I've neglected to mention that our primary residence is currently under siege--we live in a condo that was recently discovered to be falling down. Well, not quite.... but almost! Apparently the original builder saw no need to protect the outside walls from the New England weather and built the units without any water vapor barriers. What was he thinking? It's not like rain and snow are a new phenomenon here in Massachusetts. As a result, years of harsh New England winters have eroded the inside of our units, leaving us with almost no barrier between the outside walls and the interior of the rooms we live in. Pretty scary....
As a result, all 91 units in our complex are undergoing massive reconstruction, including new roofing, windows, skylights, and siding. The windows come first, and those are going in today. I have 7 young, muscled men climbing in and out of my unit with saws and hammers. Because I work at home, it's put a terrible crunch on my work output. It's not so much the noise, which I'm used to. I'm just way too preoccupied with all these tanned, buff guys who keep popping up within a foot of my desk (or the toilet or the kitchen sink) to secure the windows in the right spot. Probably wasn't such a great day to take a diuretic, given that the bathroom is freely visible to the work crew (and the neighbors)!
Once the windows are replaced (by tomorrow afternoon), there is still interior painting of the sills and sashes to be completed "sometime within the next 2 weeks." Meaning, of course, that we cannot replace the window blinds until all the painting is accomplished. Given that most of our unit faces the community driveway, I guess we'll have to rethink our typical late-evening and early-morning clothing-optional garb.
Dreamed last night of stainless steel appliances and restaurant-quality stoves.....
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Renovation Virgins: There's no crying in real estate
To paraphrase Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own, "there's no crying in real estate."
Since Tenant's lease ends on 8/31/09 and today is 7/15, I have to notify her that she (and her felines) must vacate the premises by the end of August. Should be simple. However, guilt-induced paralysis immediately sets in. Those of you with Jewish (or Italian) mothers will immediately recognize the conundrum.
"But she's 71 years old!" "How can you kick her out?" "She has no family in the area-where will she go?" "Who will take care of her?" "She'll need more than 6 weeks to pack up and find a place...."
NOT MY PROBLEM. I'm a landlord, not a social worker. But I am a social liberal with a guilty conscience so I'm conflicted. Tried to sleep on it, but tossed and turned instead. Played computer Boggle until 4 AM. Lost to someone named Szygorl in Romania.
Three hours of sleep and 3 cups of coffee later......Eureka! I think I've found a compromise. Instead of insisting that she leave on 8/31, I'll offer her a month-to-month tenancy at will for a maximum of 6 months. We don't plan to start the renovation before the winter anyway, so this should work fine!
I called my friend the real estate attorney, who agreed that this was a good plan. Unfortunately, his good nature doesn't extend to writing the actual letter to notify Tenant of our plans. That's my job, but I am allowed to 'cc him on the bottom. What a sport! He did suggest that I send the letter via US priority mail and track its receipt, in case things 'become ugly.'
Ugly? Yikes!
I sat down to compose the letter. Pleasant, friendly tone? Straightforward, with just a touch of legalese? Threatening? In the end, I was straightforward and very landlord-like. Sent two signed copies and a self-addressed stamped envelope so she can sign one and return to me. Off to the post office, and praying for the best. "Please God, keep me strong, even if Tenant calls me crying...."
Since Tenant's lease ends on 8/31/09 and today is 7/15, I have to notify her that she (and her felines) must vacate the premises by the end of August. Should be simple. However, guilt-induced paralysis immediately sets in. Those of you with Jewish (or Italian) mothers will immediately recognize the conundrum.
"But she's 71 years old!" "How can you kick her out?" "She has no family in the area-where will she go?" "Who will take care of her?" "She'll need more than 6 weeks to pack up and find a place...."
NOT MY PROBLEM. I'm a landlord, not a social worker. But I am a social liberal with a guilty conscience so I'm conflicted. Tried to sleep on it, but tossed and turned instead. Played computer Boggle until 4 AM. Lost to someone named Szygorl in Romania.
Three hours of sleep and 3 cups of coffee later......Eureka! I think I've found a compromise. Instead of insisting that she leave on 8/31, I'll offer her a month-to-month tenancy at will for a maximum of 6 months. We don't plan to start the renovation before the winter anyway, so this should work fine!
I called my friend the real estate attorney, who agreed that this was a good plan. Unfortunately, his good nature doesn't extend to writing the actual letter to notify Tenant of our plans. That's my job, but I am allowed to 'cc him on the bottom. What a sport! He did suggest that I send the letter via US priority mail and track its receipt, in case things 'become ugly.'
Ugly? Yikes!
I sat down to compose the letter. Pleasant, friendly tone? Straightforward, with just a touch of legalese? Threatening? In the end, I was straightforward and very landlord-like. Sent two signed copies and a self-addressed stamped envelope so she can sign one and return to me. Off to the post office, and praying for the best. "Please God, keep me strong, even if Tenant calls me crying...."
