The little cottage next to mine is rented to a nice lady with a son in middle school. She is a widow...running her household all by herself. Over time, the cottage needs care. I was shocked to see how much had deteriorated since my last walk through...and it was not because she had done anything to damage the house. Every thing needs painting. The ceiling in her bedroom has a crack that needs repair. The same condition is found in the dining room. There are two interior doors that need painting. Some walls need painting, too.
Outside, the exterior needs painting and two squares of sidewalk have broken up. I need a mason to install two squares of sidewalk....and I would like to replace her front steps. They are safe, but look awful.
Time to call my painter. We make arrangements to have a drywall man put up a new ceiling. He will tape it and then Spence will paint it. Meanwhile, Spence is sanding down the doors. Paint is blistering off the doors in sheets.
We are waiting for a man to install her dishwasher. I am waiting for her dishwasher to get out of my kitchen so I can finish up my kitchen. I can't finish my kitchen until the dishwasher is out. Once it is out,I can move my base cabinet into that space and install the countertop. Tina is waiting for the installer to schedule the installation.
Meanwhile, the phone rings: It is tenant two. This is an educated couple raising twin daughters. They are traditional Italians...very neat and particular. When I drive by, I swivel my head to check out the house. It looks like the husband has vacuumed the lawn...it is that neat. It seems that We have had a lot of rain, a lot more than usual. The family is watching mold grow on the wall in the sun porch. Oh oh. This can't be ignored. I get a contractor to look at it. He says the roof above is shot and the sun porch needs Sheetrock and insulation.
Down in the basement, water is pouring in from the Bilbo doors. It needs to be replaced and the wood door in front of the Bilco door needs a repair. Ernest gives me an estimate and I agree to it. I will be writing a lot of checks in a short period of time, but these repairs need to be done to keep my tenants healthy and happy....and to safeguard the value of the houses.
Meanwhile, at my house, Ernest fixes my front door. He builds a temporary step for the basement door. We discuss the flaw in the basement slab and He suggests the solution: The slab central part needs to be broken up and removed. A new slab should then be poured with lots of re-bar. The builder skimped on rebar. That is why the slab moves so much. This is one project that will have to wait until I pay for the tenant repairs.
Outside, the exterior needs painting and two squares of sidewalk have broken up. I need a mason to install two squares of sidewalk....and I would like to replace her front steps. They are safe, but look awful.
Time to call my painter. We make arrangements to have a drywall man put up a new ceiling. He will tape it and then Spence will paint it. Meanwhile, Spence is sanding down the doors. Paint is blistering off the doors in sheets.
We are waiting for a man to install her dishwasher. I am waiting for her dishwasher to get out of my kitchen so I can finish up my kitchen. I can't finish my kitchen until the dishwasher is out. Once it is out,I can move my base cabinet into that space and install the countertop. Tina is waiting for the installer to schedule the installation.
Meanwhile, the phone rings: It is tenant two. This is an educated couple raising twin daughters. They are traditional Italians...very neat and particular. When I drive by, I swivel my head to check out the house. It looks like the husband has vacuumed the lawn...it is that neat. It seems that We have had a lot of rain, a lot more than usual. The family is watching mold grow on the wall in the sun porch. Oh oh. This can't be ignored. I get a contractor to look at it. He says the roof above is shot and the sun porch needs Sheetrock and insulation.
Down in the basement, water is pouring in from the Bilbo doors. It needs to be replaced and the wood door in front of the Bilco door needs a repair. Ernest gives me an estimate and I agree to it. I will be writing a lot of checks in a short period of time, but these repairs need to be done to keep my tenants healthy and happy....and to safeguard the value of the houses.
Meanwhile, at my house, Ernest fixes my front door. He builds a temporary step for the basement door. We discuss the flaw in the basement slab and He suggests the solution: The slab central part needs to be broken up and removed. A new slab should then be poured with lots of re-bar. The builder skimped on rebar. That is why the slab moves so much. This is one project that will have to wait until I pay for the tenant repairs.
Labels: Tenant one - tenant two
posted by gardenbug at Thursday, April 08, 2010
2 Comments:
Wow - that sounds exhausting just reading about all of those repairs. Thank goodness you have Spence to help out, but still!
Yes. I am fortunate to have found a painter who is also my friend. He is currently on vacation for a week but will return to finish up the job.
I am also fortunate that Bud Rice came into my life to teach me about finances . Because of his help, I have the funds to pay for those repairs.
I am also fortunate to have been at it for enough years that I have a team of workers I can call on. I know they do good work and they know I pay promptly.
The newest member of the group is Ernest who repaired the doors on Melba Street. He made the suggestion about the slab and I know that it is the right solution. At last I have solved the basement problem. Took 30 years, but the end is in sight. Now I can develop that space into living space. Can't wait. Also, can't wait for all this construction work to be DONE.
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