A week of doing nothing??

     A month ago Rex asked me if I knew anyone who would replace a fence post for him. I told him to give me a call when he had the post purchased and I would put it in for him. Rex didn't want to do that, "I can pay someone to do it." 

     I told him "I know you can pay someone but I can easily put that pole in for you." After we talked about it for a while Rex said, " If I don't let you put in the pole for me I am keeping you from being a blessing, but it is tough for me to allow someone to give to me."

     Rex called this week that he had the pole, of course he started the phone call by saying, "you know you don't have to come over. I can hire someone." 

     "Rex I will be right over," Rex has helped a lot of people in the last 80 years and he is still helping and blessing people. I wanted to give a little something to Rex.

      I could pull the broken stub of the last pole out of the ground and slide the new pole right into the old hole. The new pole was 2 foot too long so it had to be cut.(I didn't want to dig out another 2 foot of dirt). Rex brought out his saw. Now I had driven over with just my toolbox and no compound miter saw. I cut the pole with Rex's hand saw. I got out my speed square and had Rex hold it against the saw blade so I made a square cut. Not the quickest or easiest way to cut a 4x4 but I had time and could use the work out.

     

     The new pole did not have the beveled top like the rest of the old poles. Rex said he was going to buy a piece to put on it. I said "let's cut off the top of the old pole and screw it to the new pole".

    Rex then told me he didn't know if he could buy a new top for it anymore but he didn't want to have me go to all that work.

     "Hold the speed square again Rex and lets fix this right." You know I think I got more out of putting a new pole in Rex's fence than he did. 

     Then I talked to Diana about needs at Lake View Camp. They needed someone to grout some tile.

Well, I have grouted before so I said "I can help with that." There were 8 bathrooms upstairs in the Impact Building. They had started on 5 bathrooms and finished none.

     I spent 3 hours there on Wednesday and 3 hours on Thursday and all 8 bathrooms were grouted. I just hope the work meets their standards. I guess if it doesn't, you get what you pay for and the work was free. 

    And speaking of free, on Friday I was given a Radii cutter. I was asked if I wanted it and I said "uh, yea. I guess so" I wasn't sure exactly what it was. Looked it up on line this morning and saw that these babies are selling for $1000 with pieces missing. I may have given away some labor this week but maybe I have been more than compensated.

     We are finally being successful at getting houses bought again. For the last month every time I set up a walk through on a house it would have an accepted offer before I could even get there to look. We ended up in a blind auction on the house above and had the winning offer. Yea! us, I think. I have no idea how close the next highest offer was, so we may be paying more than we needed to.

     On this house the seller accepted our offer of  80% of the asking price (less than 50% of original asking price). They needed to sell the house quick as a window had been broken out recently as well as other problems showing up. I will get into that later.

     I wanted possession of this house by September 30 because there is a real issue with the roof.

     The shingles are so far gone that you can see the nail heads. The roof does not leak yet, but there is no reason it doesn't that I can see. The seller is the USDA and they will not close until October 28. Ouch, that is getting late to roof the house, but we are hoping for a couple of warm days in November because we can not leave this through the winter.

     On this house the south side has new shingles but the north side had tarps on it to hold out the rain.

          The tarps have degraded to the point where they are just pieces still nailed to the roof. Not an optimum scenario. 

     See what I mean? There is sheet rock falling in the Living room

     and in a bedroom (I was in the attic and the plywood sheeting is in excellent shape, good thing it is not OSB Board). That means this roof has to go on ASAP. We made our offer with a closing date of November 5. The seller which is a bank wanted rid of the house before there was any more damage and changed the closing date to October 18. I called Micah and told him the closing date had been moved up. He said "that's a good thing." 

    I just waited a couple of seconds and then it hit him. "Wait a minute, That's a funding issue."

   "Bingo, you have found the problem." these are both cash sales no mortgages or loans allowed. We have to have the cash before the end of October for both houses. That is going to take some creative cash movement. Good thing Micah is a CPA. I am sure he will figure it out.

     I was down at Menards this week and they had oak flooring on sale. I was not planning on buying the new flooring for our living room just yet, but it was on SALE!! and I have a short time frame here before we close on any houses with a lesser work load.

    When I had the furniture moved it was pretty sad to see the obvious trail from the kitchen to my office. we had this carpet professionally cleaned this year and it did not stay clean very long.

   Problem is solved. carpet is gone. Pad is gone. Tack strips are gone. All the staples that held down the pad are pulled and gone. I am really stiff and sore, but the floor is ready for the new oak next week.

     I think Sharon is of the opinion I spent most of my week sluffing off in my office and not doing much work (She seems to mention I could do some house cleaning) . It kinda seemed to me also I wasn't working too hard as I went through the week, but I was able to help out Rex and Lake View Camp, buy 2 houses, and get our living room ready for new flooring. 

