Life today is much different than it was when I last wrote on this blog. The only place where there are crowds of people now are in Walmart and the grocery stores. It has been interesting to see what people are buying. Why corn chips? That is the question I have. Walmart shelves were empty of corn chips most of the week. Yesterday I stopped to pick up a some fresh vegetables and carrots were gone. Have we begun to act with a herd instinct. "oh those people bought carrots, we had better buy some while they are still there." Doesn't matter if the last carrot was eaten in the household 4 years ago at a Thanksgiving dinner gone horribly wrong, when uncle Bob knew it was a good idea to deep fat fry a turkey in the garage, and the fire department had saved most of grandpa and grandma's house, but the meal was just grazing finger food to satisfy hunger once the family was allowed to reenter the house. "We might need carrots and the shelves could be empty didn't you see those last 2 customers bought carrots?"
I am told there is now a drop box where you can leave Tax payments and any other legal papers you need dealt with. Robyn and I recorded the contract on the house they are purchasing on Tuesday morning. We did that just in time. Yes, we could have waited, but I am sure Robyn and Shyanne are glad to know the house is recorded in their name as owners if they have to make mortgage payments.
We have all the houses we have purchased fixed up for right now. Still have a house to paint and 2 roofs to shingle once the weather gets warm enough, but for right now I am on vacation. Sharon and I were planning on going somewhere for a couple of days. yea, that didn't happen.
I spent most of the week in my office getting data entry done. I really did need some time to get caught up. I just didn't think I would be sitting in that chair several days in a row.
After the heavy rains on Wednesday night (I think it was Wednesday night and Thursday morning, the days have been hard to keep track of this week.) I did reshape some dirt around this house where runoff from the rain had found its way into the basement. It was great to get outside and actually do some physical labor.
I know some of our tenants are concerned about their income and ability to pay the rent. We have good people living in our houses and know they will do the best they can to pay the bills. Although I am not a big fan of the government spending more than they receive in taxes, (Don't spend more than your income is a good model to follow. It's especially stupid to lower your income as you raise spending. I'm just saying.) I do think a stimulus payment to families to help them get through this crisis is good policy. I have been telling tenants, you are going to get help in the form of a payment, you can apply for unemployment, spend your reduced income wisely and you will be alright.
Their concern makes me concerned because we have automatic withdrawals for loan payments, insurance and several other bills. This is going to be hard on the economy. This is the first time that I can remember since we started the rental business, we purchased no repairs or supplies on our credit cards for a week. We usually spend between $1000, and $1500 a week on "needed" supplies and repairs. This week $0.
Sam contacted me yesterday and told me his job was gone. He couldn't afford the rent and he was going to move out. He has someone he can stay with. Thanks Sam for making the right choice. he wanted us to be able to try to get a paying tenant in the house to cover our expenses. He wasn't just thinking about himself, but how his situation affected everyone around him. I'll miss Sam. He's a good guy.
He left the house in immaculate shape. I rented it this afternoon.
Tomorrow our church will not be unlocking the doors. I was supposed to lead the morning service at Peoria Christian reformed Church, instead I will be leading an on-line service for First Christian Reformed Church in Oskaloosa. (Pastor John is somewhere between Arizona and Iowa, back on Monday. How convenient, let someone else crash and burn this week and then he will know what not to do, next week.) I do wonder how it will go. I have never given a message to an empty building before. This could be a disaster. If you want to watch https://www.sundaystreams.com/go/firstcrcosky click on this link if you want to watch. Should go live 9:27 am. and later would be available recorded.
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