery when mortgage rates go up, even if only by a point.

[MadDog2020]

I’m no real estate expert, but how the fvck can these types of market conditions continue? It doesn’t make any sense. Eventually the ‘bubble’ (if that’s what this even is) will pop again and people are gonna be in a world of hurt.

[Devilsfan118]

1 hour ago, point said:

There will be a lot of misery when mortgage rates go up, even if only by a point.

Rates are climbing now - thankfully we locked in near the relative bottom last week (2.9%, no points, ridiculous) but yeah.. if rates climb into the 4% range people are going to be scared off.

I'm going to uninstall every real estate app on my phone once we close.  I absolutely know we're going to see our value drop if we look 6 months from now.

  

19 minutes ago, MadDog2020 said:

I’m no real estate expert, but how the fvck can these types of market conditions continue? It doesn’t make any sense. Eventually the ‘bubble’ (if that’s what this even is) will pop again and people are gonna be in a world of hurt.

Bracing for it already.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Devilsfan118

[SterioDesign]

So i mentioned working on this Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" guitar replica awhile ago. It's pretty much done now.

So this is a personal side project i've been working on for awhile. Being a movie props replica collector and huge music fan. I decided that I wanted to make a Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" replica, as this is the most iconic guitar to me. I was 10 when Green Day - Dookie came out and it changed my life, still my favourite album of all time. It got me into punk music and it made me realize how you can mix music and art together. I know that album artwork by heart and i really don't think i'd be a graphic designer / illustrator designing album artworks if it wasn't for Green Day - Dookie. So very important project for me.

 

I've always known the history of Blue, how his mom worked overtime to buy the guitar from his guitar teacher, etc How he changed the pickups many times and when (especially after the mud destroyed his JB SH4 at woodstock haha and kind of followed that guitar through the years as he's still using it to this day. It went through a lot of changes, neck, pickups, stickers, etc etc but i wanted to replicate the specific '94 version he had during Lolapalooza and Woodstock. Found a bunch of references shots and videos and went to town haha Luckily i'm a designer so i could design the stickers that i couldnt find myself too haha Some were pretty obscure.

 

I've literally never done this before so it was pretty challenging and I had to learn a lot of sh!t on the fly but it was an absolute blast to do. Just trying to figure out how to start with something completely new and make it look like it's been around for 30 years. Learned a lot of fun tricks, like heating the guitar with a heat gun and then spray it with a freeze spray to make the paint crack, etc etc

as @mfitz804 requested awhile back, here's some progress and display pics

https://www.flickr.com/gp/145856245@N05/e9jL42

 

 

 

[mfitz804]

You did a crazy good job on that guitar, my man. Looks great. 

[MadDog2020]

4 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

So i mentioned working on this Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" guitar replica awhile ago. It's pretty much done now.

So this is a personal side project i've been working on for awhile. Being a movie props replica collector and huge music fan. I decided that I wanted to make a Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" replica, as this is the most iconic guitar to me. I was 10 when Green Day - Dookie came out and it changed my life, still my favourite album of all time. It got me into punk music and it made me realize how you can mix music and art together. I know that album artwork by heart and i really don't think i'd be a graphic designer / illustrator designing album artworks if it wasn't for Green Day - Dookie. So very important project for me.

 

I've always known the history of Blue, how his mom worked overtime to buy the guitar from his guitar teacher, etc How he changed the pickups many times and when (especially after the mud destroyed his JB SH4 at woodstock haha and kind of followed that guitar through the years as he's still using it to this day. It went through a lot of changes, neck, pickups, stickers, etc etc but i wanted to replicate the specific '94 version he had during Lolapalooza and Woodstock. Found a bunch of references shots and videos and went to town haha Luckily i'm a designer so i could design the stickers that i couldnt find myself too haha Some were pretty obscure.

 

I've literally never done this before so it was pretty challenging and I had to learn a lot of sh!t on the fly but it was an absolute blast to do. Just trying to figure out how to start with something completely new and make it look like it's been around for 30 years. Learned a lot of fun tricks, like heating the guitar with a heat gun and then spray it with a freeze spray to make the paint crack, etc etc

as @mfitz804 requested awhile back, here's some progress and display pics

https://www.flickr.com/gp/145856245@N05/e9jL42

 

 

 

That’s fvcking awesome SD, great work!

[Chimaira_Devil_#9]

16 hours ago, SterioDesign said:

So i mentioned working on this Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" guitar replica awhile ago. It's pretty much done now.

So this is a personal side project i've been working on for awhile. Being a movie props replica collector and huge music fan. I decided that I wanted to make a Billie Joe Armstrong "Blue" replica, as this is the most iconic guitar to me. I was 10 when Green Day - Dookie came out and it changed my life, still my favourite album of all time. It got me into punk music and it made me realize how you can mix music and art together. I know that album artwork by heart and i really don't think i'd be a graphic designer / illustrator designing album artworks if it wasn't for Green Day - Dookie. So very important project for me.

 

I've always known the history of Blue, how his mom worked overtime to buy the guitar from his guitar teacher, etc How he changed the pickups many times and when (especially after the mud destroyed his JB SH4 at woodstock haha and kind of followed that guitar through the years as he's still using it to this day. It went through a lot of changes, neck, pickups, stickers, etc etc but i wanted to replicate the specific '94 version he had during Lolapalooza and Woodstock. Found a bunch of references shots and videos and went to town haha Luckily i'm a designer so i could design the stickers that i couldnt find myself too haha Some were pretty obscure.

 

I've literally never done this before so it was pretty challenging and I had to learn a lot of sh!t on the fly but it was an absolute blast to do. Just trying to figure out how to start with something completely new and make it look like it's been around for 30 years. Learned a lot of fun tricks, like heating the guitar with a heat gun and then spray it with a freeze spray to make the paint crack, etc etc

as @mfitz804 requested awhile back, here's some progress and display pics

https://www.flickr.com/gp/145856245@N05/e9jL42

 

IMG_9261.MOV 72.25 MB · 1 download  

 

 

Someone is going to find that in like 80 years time and be like " how did Sterio get hold of Billy Joe's guitar? " And then rapidly trying to get an auction valuation. 

Incredible work dude.