Well, none of those folks showed up. The first person was sick and when I followed up 2 weeks later, she hasn't responded. The others just fell off the face of the earth as well.
For those who may not be as faith-driven as I am, this may sound like a load of (fill in the word you'd like), but I'm beginning to believe that I tested fate when I questioned whether the Universe was toying with me. I should have believed that my prayers were being answered and I should not have verbalized any question or doubt. All along, I have believed that when the time is right things will happen. I did believe that these people responding to my ad were meant to happen, and I wonder if I hadn't expressed a doubt, if it would have worked.
I can only pray that I will be forgiven for my doubts and be given another chance very, very soon!
Meanwhile, I found a company that will pick up not only my junk scrap metal but all my recycleables as well. Ok, I won't get paid anything for it, but at least I don't have to pay someone else to remove it, nor do I have to take time off of work to get to the recycle center or worry about making several trips to Staples or some other office supply place that accepts recycleable computers and parts. This is the next step to the cleaning process. Once all this stuff is cleared out, I can then have the new floors installed downstairs and the rooms painted. Goal by the end of February.
Friday, January 18, 2013
Saturday, January 5, 2013
Making great progress
(NOTE: this post should be before the Universe one. For some reason it didn't get published when I wrote it; it was in my draft folder).
Having 2 weeks off for vacation, I'm in "operation clean up" mode again. With M not being home to watch all the things I'm putting into garbage bags (or into the give away or recycle piles), it's amazing how productive I am! I admit that many things I've touched brought back memories (like all the supplies I used in my balloon decorating / event planning business), but on the very top of my mind is "will this fit in the RV?" and "will I ever use this again?" Of course, the answer is no, so out it goes.
M has been working extremely long hours the past few weeks. Unfortunately, those contractors are on 30 day net pay, so we won't see the $ until Jan or Feb, but the plan is that once the downstairs rooms are cleaned out, I can have the downstairs completely renovated. Then again, man plans and God laughs. But that's the plan of action anyway.
Having 2 weeks off for vacation, I'm in "operation clean up" mode again. With M not being home to watch all the things I'm putting into garbage bags (or into the give away or recycle piles), it's amazing how productive I am! I admit that many things I've touched brought back memories (like all the supplies I used in my balloon decorating / event planning business), but on the very top of my mind is "will this fit in the RV?" and "will I ever use this again?" Of course, the answer is no, so out it goes.
M has been working extremely long hours the past few weeks. Unfortunately, those contractors are on 30 day net pay, so we won't see the $ until Jan or Feb, but the plan is that once the downstairs rooms are cleaned out, I can have the downstairs completely renovated. Then again, man plans and God laughs. But that's the plan of action anyway.
Is the Universe playing games with me again?
Well, the clean up project went pretty well. I have a charity truck coming to pick up donations on Jan. 26th and hope to get all the electronic junk to the recycle center before then. I was hoping to have the contractor come by the end of the month but no later than the end of Feb. to complete the downstairs (new floors and painting) but.... M went and totalled the car (thank Goodness he wasn't hurt and I wasn't with him. He was side swiped (by a driving instructor!!) and the passenger door was totally smashed in. Insurance co. deemed it totalled. The $ we're getting back, since it was a 2000 with 200K miles, isn't worth very much, so we had to dig into the house money to replace the vehicle.
But that's not the reason for my title question. The goal is to fix up the little repairs and cosmetic stuff and put the house on the market. However, just for the fun of it, I put a For Sale By Owner note on Craigslist, basically saying that I would love to retire sooner and will dramatically reduce the selling price for someone else to putter. And absolutely no investors or realtors need reply. Well... I actually got 2 very serious families who want to come over this week to take a look, despite my giving them a full disclosure of all the work that needs to be done. Honestly, I really didn't expect any serious inquiries.
So, is the Universe toying with me -- putting these folks in my path only to squash my hopes? Or is this our prayers being answered? I guess we'll know in a few days.
But that's not the reason for my title question. The goal is to fix up the little repairs and cosmetic stuff and put the house on the market. However, just for the fun of it, I put a For Sale By Owner note on Craigslist, basically saying that I would love to retire sooner and will dramatically reduce the selling price for someone else to putter. And absolutely no investors or realtors need reply. Well... I actually got 2 very serious families who want to come over this week to take a look, despite my giving them a full disclosure of all the work that needs to be done. Honestly, I really didn't expect any serious inquiries.
So, is the Universe toying with me -- putting these folks in my path only to squash my hopes? Or is this our prayers being answered? I guess we'll know in a few days.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Next part of the plan
Will 2013 be the year???
Things continue to move along at a snail's pace; as always due to either lack of money or lack of time. We are still at the point of needing to make a lot of cosmetic repairs to the house in order to get it on the market (if we sell "as is" we won't make enough to pay off the mortgage, let alone have enough left over to buy the RV. So it has to be marketable. We're not planning to use top of the line materials, but to do just enough that prospective buyers won't walk in and think "what a dump." The biggest "repairs" is replacing the 30 year old carpet with laminate wood flooring (we already did 2 rooms and the hallway; now we have 5 bedrooms left), painting, replacing the garage doors and broken fence and front steps.
