What a week

I was talking to Jim this afternoon. Jim is 24 years older than me. We could share some stories of the things we have seen. Even with all the stories that might seem horrible to others we agreed we were blessed because we have had the pleasure of showing the love of God to some who are living without the knowledge of God's saving grace. 

 

Even though I treasure every week that I can interact with people who need to know the gospel it doesn't make each week pleasurable in every way. On Monday Daniel told me the water pressure was so bad in their shower that the water just dribbled down about 3 inches from the wall. When we bought the house we put all new water lines in. The plumber who did the work told me there was a piece a galvanized pipe that was going to need to be replaced at some time. I thought that day had come and I called Irv and told him we needed to replace an underground water line. Irv called the water department  and set up a time to pull the water meter that afternoon. I talked to Daniel again to tell him when everyone would be there to fix the water pressure and he said "it's just the shower, everywhere else the pressure is fine." Uh Oh, put the truck in reverse and start cancelling that new underground pipe and the water department pulling the meter.

Yea, the shower valve was plugged. It was a more expensive shower so it had a turn out valve. Yea, that wasn't going to turn out. I am looking at this one piece tub and shower thinking, I am going to be cutting this tub out of here with a saws-all and spending a couple of days getting this fixed. I had a busy week and this was not going to fit my schedule. Then I thought, if I cut the wall out of the laundry room could I get at this thing from the back side. usually you can not because the screws are driven in behind the shower surround wall. Nothing to lose so I cut the sheet rock and low and behold it could be removed and replaced from the back. Daniel was excited to see the water hit the other wall when the shower was turned on and I was excited to get the job done in under 2 hours.

 

On Tuesday we evicted Austin and Scott, Ok, I would call them tenants except they never rented the house from us. They just moved in. I had to have them served by the sheriff wait 10 days then go to court to get them evicted. Living in the house, using my utilities except for the water which they had put in their name. Water bill in their name gives them tenancy. Had a discussion with the water department about putting the water bill in the name of someone I had not rented the house to. The water department was not sympathetic and would not turn the water off even though they are going to bill me because, guess what, Austin and Scott are not going to pay that bill so it becomes the owners liability. I told the water department they were helping these guys steal from me. Yea, that's the policy.

My attorney told me the judge would most likely give them 3 days to move their stuff out. The judge was not amused and gave me immediate possession and ordered their removal and all removal costs to be paid by them.  On Monday Scott called to ask what time the sheriff would be coming to remove them. I told him I had to give the sheriff's department 24 hours notice so we would be coming on Tuesday at 10 am.

I stopped by the house 8:30 Tuesday morning and Scott told me they were going to start moving their stuff out. When I drove up at 10 am the deputy was already there and the doors were open. The deputy said they had requested an hour to remove their belongings. I had hired 4 people to help me carry the house empty. I was not about to pay 4 people for an hour to sit and wait.  I told the deputy. "they knew yesterday that the jig was up. at 8:30 they told me they were going to move out. That was an hour and a half ago. I want them out NOW!" 

We carried all their stuff out and put it by the curb. Someone hired a U-haul and loaded it up and took it away. It is said that the law favors the tenant over the owner. I don't see it that way. I know I had to go to court to throw out what were basically trespassers, but there does need to be some legal protection against unscrupulous landlords. At the end of the day, if you abide by the law the owner always wins. That night I slept in my house, those guys were homeless.

I feel no guilt about that, because neither of them has a job. Both able bodied young men who do not seem to want to work. I had the opportunity to share the gospel with them and tried to help them figure out how to find housing. They were not interested in what I had to say or any help from me. They just wanted to stay in my house. But don't live in my house when I did not rent it to you and you have not paid rent and do not plan to pay rent. Don't expect me to work while you do not even look for a job and steal from me, because at that point I will look for justice. 

Our houses are all nonsmoking houses. They were there for 2 weeks and this is what the furnace filter looked like. That filter is brown, not because of dust, it is smoke.

Had to patch this wall because, well evidently you pass the time by throwing knives at the wall to see if they will stick.

