Tag Archives: real estate

New habits living alone

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My new stage of life has created new habits, procedures and practices. Living alone, after raising a family and being married, for what my heart thought would be forever, has created a lifestyle I was unprepared for. Everyday brings a new adventure.

For well over 22 years, I never woke myself up or had to make coffee. I am totally unfamiliar with how to set the alarm clock. The alarm on my phone is not loud enough, even planted on a docking station. Stumbling over the dog and canine toys on the floor in the morning to make coffee is still a foreign practice. I not only have to make the coffee – it isn’t delivered to me in bed anymore. I’m still shocked when I wake up. The dog has learned to dodge me, especially if I can’t find my glasses.

Getting the trash out to the enormous vessel on wheels is a monumental task. Then, the small bag of trash in the ginormous vessel on wheels needs navigated to the street on a designated day and time. I feel a little guilty from all those years of nagging the kids to get the trash out to the curb. My sons were famous in Covington Woods  for chasing down the garbage truck, dressed in whatever they’d been sleeping in.

Meeting decent dietary requirements is still rocking between “I know better” and “who gives a rat’s ass”. There have been a lot of wasted trips to the grocery store. It seems to be a difficult endeavor to purchase food. Real food – not cookies and bottled water. I wander around the store with no list or menu and leave with 3 bottles of wine. The emotional excuses are stupid but still understandable. I don’t buy in quantities anymore and all portions are too large. I can’t eat a whole pie – even though the challenge is enticing. I don’t want to eat the same thing everyday for a week. My cooking skills are not the best. Frozen dinners are awful. See where I’m going with this – It would be best to move the smoke alarm out to the garage and keep on trying.

I’ve owned ten vehicles in my life. I just changed the registration sticker in one of them for the first time. It sounds like a silly accomplishment but I didn’t know if I’d be able to get the old one off and get the new one on without screwing it up. Per square inch, it is an expensive sticker!

I had never used the riding lawn mower in the garage. Since finding the manual was overwhelming, I went to the internet for spiritual guidance. It gave me the direction needed for all mechanics except the one problem of driving over a ridge or hole in the yard. It took me a few times of bouncing off the seat to realize that is what makes the damn thing stop running.

Simple home repairs are manageable if I wasn’t afraid of breaking the faucet off of the outside of the house. It irks me to have to call the plumber to replace a rubber washer in a faucet because I couldn’t wrench the damn thing apart. I was able to use the fancy, battery operated wine bottle opener when I had a broken arm. Someone needs to invent something like that for faucet repair.

Social anxiety is a weird, new experience. In the past year, I attended a couple of funerals alone. This was an excruciating, lifetime first for me. It didn’t help that the driver side door handle broke on my SUV. There is nothing more horrifying than being crotch up in the windshield, dragging my ass across the center console, getting into the driver’s seat in front of a funeral home. I know Aunt Altie was laughing from heaven xx

A social event at a friend’s home, produced an instance that struck me sideways. Someone asked me out. It was a shudder moment that left my mind racing for a way to handle the situation. I am naive in that I don’t realize one’s intentions. I just thought he was being kind. Another broken heart left in the flying dust of the highway.

The DeWalt drill is now my new friend. My Realtor® signs had always been put together for me. Today, I drilled holes in a post, found the right size screws, washers and bolts. It took 3 HOURS but I think I know how to do it now! The drill scared the bejesus out of me when the drill bit flew out of it. No injuries to report.

 

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Another season – Another reason

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Turkey and chilli should never be mixed together                            nor even be associated with each other.

Before cell phones, we would let our parents know we arrived safely at a destination by calling collect and asking for ourselves.

I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I can’t do this.                   There are no choices. Just silent voices.

Wind blows through me.

What’s up with that?

Remember when watching television was free? Now I pay $85.00/month for commercials and shopping channels. When the contract expires, DirectTV can stuff their “Schiticky” up their “Aspray”.

Why is this happening to me?

Cherry Point, McKeesport, Pleasant Hills, State College, Mt. Washington, Houston, Sugar Land, Paris    ???????????

If all of your dreams crash screaming into the fires of hell……….

Dumb ass squirrels chewed the ropes holding up the bird feeder.

We love dogs because they act like little people in pajamas.