     I look at my life now days and realize I am not in control, and I don't want to be. I want God planning my days and the jobs I do. Well this week he cleared my calendar so I could help Rex and Lake View (and maybe paid me well for doing it, if I sell a radii cutter). He changed the dates I wanted to close on houses and it really will work out much better. He set it up so I was at Menards where the flooring, I was putting off buying, was on sale and I have next week available to lay it.
     It is comforting and exciting to know that God is taking care of the details of my life and over riding what I think are my good plans. I wouldn't want it any other way.

Where is your home?

     We had a cattle feeding operation 15 years ago. A disease came through and financially ruined us. An auction was set up to sell the machinery and equipment. It was a sad time for me and I will always remember what the auctioneer told me, "Royce, this is not our home. We are just passing through and this is just stuff."

If you do not know, I fill in for ministers and lead church services for them if they can not be there.

     Friday morning I went to a funeral of John C. He was a man who did the same thing and more. I had to park down the road because the church parking lot was full. John C was a man who had a lot of sorrow in his early life, but came to know Jesus personally. He loved God and knew Jesus was his savior. He has an eternal home with God.

      Friday evening I was in Newton, giving a report on a worship service evaluation of a man who is going to be ordained as a minister in the next couple of weeks. I felt inadequate to evaluate a man who has been leading the services at this church for 10 years, but it was a privilege to be asked to do it. As he was questioned about his life and faith it was evident that he knows where his eternal home is.

     Thursday I taped a "pay or quit" notice to the door of a house. It was something I had hoped I would never have to do. This tenant was picked up for a parole violation. He is in jail and although he has funds in the bank there is no one who can access the account. I have no idea how long he will be incarcerated and the water has been shut off for nonpayment by the city water department. City code stipulates if there is no water service, the house must be vacant. This man in a few days will have no home.

     I took a chance on this man. He was homeless when he contacted me needing a place to stay. We have rented to homeless people several times in the past and have not regretted it. Most homeless people are not living on the streets and pushing a shopping cart filled with everything they own. Many of them are staying on a friend's couch, some are living in a motel for a week, some are living in their cars till they can find a home. What they have in common is they have no permanent dwelling they can call home.

     I know this man has chronic pain and a guess on my part is some self medication with nonprescription drugs has left him in trouble with the law. I am not going to judge him for that. When I was 15 years old I was in an accident. The local hospital gave me some wonderful pain medication. Oh what wonderful pain medication. I would beg them to give me another dose before the first one had run out. (I wanted the feeling of that needle going in. Yea, that is how pathetic I was. I went form afraid of needles to begging for them to stick one in me in a matter of a couple of days.) Not because I had terrible pain but because I loved thinking I could see the world the way I had never seen it before. I thought I could see the very molecules everything was made of. Now 46 years later I can still recall the dreams with the bright visual colors and the incredible smells. 

     I was transferred by ambulance to Iowa City Hospital. They listened to me asking for that pain med and they said "no". The staff knew an addict when they saw one and it was a couple of tough days, tied in a bed as they drained infection from wounds and cleaned the pain meds out of my system. 

  So, I get opiod addiction, I really do. I wish there was a way I could help this guy, but right now it is out of my hands and when he is released he will be homeless again.

     His girlfriend was living in the house, but I was told by a friend of his that she had been stealing and selling his belongings while he was locked up. I was thinking she was "high" when I talked to her and I was wondering where she was getting the drugs with no income. Now I know.

    The friend packed up her stuff, set it on the deck, and took away her key. She now has no home.

     We are just here for a few decades and then we will be here no more. As that auctioneer told me years ago, this is not our home. There will come a time when all of us will reach the end of our lives. I know that I will always have a home because God has a room for me in his house for eternity. 

    Not having a home is a terrible thing. When the time comes and you leave this life do you have a home for eternity? 

Love them now

I was wondering what I was going to write this week. I spent most of the week just putting a new roof on this house. I would have preferred just stretching a story of putting on a roof.

But yesterday morning I was contacted that Kevin had been killed in an accident by Des Moines. Sharon and I went to visit his widow. I find that hard to believe and write that Linda is a widow.

Last night I said to Sharon, " I can not even imagine what it would be like to start the day as normal and to have you ripped out of my life before evening." 

 

I am blessed to have three sons and their wives. 

Fixing houses should never be more important to me than people. If a house burns down or is blown away, what would it matter in the long term, but if one who I love is gone, the pain would never stop completely.

I expect my house to be filled with family sometimes and I know the horror that a death brings. It leaves an empty spot in your heart that can not be filled. 

I tell people we do not mourn "for" the one who died, if they know Jesus as their savior they are now with God. We mourn for ourselves because we are left here bereft with a hole in our lives we can not fill.

I rely on extended family to be there in the times of trouble and need.

 

Sometimes just for a little help like when those young guys helped Tony move furniture to his apartment.

The Spoelstra cousins reunion was Friday and almost everyone was there, including Uncle John. Being part of a family is a gift that is beyond value.