Put in a new bedroom door this morning. The one that was there had been kicked to pieces. The back door was kicked in as well. Frame broken out. I might know how they got access to the house. Scott stayed to load up their stuff but Austin was last seen running down the street. Run, buddy, run.

 

I went to look at a house that is for sale. It is at the very high end of our price range. It would have to be move in ready. When you drive up and see the spray foam insulation around the windows, you know it is not move in ready.

When the front door is splintered and cracked you know it is not move in ready.

When the cupboards, including the sink base have no doors or drawers, you know it is not move in ready.

When the ceiling light fixture has obviously been replaced, ceiling not repainted and the new fixture is only attached by the electrical wires, you know it is not move in ready.

When one of the the bathroom lights is missing and the other does not meet the wall, you know it is not move in ready.

When the back of the shower has been painted dark blue, you know it is not move in ready.

 

That does not even include the need for a new furnace, central air, and roof. Yea, we are going to pass on this one.

  

Couple of months ago I broke a tooth. I was hoping it could be capped. I was still thinking it was going to be capped when I was sitting in the dentist chair. I was told it was not savable and it was pulled. About 10 years ago I had an infection in the tooth right behind this one and it was pulled as well.So Wednesday I had 2 implant bases put in. That is the toque ratchet that was used to turn the implants down into my jaw. I could feel the pressure as it was turned in. It almost felt like my jaw was starting to bend a little from the pressure. I am thinking don't strip the threads on those babies and don't break my jaw. 

I had a followup on Thursday. Eric and Tammy both said, "Oh, good your face isn't all swollen up." Hey, nobody told me that was a possibility. I am a little concerned because Eric keeps saying, "I think the implants will work. I am not going to bill you until we know it is not going to fail." I evidently have a weird jaw bone, which is causing an issue.

At least my week ended on a good note. the house we emptied Tuesday is cleaned and fixed and rented.

 I stopped by Steve today to replace a failed GFI outlet. He has pulled up the carpet in his living room to find hard wood underneath. Some glue is on the floor.

he is spraying it with water a patch at a time and scraping the glue off. Steve has a couple of dogs so non carpeted floors are best. I really appreciate that Steve took the initiative here and is doing the work instead of having me do it. It's tenants like Steve that make my day.

Jim was telling me today that life is like a bicycle built for 2. If you put Jesus in front to steer and you ride in back and just keep pedaling life will work out. This week I just kept pedaling. If I had tried to take the handlebars and steer, I think I'd be in the ditch.

It's free

I am living without a personal credit card at the moment. We went out to eat Saturday evening. Sharon was going to leave her purse at home but I said "you are going to have to have a credit card with you because mine is locked." So Sharon is paying all the expenses till this week Friday when I will receive  a new card. Till then I am living free, cause I am sure Sharon will pay the bill when her card is due. 

It is a good thing that our cards on the same account have different numbers on them. Someone tried to buy over $600 of liquor on line Thursday morning with my card number. That means they also had the security code off the back of the card. CapitalOne was quick to contact me asking if I had made the purchase. It probably tripped their system as I try to keep my alcohol buys under $500 if it's before noon. 

We buy everything with credit cards so for the last couple of days I have been finding out how often I buy stuff. I had to ask Sharon to pick up a loaf of bread because I have no credit card. I was going to buy some socks, nope, no credit card.

The kids that shovel a path for me to the door of our storage building did a lot more shoveling on Friday. They made ramps and a curved run for sledding.

I asked if I could take their picture. I should have asked if I could borrow a sled for a few runs. A lot of kids who did not have school on Friday were inside with their computer games. It made my day to see these guys outside having free fun in the snow.

I stopped at the lumber yard to buy a 2x4 this week. I was replacing a bathroom vent fan and needed a couple of 14 inch pieces to make the new fan fit. As I was driving away, I was asked if I wanted some trim boards for our rentals. They were going to throw them in the dumpster.