Pita chips are as tasty as sucking dry flour down your throat.

A seat sniffer on public transportation gets more respect than retail employees.Be kind to the associate fitting you for foundation garments or penciling in your bushy brows!

“The older you get –  the more invisible you become”

Rainbows are still magic

Being politically correct is really making my ass ache. Get the chip off your shoulder and lighten up. A decent human being knows the difference between assault and an innocent gesture. Move on.

Where are you? Jesus Christ, where did you go??????????????

Instead of joining a health club – cut your own grass, wash your own car, clean your home and cook your own food. Your weight bearing exercise, running and squats will be covered.

Live without a television for a month and watch your life happen.

For the life of me, I never know how much a postage stamp costs? It used to be printed on the item until “forever” stamps came into vogue. Someone should tell the USPS that nothing lasts forever….

No one says, “groovey” anymore.

When the horrific fright slams me and the world stops, I close my eyes and imagine putting my face in your neck and feeling your arms encompass me.

Can’t sleep – write

Can’t eat – write

Can’t talk – write

Jails and prisons are full of people unable to conform with the rules of society. This behavior is an exhibition of mental illness. If these facilities aren’t structured to address mental illness, a better idea would be to let these folks form their own society in their own city. They won’t have laws to break. Just drop their asses off and let life happen.

You sell me a non-functioning PC and charge me a restocking fee! Really?

Mushrooms are my favorite meat

Come on         Come on             Come on                           Come on

Tooth enamel paint, eye vitamins, Viagra, nostril salt water rinse, plucking, shaving, 4 different soaps & cleansers, exfoliation, foot genie, do the roots, gel nails,  false lashes, fake boobs, imitation truths – Is there any time left to give to others?

It’s all about me

Now, here’s the deal…

Entitlement:    creates a mind boggling whirlwind brain tornado – Just don’t understand it

Love*Peace*Power*Happiness

“Let it be”

Get off of yourself

Put all of your cards on the table

Love, Me xoxxoxooxxx

Naked in the wind is not always your best look

“And the forest will echo with laughter…”

oh god – here goes

Another season - Another reason

Another season – Another reason

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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My personal experience with interviewing real estate agents

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Interviewing a real estate agent to sell your home is the process of hiring a professional to work for you. The majority of home owners consider their homes, their largest asset. It is important to hire a real estate agent with the expertise, professionalism and guidance to sell your home with a positive outcome.

My personal experience with interviewing real estate agents left a lot to be desired. I am a Texas Realtor® and I am proud of my occupation and the real estate professionals I work with. We are an extremely hard working bunch of folks who take pride in what we do. Our customers are our priority. There is no boundaries for calling us or less than the best for performing what we are contracted to do. That said, I wish the whole world worked like my over achieving network.

I was put in the position to sell out of state properties where I am not licensed to perform as a real estate agent. Due to extenuating circumstances, I was put into a position to interview and hire real estate agents/brokers to sell these homes. Just like hiring a nanny, I was trying to hire an individual with my own work ethic, tenacity and perseverance. Instead, I met the following individuals:

Contestant #1 – I received a postcard, while in Florida, from a local real estate agent with accolades and photos of homes she had sold. I don’t know when she sold these homes nor do I know if she was everything the postcard proclaimed she was. My thoughts were that if she could afford the mail out, she must be experiencing a degree of success. I will never know because she never responded to my voice mail message requesting information.

Contestant #2 – Internet research yielded a list with the dominant listing agency in the local Florida community. This company also had the largest number of signs in front of homes. My voice mail message was not returned. I guess they are a busy bunch or never received my message.

Contestant #3 – I received another postcard from a local real estate agent. This postcard had a list of recent sales with the addresses. I called the agent and he answered the phone on the second ring. An appointment was made for the same day. He was on time and was dressed professionally. This true professional listened intently and took notes for matters important to me. He then answered each question,  briefly provided a history of success and promised to provide the services expected.

Contestant #4 – This individual was a referral from a friend. The friend had never used his services, but he was a known agent and neighbor. An appointment was made and he was on time and dressed the part. After introducing myself and offering him a seat, I never had the opportunity to say another word except, “Thank you for your time” when I was showing him the door to exit. This man provided comps that were not comparable. He talked non-stop without any hint as to what the commissions and fees were, his marketing methods or remarks about the house. In fact, he didn’t even look at the house.

