Month: July 2019

Much has happened since my last post concerning the house purchase, a motorcycle rally, and trips to The Lot. Here is what is going on.

House Purchase

Our initial offer on the house was countered and we upped our offer price a bit. This offer was accepted but was contingent on a home inspection and financing approval. We submitted our financials to the local bank and arranged for a home inspection, to be paid for by us.

The bank side of things did not pose any problems, but the home inspection did turn up some unknown issues. Some problems can be rectified as we go forward, such as some wiring that is not up to code. Biggest problem, and a deal stopper, was bats found in the attic. We asked the sellers to remediate this and they refused. Pam was adamant – the bats had to go. We thought the deal was dead and Pam prepared to start looking, once again, at other properties listed for sale in the NE corner of Iowa.

Then, out of the blue, the realtor – Phil – contacted us and said the sellers had reconsidered their decision and offered to reduce the price of the house to compensate for the cost of fixing the electrical issues. We countered with our original offer, and suggested we would pay back the sellers the cost of bat remediation if they did it before closing. We also suggested moving the closing date from September 30 to September 16, to potentially give us some more “good weather” time to move and get a few other projects done.

As I type this (on Tuesday 7/23) the sellers are getting a free estimate for the bat removal, after which they have until this Thursday to accept or reject our current offer.

The home inspection, 75 pages in all including a several page summary, turned up a few other problems we had not noticed, such as a few gaps between the sill plates and foundation. These gaps would have to be sealed. One upstairs bedroom does not have heating / cooling vents. In the garage, the wiring has the neutral and ground wires on the same buss and they should be separated.

The report was very thorough and included images from a drone the inspectors used to view the outside, roof, and gutters of the house. The report was not particularly cheap, and not money  we really wanted to spend. But, on old houses, it’s worth it to discover what projects we would have to schedule with over time. Planning for one major renovation project per year ($5,000 +/-) is realistic.

Right now we’re waiting for the seller’s decision. If they agree to our offer, the next step would be for the bank to order an appraisal as part of the loan approval process. There are a lot of moving parts!

We had to pause and take stock after mentally moving away from this house after our counter had been rejected – and – in light of the issues turned up in the property inspection report. While we were pondering, a second Victorian house in Iowa, about 20 miles away from the first and listed at $50K, had come on the market. Two calls to the realtor revealed that this place was in the middle of a remodel and the owners had decided to walk. Only half-finished, the place needed a LOT of work. The realtor indicated a contractor would (probably) buy the place, finish the work, then flip the house when it was completed. We didn’t want to take on such a large project, but it did take our minds off the Elma house. Going over the pros and cons, we decided to make this last offer in Elma. Now it’s the sellers’ move. We await their decision!

The Lot

I went up to The Lot the weekend of July 20 – 21st to continue this year’s clean-up work. I was able to finish the corner of the aspen grove that I had not had time to finish last year.

The results of the weekend’s work turned out to be three piles of wood; one for chipping, one for salvage logs for firewood, and one for “burn pit” wood.

I  also worked in The Nook, cutting a few trees that had not survived the winter. A few were large enough to salvage, but most were small and were added to the chipping pile I started on Bird House Ridge. The steepness of the slope made this work particularly tiring as I had to hand-carry the chain saw up and down and carry the trees and brush down to the piles…serious exercise for the legs to do!

Motorcycle Rally

Our Yamaha Owner’s motorcycle group held a rally in Durango beginning on Thursday evening, July 11th, and ending on Monday, July 14th. (I had to be home Sunday night, July 13, so missed part of the rally.)

I rode to Durango on Thursday evening and met up with a couple other early arrivals. Base camp was a United Campground, and I set up my tent and gear before we headed into town to find a late dinner.

Friday morning we rode up Dolores Canyon, one of my favorite places in Colorado. The route includes mountain scenics, river valleys, alpine lakes, and some open countryside…just about everything Colorado offers with the exception of high desert.

The rest of the group had arrived by Friday evening, and we had a cookout in the campground and shot the breeze with other riders. There was only one person I had not previously met, so the conversations were pretty friendly and I caught up with people not seen since the last rally.

I’ll be putting together a gallery of photos from this event and will add a link to a future post for those who might be interested. I enjoyed the camping, seeing old friends, and riding in the picturesque SW corner of the state.

Conclusion

It’s been a busy few weeks since my last post, with way more activity than usual. We await the decision on the Elma house, and if positive, will move on to the next step in the transaction process.