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Renovation Virgins: Welcome to our World
Thanks for stopping by! We're Jill and Ed, a Boston-based couple in our mid-50s. We welcome you to share the ongoing saga as we renovate our vacation condo. We're creative folks and reasonably intelligent, but neither of us has ever undertaken a renovation project of this scope. So we readily admit that we're going to need lots of professional help navigating our way through it all. To prepare ourselves for unexpected disaster, we've already purchased a number of the requisite tools--two books about kitchen design, a DUMMY's guide to home renovation, the Home Depot catalogue, and two cases of peanut M&Ms.
A little about us. We met 3 years ago by way of a couple of brief emails on Yahoo personals. We'd both been married before and were pretty clear about what our next relationships should look like. As we learned more about each other and rediscovered the joys of intimacy and sharing, our relationship flourished. A year ago we moved in together and continue to live happily alongside assorted felines, fish and a frog. Ed's a warm and loving man with a big heart and I am forever amazed at the depth of his knowledge and interests. The fact that he bonded immediately with my cats (and my family) only adds to his charm.
During my post-divorce years, I developed a real estate habit and have acquired several properties along the way--all of which I've converted to rental property. Even in this dismal economy, I still enjoy dropping in on real estate open houses. I've introduced Ed to this concept, as well, and he's become quite astute at recognizing good property deals, even amidst flocked wallpaper and shag carpeting. We now record most of HGTV's evening lineup and fight over the Sunday real estate page (after the obituaries and the sports page). In addition to real estate, we also both really enjoy the beach and love to cook.
In fact, we've been talking recently about how hard we work and how nice it would be to have a small vacation place by the beach within an hour's commute from home. Just a small place that we could use year-round when things in the city get too overwhelming with maybe a fireplace, pretty outdoor space, and a cook's kitchen.
Well, as it turns out, I own a small condo in Gloucester MA that is currently tenant occupied. For those of you not familiar with Massachusetts, Gloucester is an old fishing port in Northern Massachusetts on the land body known as Cape Ann (not to be confused with Cape Cod, which is to the south). Gloucester's claim(s) to fame include great beaches, "The Perfect Storm," "The Gorton's Fisherman," lobsters,and the Rocky Neck Art Colony. The condo itself is about 45 minutes from our primary residence and is adorable--high cathedral ceilings, floor-to-ceiling wood-burning fireplace, 2 bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen with skylights, a garage, and a lovely bluestone patio facing acres of woods. Unfortunately, the decor is early 1980s, including a 'wood-like' linoleum on the kitchen floor, four rooms of very 'tired' carpeting, obsolete lighting, and kitchen appliances in colors and styles discontinued by Sears years ago.
But, the condo has great 'bones' (and that wood-burning fireplace!) and Gloucester has at least 7 beaches. So, we've decided to relocate the tenant (more about this later), renovate the condo, and use it as our vacation get-away. While this concept sounded simple in the beginning, we quickly recognized that we have to deal with three big obstacles before the actual renovation begins.
1. The tenant. She is an older woman who has been in the unit for 3 years. Oh--did I mention that she has a hoarding problem? And 4 indoor cats who apparently are not thrilled at using a litterbox?
2. The condo association. Typically, as a condo owner, you are free to renovate the inside of your unit (with some limitations), but cannot alter the outside. I suspect this will severely hamper our efforts to install a hot tub on the patio.
3. Finances. While I can't say we've figured it all out, we're idealistic enough to hope that we can complete the project without having to eat catfood until Social Security kicks in.
Obstacle #1 is the most immediate. Tenant's lease is up in the fall, so we decided to pay her a visit this past Sunday and discuss our plans with her. She's been an excellent tenant in that she always pays her rent on time and doesn't annoy the neighbors, so I've had no reason to go up and see her over the past year.
Sunday arrived. After spending a very hot day at the beach, we arrived at the condo at the prearranged time and rang the bell. No answer. Rang again. Does the bell not work? I went around to the back of the condo and peered in the bedroom window; she spied me and waved but made no attempt to let me in. She went about her business in the bedroom until I vigorously knocked on the window and then she FINALLY opened the front door. The ensuing cat pee stench brought us almost to our knees. Ed literally turned white. I stopped breathing through my nose. In addition to the stench, there was 'stuff' (pottery, clothing, household goods) everywhere--shoved into plastic bags, plastic wardrobes, the linen closet, behind the couch, and even in the refrigerator. OK--it's definitely time to call Dr. Phil.
By now I'm sweating profusely, as she doesn't like to use the air conditioning because it's too expensive. In addition, the smoke detector was 'chirping' every 15 seconds, which made conversation extremely annoying. Apparently, it had been chirping for 2 weeks but according to Tenant, "It's not that bad."
Unfortunately, the smell, the chirping, and the 85 degree temperature (inside and out) precluded our intended conversation. I made a mental note to have the smoke detector replaced first thing on Monday and to stock up on antibacterial cleansers. Ed and I rode home re-learning to nose breathe and ruminating on: 1) whether we'd ever get rid of the smell, and 2) whether Tenant, her cats and her myriad belongings could be relocated anytime within the next 6 months.