Contestant #5 – I actually received a letter, in Texas,  from this real estate agent after he had seen that I terminated a Pennsylvania agents services. The letter included an impressive list of recently sold properties, marketing methods and sales strategies. An appointment was made and he was on time, dressed appropriately and was forthright in answering questions, offering professional guidance and a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for the property.

Contestant #6 – This real estate agent called me when she saw the “For Sale by Owner” sign in the front yard of the Pennsylvania property. I admired her tenacity in the attempt in obtaining a listing, but I informed her on the telephone that I was not going to sign a contract with her broker. I hung up the phone and an hour later, she and her broker were knocking on the front door. She was a new agent but doing all the right things for obtaining a listing contract, except listening to her prospective customer. “No” really did mean “No”. By the way, this brokerage charged a $250.00 fee, plus a commission which was higher than all of the other local real estate agencies.

Contestant #3 was hired to sell a Florida property. He was absolutely terrific. The buyer’s agent did not attend one follow-up appointment or return calls for days. Contestant #3 attended to all showings and inspections, even letting the buyers into the home to measure for furniture. The first time Contestant #3 and I met the buyer’s real estate agent was at the closing to receive her commission check. The title company informed the buyers when the closing was scheduled because they did not receive any response from the buyer’s agent.

I sold the house in Pennsylvania (FSBO). Contestant #5 would have been the real estate agent of choice for selling this home if I had run out of calendar to remain in Pennsylvania. The home successfully sold within one week. Contestant #5 was efficient with returning telephone calls and follow-ups. He is a strong communicator and great service is evident from his resume of success.

Many times, I have had to take on the role of both listing agent and buyer agent because the buyer agent didn’t have a clue as to what to do. Another problem I have personally witnessed is an individual with a real estate license but does not put the customer’s needs first. I have witnessed buyer agents leaving a closing to pick up children from school or run a personal errand. If you are a part time agent, represent yourself as such.  I’ve typed contracts for them and provided direction with routine processes.Their broker is paid a commission, as well as the real estate agent. Servicing my customer is the first and only priority. IMy personal experience interviewing real estate agents a it means a timely process to properly represent them but directing others on how to do their job, I’ll do whatever it takes.

A heartfelt appreciation is extended to all who assisted me when I was new to the occupation. Your patience is being paid forward with almost every transaction I am fortunate enough to pursue and capture. Thank you.

 

 

 

 

Just had to sell the house ourselves FSBO

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If a local realtor, born and raised in the area, can’t sell your house and the prospective real estate agents you’ve interviewed are unable to listen, you may as well sell the house yourself.

My siblings and I were recently faced with the task of selling a property, located out-of-state. In fact, two of us live many states away. This home had been on the market through a local real estate agent for the better part of the year. To our knowledge, a hand full of people viewed the home. Follow up calls did not yield too much more information other than, ” the home needs work”.

Yes, the house was built in 1940. It did need paint and the floors were in need of something different. The MLS system allows more than 8 photos. The 8 photos featured included a gravel parking space and a street scene. The house has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a 27 foot family room, formal living room,  formal dining room, covered porch, koi pond and full National Gravel Photo abasement. The listing agent didn’t think it was important to photograph the additional storage cabinets, built ins or landscaping. The MLS listing included 4 interior photos. She is still wondering why I terminated her contract.

Following specific guidelines in the broker’s agreement, I sent a written request to terminate the contract and mailed it, certified mail, return receipt requested. After receiving confirmation of receipt, the real estate agent has yet to follow-up with a call to me. She’s called other people, but not me. I would want to know why someone fired me!

The next article will include the process I initiated with interviewing a new real estate agent to sell this home. Buckle up – it’s almost a comedy routine for an HBO special.

Obviously, turning this home over to a real estate professional did not turn the results we were expecting. My brother and I flew and drove to the great Commonwealth of Pennsylvania to assess what the problem could be with selling this property.

A couple of gallons of paint, wall paper removal in one room and removing the carpet, which revealed almost perfect hardwood floors, I planted a “For Sale by Owner” sign in the front yard. A week of touch ups and the lawn being mowed did not constitute extreme changes. It was still the same house.