The next part of the plan is the downstairs floor and painting. Hopefully we'll have enough money to get the work done in Jan or Feb. In the meantime, there's major cleanup work - throwing away years and years of M's computer components, wires, cables, and other junk. It's been an office and storage area and morphed into a huge mess. The plan is once it's cleaned out and the flooring put down, we will turn it into a bedroom (which is what it really is!). In the den, we will just get rid of the old, dilapidated entertainment center and perhaps just keep a couch facing the fireplace. My company closes its offices between Xmas and New Year's, and I'm taking the week before that for vacation, so the plan is that I can get most, if not all, of the cleaning done during that time, the rooms'll be prepped by the time the money comes in.
Then again, it's almost always been our experience that when the money comes in, the car or house needs a major repair! So who knows. I won't give up on the plan anyway.
Things continue to move along at a snail's pace; as always due to either lack of money or lack of time. We are still at the point of needing to make a lot of cosmetic repairs to the house in order to get it on the market (if we sell "as is" we won't make enough to pay off the mortgage, let alone have enough left over to buy the RV. So it has to be marketable. We're not planning to use top of the line materials, but to do just enough that prospective buyers won't walk in and think "what a dump." The biggest "repairs" is replacing the 30 year old carpet with laminate wood flooring (we already did 2 rooms and the hallway; now we have 5 bedrooms left), painting, replacing the garage doors and broken fence and front steps.
The next part of the plan is the downstairs floor and painting. Hopefully we'll have enough money to get the work done in Jan or Feb. In the meantime, there's major cleanup work - throwing away years and years of M's computer components, wires, cables, and other junk. It's been an office and storage area and morphed into a huge mess. The plan is once it's cleaned out and the flooring put down, we will turn it into a bedroom (which is what it really is!). In the den, we will just get rid of the old, dilapidated entertainment center and perhaps just keep a couch facing the fireplace. My company closes its offices between Xmas and New Year's, and I'm taking the week before that for vacation, so the plan is that I can get most, if not all, of the cleaning done during that time, the rooms'll be prepped by the time the money comes in.
Then again, it's almost always been our experience that when the money comes in, the car or house needs a major repair! So who knows. I won't give up on the plan anyway.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Squirrel holes patched - feeling discouraged
The first major expensive undertaking took place - the holes in the 4 corners of the roof were covered over and the gutter which was hanging off was repaired. $1500. Boy, do I feel totally ripped off. And then I was told that the roof is in very poor shape and is indeed leaking in many places in the attic. It hasn't come thru the ceiling yet because the insulation is absorbing it. We're looking at between $4-8K to replace the roof.
We started to peel off the wallpaper in the entranceway and downstairs to discover the backing was still on the wall and it is a major undertaking, time-wise, to remove it. We will probably end up doing all the painting ourselves. Laying the floor is another $2K deal.
I am feeling incredibly discouraged right now because there is only about $1500 left in the bank, which has to be a cushion for when M doesn't have work and I need to use it to pay bills. Not to mention I have an engagement party and wedding to look forward to sometime in the near future and have no clue where money for that is coming from. But... we can't move on to this next chapter until we sell the house.
For now, we can only pray to win the lottery or find some kind of windfall. Yeah, right. Haha.
We started to peel off the wallpaper in the entranceway and downstairs to discover the backing was still on the wall and it is a major undertaking, time-wise, to remove it. We will probably end up doing all the painting ourselves. Laying the floor is another $2K deal.
I am feeling incredibly discouraged right now because there is only about $1500 left in the bank, which has to be a cushion for when M doesn't have work and I need to use it to pay bills. Not to mention I have an engagement party and wedding to look forward to sometime in the near future and have no clue where money for that is coming from. But... we can't move on to this next chapter until we sell the house.
For now, we can only pray to win the lottery or find some kind of windfall. Yeah, right. Haha.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Bittersweet day
We found a buyer for the pool! We were close to selling it last spring, but since it didn't look like we'd have the house anywhere near ready to put on the market, we (at M's insistence) decided to keep and enjoy it for one more season. It was very bittersweet - mostly sad - for him because the pool has been his pride & joy and the one thing he really looked forward to every summer; that is, being able lie down and relax on his raft with drink and book or magazine in hand, in the peace, quiet and privacy of his own backyard.
We realized that if we want to pursue our dream, this was going to be one of his major sacrifices, as we would never have the opportunity to do this again once we become full timers (not that we won't be able to go swimming, but we won't have that kind of privacy again). Nevertheless, on what was clearly the last pool day of the season, while we floated together on our individual rafts, holding hands, we talked about this and decided to truly cherish those moments together and try to ingrain them in our minds. Still - it was a difficult emotion to face. But then again, it's one more step closer to the goal, which is very exciting.