What I am saying is if you have family and friends cherish them. Don't neglect them. You do not know how long they or you, will be here on this earth.

 

I am privileged to be able to work with Matthew and 

Micah sometimes, as we are in business together.

I cherish Josh and Casey and am always glad to see them walk through the door, especially if they are carrying a suitcase and are moving into our basement for a few days. 

I took this picture of a boy watching me work, (hope you don't mind if I use it again Meghan). Don't look at others through a window or from a distance. Get involved with the people in your life. Don't build walls and barriers instead open doors and build roads to others.

Take time to share food and fun. Build relationships so you have a support network when disasters happen.

Yesterday evening I stopped by the house of a young man. He mentioned the accident by Des Moines. I said "Kevin is Ok, he knew Jesus as his savior. It is the ones left behind who are troubled." I know this young man's mother is praying that he will come to know he needs a savior. This terrible accident gave me the opening to tell this young man about Jesus again.

I am glad I have a relationship with that young man and many others, some who would come to help me in time of need, others who I help out. Fill your world with people. God made us to be in relationships. Jesus said "a new command I give you, love one another".

Love them now, tomorrow might be too late.

Looking ahead

Last year at this time we took possession of this house. The front of the house looked great. Might even ask why we were ending up with this house. Then you opened the door and walked in. A tenant had totally trashed the house. The owner was in a nursing home. He had gotten estimates of the cost to fix the house and just wanted rid of it.

There was a long ramp on the back of the house 

We removed it and put in a landing with stairs.

Also had to regrade the back yard as it had places where it needed 2 foot of soil added to make the water drain away from the house.

Our next project was this house. When we purchased the house there were several code violation notices stuck on the back door.

Now the house is in code and looks like someone cares.

Our next project was a brick house. The front steps were broken concrete. I don't have a picture but they were a hazard.

Steps repaired, new windows, roof and trim painted made a big difference.

Then we moved on to this lovely number. The entire inside had to be redone. The assessors office actually sent an adjuster who lowered the value of the house in March. He told me he would be back next year to re-evaluate. 

I have a feeling he is going to raise the assessed value and the Real Estate taxes for 2020.

Ah yes the Blue house. The city inspector and code violation officer were really wanting this house cleaned up.

I believe they should be good with it now. It passed an inspection last Saturday.

Last house we fixed in the past 12 months. The house didn't look too bad from a distance, but the siding was about to disintegrate. 

Finished it this week. From September first to September first we fixed 6 houses. 

OK I am cheating a little because we still need to re-shingle this house next week.

 

For the first time in 12 months my saws are in storage. I cleaned out the garage on the last house on Friday.

Got out the shop vac and cleaned the floor of my pickup.

Took everything out from behind the seat except the tools I keep in the truck so I can make repairs. It is a strange feeling to have less than a week's work on my calendar. There were times this year I thought we would not get everything done before winter set in again.

Summer is over in my book. I know it actually lasts till late September but it is perceptions that count. Fall and winter is when we buy houses. No one wants to move in winter weather. Owners whose houses did not sell during the Spring and Summer now have a tough decision to make. Do they sell to people who make low cash offers or hang on till next year. 

We will see how the next 30 days play out but I am thinking we might be insulting a few people with low offers and still end up with a house or 2 or 3 or 4 or more.

I think Sharon is hoping we don't end up with any. She wants our living room carpet removed and an oak floor put in. I am sure that will happen this winter, but that is less than a week of work and there are 52 weeks till next September 1.

So we are seriously starting to hunt for houses to buy. We just missed a deal this week. Someone beat us by a day on a couple of houses. I am registered to bid on a house at auction next week. The auction company demands $2500 before you can bid. At least they return the money if you don't win the auction.

I started spending some time at my desk this week running estimates, cost analysis, ROI, and cash flows. If I find anything that looks interesting, I will set up a time to walk through the house. Then all repairs are estimated in an excel spreadsheet which flows to a ROI sheet. If it looks like we have a possibility, I will send all the numbers to Micah and he will rerun the numbers with tax projections analysis, Book projection analysis, cash used by the business, leveraged and non-leveraged ROI. There is a lot of background work before an offer is made and many times there is no purchase so it feels like it was all a waste of time. 

But it really is not a waste of time. You have to know what your goals are before you take the first step. You have to do the background work so you know if you can meet your goals. You have to have a plan to succeed.

Having caught up with work it is time to look ahead, to plan for the next 12 months. 

If I am willing to put this much time into financial planning, I also need to put some time into life planning. I know some people who are living for the pleasures of today. They are young and think some of the decisions they are making now will not harm them long term. Well, that is a foolish assumption. Never sell your future for the pleasures of today. Plan for eternity don't just live for today. Make peace with God, realize sinners need salvation and then you can enjoy life forever. Sit down and figure out what the cost will be if you do not plan your future now. Separation from God forever is a high cost to pay for having what is perceived as a "good time" now.