The home was sold one week later. How? You may ask? A day or two after my arrival, I attended a block party and talked to at least 25 neighbors and informed them that the house was for sale. I still remember their occupations, big hospitals, the municipality, a law firm, etc. I informed every retailer I visited during the first week and every customer waiting in line with me that there was a beautiful home on National Drive for sale. I made myself known to even the employees on the surrounding streets who were replacing the residential gas lines. Walking my dog each morning and night also yielded new acquaintances to inform there was a house available to move their friend or relative in to. I accomplished in one week something a local real estate agent was unable to accomplish.

I am a Realtor® with a Texas real estate license. I am unable to work as a Realtor® in Pennsylvania. This was a clear FSBO (For Sale by Owner) project. I did what any individual has the ability to do. It saved time, distance, fees, commissions and anxiety. We, as a team, just did it ourselves.

I do not advocate selling a home yourself unless you have a real estate background. Most home owners selling a home themselves lose as much as 30% of a qualified list price. They are unaware of all available negotiation tools and are unable to promote the home through many internet avenues available only to real estate professionals. The right Realtor® will provide the best guidance for selling your property.

National B

Fascinated by home seller presentations

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When my siblings and I were teenagers and ready to sell our first cars, Dad taught us a clean car sells fast. I’m not talking about running it through the $1.98 car wash. Cotton swab, white glove inspection clean to be specific. The engines were steam cleaned. The inside of the bumpers were spotless, graduation tassels removed and all Exxon tiger tails retired. There was enough Rain Dance and Armor All used to buff a Carnival Cruise Liner. The vehicles always sold fast and for the asking price.

The same can be said about listing a home for sale. I am presently searching for a home along the Texas gulf coast. The houses I’ve viewed have kept me awake and freaked out at night. A prospective buyer does not want to see cabinet doors hanging from bent hinges or your foundation garments hanging from a door knob. At least hang the pretty bras out – not the dingy ones. If you don’t own a vacuum cleaner, it would be wise to borrow, rent or steal one. Improvement would be evident if some of the carpets were swept with a broom.

Depersonalizing the home is as integral to cleanliness. Walls of family photos are important to the owners but not to potential buyers. I am haunted by a professional photograph of an older woman with a crown, like Queen Elizabeth’s, on her head. She may be some type of royalty but the home was no castle. I would rather see the hideous red velvet wallpaper than a wall full of hundreds of family photos. Yes, the dog is cute and the babies are adorable but I want to see what type of dynamite it is going to take to remodel the room.

Knickknacks, tchotchkes, trinkets, miniatures, collections and doodads all need to be put in a box and removed from the home. Statues, glass collections, paper weights, CD/DVDs, magazines, newspapers minimize the size of a room. I was afraid to turn around, with my handbag on my shoulder, for fear of knocking something off of a side table. By the way, there were multitudes of small tables in a few homes.  There were enough ducks, geese, eagles and cardinals displayed to represent the Audubon Society. Dead wildlife suspended above every doorway, fireplace and portal are, especially in the wild west, trophies of achievement to a specific fan club. Your prospective buyer may be a member of PETA. A neutral environment will enable a buyer to picture themselves living in your house. A Disney theme with Mickey, Goofy and “It’s a small world” piped in throughout the casa will not cut it.

As a home buyer, when I exit your home, I should have zero knowledge of your:

  • College affiliation
  • Religion
  • Pet preference – unless you have a built in wall aquarium or a farm/ranch property
  • Political views
  • Hoarding
  • Collection passion – e.g.: antique dolls, weapons, porn anything, dead plants, etc.
  • Smoking

“Know your selling audience” is an understatement. Your private abode will become a public forum when your home is listed. Remember, photos tell all. Understand your communities tolerance for stripper poles, trophies from the Swingers Club, bondage equipment, etc. If applicable, it would be best to put all of your toys away!

Less really is best. Fewer pieces of furniture and a minimum number of items displayed allow the seller/home owner to maintain a super clean environment with ease. It is an arduous task to ready a home, you and your family are currently living in, for a real estate viewing.

You probably don’t live in a model home. Model homes are staged environments. There isn’t anyone dropping butter bread on the carpet or leaving wet towels on the floors. Trash is virtually non-existent. Mold will not grow on a shower curtain or glass door if the home is uninhabited. Real folks live in resale homes. Develop a routine when the house is posted to the MLS.