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

I’m not terribly fond of all the paperwork involved in house purchase transactions. Or all the fees. Or all the back-and-forth.

Packing, planning and preparing is at a standstill until we know which direction we’re going. Probably just as well; this is the hottest part of the summer, when quiet projects in front of the air conditioner have their merits.

Happy Trails.

Regular readers will know that we have been looking for a retirement home for the last two years. After several trips and many house visits, the search may be over.

The last house we looked at on our most recent trip (July 4 – 8) may be “The One.” We have contacted the realtor to enter a bid.

More photos, including interior photos, can be found on the listing. (Note: Link does not open in a new tab.) This home has a bed and bath on the main floor as well as more bedrooms and a 2nd bath on the top floor. The back door enters into a mud room complete with washer and dryer. A detached two car garage begins to take care of auto storage. The corner lot is larger than most city lots and backs up to an alley, which provides garage access; this means no in-your-window neighbors on three sides. The remaining neighbor is separated from the house by the side yard. Two porches, both shown above, add some outside seating.

Pet Problems

The trip did not start well. Barely two hours on the road and our pet caretaker called to inform us JoJo had jumped into a pile of weeds that also has some fencing in it and had cut her inner left upper leg. Eight stitches were required to close Jo’s skin, but luckily no muscle tissue was damaged. Shortly after that, another call let us know that one of the cats, Velvet, had problems with a tooth that must have become infected and the abcess had broken open. Other than dosing with antibiotics and cleaning the gums, little else could be done for Velvet until Pam returned home and could make a vet appointment.

On The Road

The trip went OK. Total mileage was 2,746 and about 300 of that was driving around looking at homes in several communities. We based out of Oelwein, but visited Decorah, Spillville, Elkader, Elma, Harpers Ferry, and many other small towns in the area.

We were surprised at the amount of standing water in Nebraska and South Dakota. This trip we chose the “northern” route, turning on Hwy 83 North out of North Platte, Nebraska, and crossing South Dakota on I-90. Hwy 83 had a surprise; part of the route was under water! Here is a photo Pam took out the window while we drove through the low spot:

By and large the trip to and from Iowa was uneventful but contained miles of repair work, a few one-lane sections, and some rain showers.

Other House Hunting

We looked at a few other homes this trip. The Bridge Street home in Elkader had been the prime candidate, based on Pam’s previous visit and on-line pictures, but the lot, very small, ruled it out. The house had other issues as well, including a non-functioning fireplace and severe in-town restrictions on building a garage (impossible) and was located on one of the busiest roads in town.

We really tried to like this place as it had historic features as well, but, in the end the lot (both size and restrictions) took this one off the “possible” list.

Next up was a “For Sale By Owner” home and, as a bonus, had an ex-corner service station as part of the deal. While the house was tidy and updated inside, the small size would not have accommodated us and the pets.

Just for fun, we drove by a home situated on a ridge near Harpers Ferry. Out of our price range, the home featured draw-dropping scenic views of the bluffs and valley around it. Photos really do not do it justice.

Discouraged

By the time we were ready to head to Elma, we were pretty discouraged. The Bridge Street home was out, the Spillville place was out, the ridge home was yet to come but one we knew was over our budget, and we were getting tired. Elma was next on our list, but we had previously driven by the house on the incoming trip and were not terribly impressed. However, we had an appointment and we intended to keep it.

Pleasant surprise

When we arrived in Elma we met with the realtor, Phil, and started going through the home. It soon became apparent this place met our major checklist of desirable features: full bath and bedrooms upstairs, full bath and bedroom downstairs, mud room / laundry room on the main floor, large (for a city lot) open spaces, two car garage, utility shed that could be utilized for the outdoor cats, and Victorian styling. No air conditioning, but the place had been upgraded for a 200 amp service, also rare, in expectation of adding an a/c unit to the existing forced air furnace. Elma is not much of a town, a bit more rural than we would like, being about 30 minutes from four different county seats and about an hour away from several large metropolitan areas.

We would be comfortable here. There was no “Eureka!”moment; it just became obvious that this could be our retirement home.

After discussing our options during the return trip, we decided we would contact the realtor and put in an offer once we returned home. We also looked up the local bank and are in the process of submitting a mortgage loan application. After this flurry of activity there will be a quiet period as the process continues, assuming our bid is accepted. (There may be some back and forth on the price before we come to an agreement.)

We are both excited and relieved that our long search may finally have borne fruit. Now, for the next few days, all we can do is wait and see!