Definitely not what we expected! Hope it's not a harbinger of things to come.....
A little about us. We met 3 years ago by way of a couple of brief emails on Yahoo personals. We'd both been married before and were pretty clear about what our next relationships should look like. As we learned more about each other and rediscovered the joys of intimacy and sharing, our relationship flourished. A year ago we moved in together and continue to live happily alongside assorted felines, fish and a frog. Ed's a warm and loving man with a big heart and I am forever amazed at the depth of his knowledge and interests. The fact that he bonded immediately with my cats (and my family) only adds to his charm.
During my post-divorce years, I developed a real estate habit and have acquired several properties along the way--all of which I've converted to rental property. Even in this dismal economy, I still enjoy dropping in on real estate open houses. I've introduced Ed to this concept, as well, and he's become quite astute at recognizing good property deals, even amidst flocked wallpaper and shag carpeting. We now record most of HGTV's evening lineup and fight over the Sunday real estate page (after the obituaries and the sports page). In addition to real estate, we also both really enjoy the beach and love to cook.
In fact, we've been talking recently about how hard we work and how nice it would be to have a small vacation place by the beach within an hour's commute from home. Just a small place that we could use year-round when things in the city get too overwhelming with maybe a fireplace, pretty outdoor space, and a cook's kitchen.
Well, as it turns out, I own a small condo in Gloucester MA that is currently tenant occupied. For those of you not familiar with Massachusetts, Gloucester is an old fishing port in Northern Massachusetts on the land body known as Cape Ann (not to be confused with Cape Cod, which is to the south). Gloucester's claim(s) to fame include great beaches, "The Perfect Storm," "The Gorton's Fisherman," lobsters,and the Rocky Neck Art Colony. The condo itself is about 45 minutes from our primary residence and is adorable--high cathedral ceilings, floor-to-ceiling wood-burning fireplace, 2 bedrooms, one bath, a kitchen with skylights, a garage, and a lovely bluestone patio facing acres of woods. Unfortunately, the decor is early 1980s, including a 'wood-like' linoleum on the kitchen floor, four rooms of very 'tired' carpeting, obsolete lighting, and kitchen appliances in colors and styles discontinued by Sears years ago.
But, the condo has great 'bones' (and that wood-burning fireplace!) and Gloucester has at least 7 beaches. So, we've decided to relocate the tenant (more about this later), renovate the condo, and use it as our vacation get-away. While this concept sounded simple in the beginning, we quickly recognized that we have to deal with three big obstacles before the actual renovation begins.
1. The tenant. She is an older woman who has been in the unit for 3 years. Oh--did I mention that she has a hoarding problem? And 4 indoor cats who apparently are not thrilled at using a litterbox?
2. The condo association. Typically, as a condo owner, you are free to renovate the inside of your unit (with some limitations), but cannot alter the outside. I suspect this will severely hamper our efforts to install a hot tub on the patio.
3. Finances. While I can't say we've figured it all out, we're idealistic enough to hope that we can complete the project without having to eat catfood until Social Security kicks in.
Obstacle #1 is the most immediate. Tenant's lease is up in the fall, so we decided to pay her a visit this past Sunday and discuss our plans with her. She's been an excellent tenant in that she always pays her rent on time and doesn't annoy the neighbors, so I've had no reason to go up and see her over the past year.
Sunday arrived. After spending a very hot day at the beach, we arrived at the condo at the prearranged time and rang the bell. No answer. Rang again. Does the bell not work? I went around to the back of the condo and peered in the bedroom window; she spied me and waved but made no attempt to let me in. She went about her business in the bedroom until I vigorously knocked on the window and then she FINALLY opened the front door. The ensuing cat pee stench brought us almost to our knees. Ed literally turned white. I stopped breathing through my nose. In addition to the stench, there was 'stuff' (pottery, clothing, household goods) everywhere--shoved into plastic bags, plastic wardrobes, the linen closet, behind the couch, and even in the refrigerator. OK--it's definitely time to call Dr. Phil.
By now I'm sweating profusely, as she doesn't like to use the air conditioning because it's too expensive. In addition, the smoke detector was 'chirping' every 15 seconds, which made conversation extremely annoying. Apparently, it had been chirping for 2 weeks but according to Tenant, "It's not that bad."
Unfortunately, the smell, the chirping, and the 85 degree temperature (inside and out) precluded our intended conversation. I made a mental note to have the smoke detector replaced first thing on Monday and to stock up on antibacterial cleansers. Ed and I rode home re-learning to nose breathe and ruminating on: 1) whether we'd ever get rid of the smell, and 2) whether Tenant, her cats and her myriad belongings could be relocated anytime within the next 6 months.
Definitely not what we expected! Hope it's not a harbinger of things to come.....
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