Instead of frying fish and cabbage, keep the food smells to an infinitesimal amount. Cereal and salad usually have no smell. If you need more than two hours notice to take Barkinowski and Miss Kitty Lion for an outing and remove all pet hair in the process, pet accommodation can be included with Agent Remarks for the listing. My dog was sent on sabbatical to a relative’s home to sell our residence. Our home had multiple contracts within seven days. Alleviate any circumstance for a potential buyer to say, “no”.

Bribe the kids. Cajole your spouse/partner/roommate/other half/better half/significant other/soul mate/lover into being on your team. Be detail oriented. Mow and edge the lawn.

Curb appeal is as important as interior presentation when selling your home.

Curb appeal is as important as interior presentation when selling your home.

Pick up tripping hazards. Dust the ceiling fans and chandeliers – including the light bulbs. Keep laundry to an extreme minimum. There is no joy in dirty sock smells.  If you can pluck your eyebrows while peering intently into the kitchen sink faucet – you are on the right track.

(Please don’t steal a vacuum. This article was written with a hint of humor by an active Realtor®. Examples and experiences are real.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Realtors want you to call them

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Never think you are interrupting a Realtor when you call with a question. Believe it or not, they are waiting by the telephone like a crazed teenage girl waiting for some over-sexed teenage boy to call them. This is a true fact. A Realtor depends on each and every telephone call to make their living. Too bad, if your call comes in when the Ellen show is on or they’re waiting in the Escalade, in line in front of the elementary school. (Why they drive one block from their home to wait in a line of cars and SUV’s, an hour in advance, to drive their child home is beyond my comprehension. Do they know how to walk down there and walk back?)

No question is mundane. Even if you are just being nebby and want to know information on a neighbor’s listing, a Realtor always has time to speak with you. Each and every conversation leads to a networking opportunity and a means of marketing. If a Realtor does not return your call, almost immediately – Call another Realtor. Real estate agents conducting their business in a professional manner will have a high interest in speaking to anyone interested in listing or buying a property. If you are just “thinking” about listing your property, call an agent for a comparative market analysis. Most agents will create this report for you at no cost. If an agent wants to charge you for the initial CMA, call another agent!

Call a Realtor to ask them what needs arranged in your home for a quick sale. Ask a Realtor how fast homes are selling in an area you’re thinking of purchasing in. A Realtor can calculate the monthly payment for financing your future residence. A real estate agent will know the interior and exterior paint colors in your area which dominate most sales. Call a real estate agent and ask! No real estate professional ever starved to death because they answered their phone during lunch or dinner. We actually understand that not every customer works 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, Monday through Friday! Calls are expected before and beyond “standard business hours”.

A Realtor worth their paycheck will be forthright and up front when telling you to pack up the nick-knacks and paint the fluorescent orange den a neutral color. Factual information will be provided to assist you when making an offer on a future home. A real estate expert representing you will be working for you. Don’t apologize for calling them. They are waiting, with baited breath, for you to call them!

A casual conversation with a Realtor allows insight into new avenues when you will be ready to move. Rapid changes in the real estate vertical have created different tools, creative outlooks and economic turns which may be very different than the last real estate transaction you may have participated in. The world is spinning faster. Changes within the industry are constant.

The value gained by calling a real estate professional can make a difference in thousands of dollars in your pocket. Take advantage of their expertise.

 

Building a dream house – Addressing the address

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Addresses equal your homestead and where you go each night to leave your shoes on a floor. It is your abode, castle and nest. It allows you to know where you live and wash dishes. As trivial and enlightening as it sounds, our future home became real when we received the 911 address the other day.

There are multiple addresses for properties, especially for those in rural areas. As the area turns and becomes populated, rural routes and post office boxes regurgitate into county road and farm market destinations. The government wants to know where to go when you have a fire or health emergency. Therefore, 911 address are created to be able to quickly assist your emergency need. This is a database not easily celebrated or embraced by “other” entities.