Miscellaneous

Here are a few other photos taken along the way. They don’t really belong in any of the narrative above so I’ll add them in here.

Home again.

On return home there was a lot to do. A priority: fixing the washing machine which was not draining water. A plugged discharge hose was found to be the culprit.

There was laundry to clean, lawn to mow, groceries to buy, and stuff to put away. I have a Colorado-based motorcycle rally this upcoming weekend so needed to go though my motorcycle camping stuff and trailer to get ready for that trip.

In addition, we finalized our paperwork for the bank application and real estate offer. Busy!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Hallelujah – could this mean I no longer have to review For Sale listings every day?

Deciding on a home closes one door, but opens a list of moving parts, all of which have to be managed to get the entire retinue from here — to there.

One thing I’m sure of – I don’t like driving on a road where the car has to become a boat. The Midwest humidity was oppressive, especially the morning where a person could almost reach out and grab a handful of fluid air. We kept the car AC on mainly to dry out the air so our Colorado noses could breathe. There will be an adjustment period.

Happy Trails.

I know it’s been a couple weeks since my last post. It has been a busy time for us and I’ll try to cover what has happened over the last few weeks.

Critter Stories

A few weeks ago Pam and I visited The Lot. Out of that trip come a couple of “critter” stories I have not previously mentioned.

As we approached our turnoff in South Park, I saw something crossing the road ahead of us but couldn’t identify what it was. Getting closer, we saw a mom coyote with six kitts who had just crossed the road.

Now this is rare; coyote kitts are rarely seen in daylight. I don’t know why the mom was moving them, but the kitts were as cute as can be. Little triangle ears poking up from small but well defined heads. Each kitt was a miniature image of the mother. We didn’t stop for a photo, but the image remains clear in our memories. Cute!

One of my chores when we start the season is to get fresh water, something I mentioned in an earlier post. However, while I was on my first water trip, I came around a corner and almost ran into three adult pronghorn bucks. I stopped the truck, but when I started to move to grab my camera, the animals took off.

They looked great. Black ebony horns rose above clearly marked faces. One looked to be molting his winter coat in a small area near his belly, but otherwise they were sleek and healthy.

Again, no photos but the memory remains. Seeing these critters was a highlight of that trip.

The Lot News

I have made a couple more solo trips to The Lot and have been able to get some work started. I haven’t done as much as I’d like, primarily due to the weather.

Two weeks ago I went up on a Saturday – Sunday visit; the weather report called for a low of 34 degrees and a chance of snow. In fact, it did snow on the way home, enough to accumulate on Vail Pass, and there were flakes in the air in many places. The main goal was to take up the chipper, replace the LP lines on the tanks, and do some replenishing of items we had forgotten on the first trip. Good thing my goals were not any higher!

Last weekend I made another overnighter, this time to get some work done. I cut brush, chipped small piles of brush, salvaged a few logs for firewood, consolidated some of my pine wood, and cleaned up some dead wood along the driveway and on Homestead Acre. However, rain moved in and I had to cut my visit a few hours short. I brought home a truck full of ‘burn pit’ wood; this stuff is too rotten to salvage and too big to chip.

Here are a few photos from the most recent trip:

Once the storm rumblings began I closed down my operations, put the ATV in shed storage, and shut down The Box in preparation to head for home.

Around the House

The home place looks a little bare with the utility trailer and the chipper gone from the spots they had occupied over the winter. However, the hollyhocks are blooming profusely and the lawn remains very green due to recent rains.

I picked all the cherries off my cherry tree. There were not as many as last year. Pam froze them pits-in for future distribution to the squirrels and chippies at The Lot this fall and early winter. (Pam was not impressed with the crop of “pie cherries” last year; this year’s crop was meant for a different fate.)

So the summer goes on. I have a motorcycle rally in a couple of weeks, based out of Durango in Colorado’s southwest corner. Looking forward to it.

We hope everyone has a Hppy 4th of July!

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

I’m spending quite a bit of time this season being the door concierge for the dogs and a couple of cats. Out/in, out/in, out/in, repeat, repeat, repeat…

Toward the end of July, I may just assemble materials and start working on the Winter Solstice cards. The number of holiday cards I send is dwindling; this past year saw another handful of folks pass into the ether and off my list. I’m thinking of Solstice cards in sapphire blue, since the sapphire is the precious stone representing 45 years of marriage — a milestone Fields and I will pass at the end of the summer.

Happy Trails.