On another note, the van is pretty much on it's last limb. We were given the opportunity to buy another one - exact same model but 1 year younger (12 yrs instead of 13) but in much better condition. Since the cost of repairing ours would cost about the same as the purchase price, we decided to go for it and buy something that we know will last us at least another year or 2. The next big purchase vehicle will be the tow for the RV. M does a lot of driving with a fully loaded van of tools, so we didn't have much choice about replacing it now. So there goes some of the $ we had saved for the next phase of fixing up the house. I guess it's ok, as we're making teeny progress on the cleanup project, but that'll keep us busy for a little while.
Our neighbor across the street just put his very pristine, gorgeous house up for sale. That's very exciting news as well because we're pretty sure he'll get close to his asking price for it (he really could have asked for at least 50K more). Although our house is in no way close to his "better homes & gardens" house in appearance, it is identical in structure. I'm certain when they pull comps, they compare size and style, not indoor furnishings, which means if he can sell high, it gives us an excellent baseline when we put ours up on the market. We just have to get it looking clean and tidy.
We realized that if we want to pursue our dream, this was going to be one of his major sacrifices, as we would never have the opportunity to do this again once we become full timers (not that we won't be able to go swimming, but we won't have that kind of privacy again). Nevertheless, on what was clearly the last pool day of the season, while we floated together on our individual rafts, holding hands, we talked about this and decided to truly cherish those moments together and try to ingrain them in our minds. Still - it was a difficult emotion to face. But then again, it's one more step closer to the goal, which is very exciting.
On another note, the van is pretty much on it's last limb. We were given the opportunity to buy another one - exact same model but 1 year younger (12 yrs instead of 13) but in much better condition. Since the cost of repairing ours would cost about the same as the purchase price, we decided to go for it and buy something that we know will last us at least another year or 2. The next big purchase vehicle will be the tow for the RV. M does a lot of driving with a fully loaded van of tools, so we didn't have much choice about replacing it now. So there goes some of the $ we had saved for the next phase of fixing up the house. I guess it's ok, as we're making teeny progress on the cleanup project, but that'll keep us busy for a little while.
Our neighbor across the street just put his very pristine, gorgeous house up for sale. That's very exciting news as well because we're pretty sure he'll get close to his asking price for it (he really could have asked for at least 50K more). Although our house is in no way close to his "better homes & gardens" house in appearance, it is identical in structure. I'm certain when they pull comps, they compare size and style, not indoor furnishings, which means if he can sell high, it gives us an excellent baseline when we put ours up on the market. We just have to get it looking clean and tidy.
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
Moving Right Along
Since the last posting, we met with 2 people -- Chris who buys things to resell at flea markets and Craigslist and Jeff who buys old electronics for scrap metal. Chris took a bunch of stuff out and paid us $25, and Jeff took a lot of crap out for $100. Chris offered to either clean out our garage for $500, less the value of whatever he could resell, or for $500, no deductions, would clean out the entire house from top to bottom, including the attic. I was ready to jump at this deal, but M who is a mild hoarder, absolutely refuses. He insists on touching every single thing we own and will thus determine whether we can make more money by selling it ourselves or donating or (horrors!) keeping it. So far, we've had a few arguments over his wanting to keep things like a 10 year old book on how to set up a computer security network and a ream of drab yellow business card paper that he thinks he might use in a year or 2.
So obviously, we are butting heads. But it is all part of the journey and an excellent learning experience. Hopefully we'll look back some day (much longer than needed if we continue to do things his way!) and laugh. Although at the moment, I'd much prefer murder over humor. But the learnings are for him, how to give up a lot of things (his argument about the book: I only kept ONE book out of 2 full boxes! Why that one, I'll never know) and for me: to be more patient and not get so incredibly stressed. To keep reminding myself that this is a process - a journey. We'll get there some day.
So meanwhile, we gave away (via Freecycle) about 4 items and sold 2. Whoopie. I so wish I could get rid of M for a week and hire Chris to come in and get rid of it all. But M is so afraid that either he can get more money for things, or there's something he forgot he had but he really, really needs! Ok, I admit we found a long lost top of the line camping flashlight (which we could buy again for about $25).
On the household side of things, the work is still not done as the contractor had another more pressing job to finish first. I told him there was no rush, as long as it all gets done.
So obviously, we are butting heads. But it is all part of the journey and an excellent learning experience. Hopefully we'll look back some day (much longer than needed if we continue to do things his way!) and laugh. Although at the moment, I'd much prefer murder over humor. But the learnings are for him, how to give up a lot of things (his argument about the book: I only kept ONE book out of 2 full boxes! Why that one, I'll never know) and for me: to be more patient and not get so incredibly stressed. To keep reminding myself that this is a process - a journey. We'll get there some day.
So meanwhile, we gave away (via Freecycle) about 4 items and sold 2. Whoopie. I so wish I could get rid of M for a week and hire Chris to come in and get rid of it all. But M is so afraid that either he can get more money for things, or there's something he forgot he had but he really, really needs! Ok, I admit we found a long lost top of the line camping flashlight (which we could buy again for about $25).
On the household side of things, the work is still not done as the contractor had another more pressing job to finish first. I told him there was no rush, as long as it all gets done.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)