Confusion escalates when the utility companies, water, electric and gas, list the property address as it was initially presented. They appear to be unable to change it to the current or most recent label. It may even be an address unrecognizable to a current owner because the address they’ve been using for decades is different. We have actually purchased multiple properties with addresses to connect utilities were unknown to the current owner. They obviously used different information, previous account numbers, ESI ID numbers, etc to light up the house or flush a toilet. You are told when calling the utility to provide the “service address” as well as the “physical address” or the “911 address”!

To get the lights on at our current home, we had to call the previous owners, who had inherited the property and kindly ask them to search out a previous electric bill for an identification marker to get the lights on. This became the project of the week and a grand fiasco. Their search through a deceased member’s past, yielded an ESI ID. We relayed this info to the retail electric provider. Much to our chagrin and wonder, a security light in the back of the property became illuminated. The property had multiple ESI ID’s and the puzzle wasn’t complete until the one for the house was located.

To avoid mishaps like the previous, we worked diligently with the proper authorities to provide the “911 address” to use for hooking up temporary electric meters for construction purposes. The “911 address” was established by walking up and down the subdivision street and notating the current house number assignments. Obviously, where we will live has a “do it yourself” method for creating your new house number. You call the government agency assigning the 911 address and they ask you to provide the current house numbers. The rhyme and reason of next 4 digits did not apply to this application!

Building a dream house – Plans and planning

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Plans & Planning

Plans & Planning

It took a long time to plan the move to the Paris area. Years of fretting over how to leave a city life behind. The decision actually fell into place with frustrating 2 hour commutes, road rage incidents,employment incidents, turning neighborhoods and the world we knew changing – as we changed.

There have been a great number of sacrifices, including leaving the locale of where our grown children live. Reality kicked in full blast with the lack of retail access to items we took for granted. It was beyond comprehension a convenience store would close at 9:00 pm before moving to Northeast Texas. The sidewalks roll up early here. If you want a Hostess fried pie – you’d better get your ass in the car before 8:45 pm.

We tried to buy a house here. It didn’t work for me. We bought our property before we were sure what to even do with it. Countless hours were spent searching the internet and home plan sites. We made the final choice of house plans about 4 times. The size of the house and how much bucks it would take to build it were the most prevalent factors. Sure I could pick out plans for a huge mausoleum but who was going to clean and maintain it. How could we afford a gazillion doors? With a few bottles of wine and endless conversation, we came to the conclusion, this new house would have to take care of us when we are unable to care for ourselves. Just as our first house raised our children and created the suburban dream.

Your house is never truly yours. I always wanted to create a fantasy world in my home. I didn’t want to be like my parents – which were the epitome of “The Wonder Years”. I didn’t want that but that is exactly what we created. We are – what we know. We did keep a bicycle in the vestibule and had huge acrylic abstract paintings on the walls but it was a mainstream house. The new house was initially going to be like an urban modern loft type of joint. Then I realized no one in Paris, Texas would want to purchase it when we truly needed a buyer. The taste of most homeowners in the Northeast Texas area points more toward kikker cowboy western motifs. So, we will be traveling the middle of the road type of hacienda.

The outside will be beautiful garden-variety by the home plans we purchased and will be to the liking of many. We have become minimalist in the sense we are tired of cleaning and packing and kicking around chachkis.  I enjoy them at other people’s homes but not in ours. The interior will be easily switched to unexceptional and standard when we are ready to exit the premises permanently. I am tired of painting everything country white, white-white and beige by all the names – eg: Swiss Coffee. Paint is easy to change.

We’re not going to go crazy and hang the Jeep Scrambler from the ceiling. It will be uncrowded, modern and artsy-fartsy. Less is best. It is not what has been planned, but rather what is disliked, discarded and eliminated. We now know what we don’t want.

The last of the brush and stumps on the house site.

The last of the brush and stumps on the house site.

The wood on the lot is actually still smoldering. It smolders slower in the rain. It hasn’t rained here for months until we needed to get ride of a bunch of debris. The extra dirt needs brought in. The next step will be to sit and watch it settle!

We are in need of a truss builder, either on-site or off-site. There are a lack of them listed in the vicinity. Hardly any craftsman have websites. It may be the lack of internet access. Still planning and researching where to find materials and construction experts. There is no sense of urgency among the masses here. I guess they’re waiting for a bigger job to come along – like cousin Eddy.

Building a dream house – The burning bush

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When you cut down a bunch of trees, it leaves a lot of debris left over. There has to be enough room to actually build the house, move heavy construction equipment through and be able to park a bunch of vehicles. It has been determined, the man shop must be built first in order to store necessary items, like windows and doors, for the house. Like all female she people, my fear is out in the open that I may be living in the man shop if my general contractor gets tired of building after man shop is standing on it’s own. I certainly do not want to consider that option. I would be on the first bus out of here and headed back to the big city if that joke spontaneously continues to thrive.

During a drought, a burn ban is in effect. You can not burn huge trees when the wind is blowing 30 mph. We had the lots cleared for the man shop and house but had to wait for rain and the burn ban to be lifted. This project does not move as quickly as my heart wants it to. I certainly do not want to burn down our 8 acres of trees, nor do I want to piss off the neighbors by burning down their woods or homes. I like our new neighbors. They stop by to view the progress and are as excited as we are to see a home being created.

It finally rained last week. We verified the burn ban was lifted and proceeded to burn the ginormous piles of cut trees and debris left over from clearing the 2 lots. It isn’t as easy as one would think to burn green wood and keep the fires going. burning bush cThe supply list included a propane tank, diesel fuel, newspaper and the lighter we use for the grill! Every Girl Scout knows the rules when creating a camp fire. As a previous Scout, I know it isn’t as easy as it appears in all the videos to make a fire. If you don’t want a fire to start, the fear is always prevalent. If you want to start a fire, on purpose, all elements will be uncooperative.

Then my old lady anxiety kicks in. I shouldn’t be on site when fear factor hits. I could hear my mother’s voice coming out of my mouth with, “Be careful. Don’t stand so close. Is that going to catch in the woods?” I was obviously using my “outside voice”. Needless to say, this project has been going on all week. Thank God I have a few full-time jobs and extra curricular activities to keep me out-of-the-way, most of the time. I did make a mistake and tried to sashay the site in regular shoes instead of wearing the work boots purchased specifically for being on a construction site. It took the better part of an hour to clean them up. To keep me in check and shook up, everyone on site keeps telling me to look out for bobcats and wild animals. My weakness for not wanting to run into exotic animal life is apparent at all times. I took photos of what I thought were big game footprints, until our neighbor told us she walked her precious dog, Patch, down the driveway shortly after it rained!burning bush d

Moving the woods

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Moving the woods 02-27-2013Technically, we had some of the woods moved or better stated, removed, to make room for the “dream house” and “shop”. The shop is going to be the ultimate man room. It must be completed first so we can store the necessary accoutrements required to have a civilized abode. The dream originated with a small outbuilding. It has been brought to my attention that toilets and tubs take up a lot of room!

There will be 21 doors in this new home. They will not fit in my car until they are ready to be hung.  That will be a lot of possible opening, closing and slamming action! 16 windows must be installed. One is approximately 8 feet high. It is not an item purchased off the shelf at Home Depot. We are building in the country with cows and ducks roaming around. The greatest immediate challenge is obtaining specialty items at reasonable cost, including transportation and freight. So, back to the “shop” – a building was required to store items, in close proximity, to the house building site. Yes, we need a shop. Yes, this is being written by a female with little to no understanding of the future need for a huge tool and man machine storage outlet. The massive trees needed to be run down with a bulldozer. The driveway to the shop had to be cut through. I had to double check to make sure the shop is not visible when I am in the new love nest.

Oncor , the conglomerate mandated to distribute and transmit electricity visited the home site this morning. Much to my dismay, they need 10 feet across to access and lay the required “stuff”, wires and cables to run electricity from the transformer to the the future shop and house. More woods to be moved out of the way. There is no way I can live in a house with no power. God knows what my hair would look like without access to a blow dryer with a diffuser. I knew trees would have to come down, but there’s a lot more trees than even my insane imagination could muster being felled. I had better practice some zen and meditation before the water company and phone company jump on the bandwagon.

The mister and I extensively discussed whether to lay cable for a telephone land line. We do not currently have a land line or permanent residential telephone line. There is no need for one in this day and age. We previously utilized a land line for a fax machine. A fax machine is now an obsolete item in my world now. Everything transmitted from our residence is scanned and emailed. We live in a community that is not technologically savvy. The majority of my acquaintances do not know how to text or have the service on their cell phones. S Continue reading →