Oh yes I did. I am not sure how many hundreds of dollars of trim wood I loaded up and took to storage. I was wondering how much it was going to cost to trim out the basement ceiling in the house we are working on now. When I built the budget on the house I did not include that trim work. (Yea, I know bad move.) Now I know how much the trim will cost $0.00. Hey, that puts me back in budget.

It was time to get the water turned on in the house. The water line came in behind sheet rock in the basement. I thought it might be prudent to tear off the sheet rock and look at the pipe as the heat had been turned off in the house for a couple of years. The pipe was split for about 4 feet. That would have made for an exciting few minutes as the water was turned on.

After I replaced that pipe there was only one other water line break. Usually it is worse than that. I did find they had removed the drain line under the vanity in the bathroom. I had all the parts I needed in our collection of odds and ends and was feeling pretty good about fixing it for free and using up some of the parts out of the box of stuff we have. I did wonder why there was a piece of tape on the copper line in the basement. Now I know. The copper line had a hole in it and the previous owner had "fixed" it at no cost with tape. Yea, that didn't hold water. Time for the saws-all and new schedule 40  pipe and elbow up to where I had put in new under the vanity. Wasn't a free fix after all.

I am not sure why anyone would paint the wood in a bathroom dark brown (house we remodeled last year had it painted black, also not a good choice.). I put on the first coat of white. That will take at minimum another 2 coats.

When it was time to wash out the paint brush, I thought "I could use some hot water". The fuse box needs to be replaced with breakers and at this point there are a lot of wires not hooked up. I checked earlier when we turned the current on that the water heater was shut off. You don't want a water heater running if there is no water in it. I was going to put the fuses back in to start up the water heater when I saw one fuse was wrapped in aluminum foil. That means they blew the fuse at some time and with the foil had a direct connection. As Tom told me, "that is an infinity fuse." you can run as many amps as you want through it. Course it will burn your house down too.

So I checked the Air Conditioner fuse. Yep, another infinity fuse. Makes one ask why this house is still standing. The owner thought he had found a way to have free fuses. 

I do have the ceilings that fell from the roof leaks fixed. I hate working over my head.

I loaded up partial paint cans. I think they multiply in our basement. 17 cans of paint. I mixed 4 of them together with a can of miss-mixed paint I bought at Walmart.

For starting with a gallon of pink, I think it turned out a lovely tan color. Painted 1 bedroom

and the kitchen. So now I only have 13 partial cans of paint left. Anyway, that is how many I had there Saturday afternoon, probably be 17 again tomorrow morning when I get there.

When I look back at the week, I had a lot of "free" fixes and I saw some kids having some free fun. They say the best things in life are free. 

I do know the very best thing in life is free. My sins are all paid for by grace, the free gift of God. It did not cost me anything. Jesus died for me and all I have to do is accept forgiveness and I get eternal life with God.

Now, once I accept that forgiveness, God wants me to live my life for Him and give up my own desires. I am still working on that, while I rejoice in having eternal life paid for by Jesus. 

Come join me in getting salvation for free!!

That wasn't my plan

It is small deeds of thoughtfulness that are appreciated.

We have a storage building beside a tenant's garage. Last year the kids that live in the house would shovel a path for me to the door of our building. This week they had shoveled the entire cement pad. Thanks a lot guys it made my day.

Finished up the house we were working on. The window in the shower is totally waterproof. The tile surround fit tight up against a vinyl window. The new tenants and I agreed we did not want to hang a waterproof curtain in front of it for privacy. Trying something we have not done before. There is an opaque film stuck onto the glass. It allows in light but can not be seen through. It is supposed to look like water running down the glass. Well, it fit best if I put it on sideways. Now it looks like water is running across the glass. Maybe, it sort, of gives the impression of a strong wind blowing the water?

Carried all the tools out of the kitchen.

Cleaned up the cupboards and carried out all the plumbing and electrical supplies.

Took all of the power tools out of the house and swept the floors. Tenants were carrying stuff in as I was carrying stuff out.

Did the required updates to the furnace and water heater to get them up to code.

Enclosed the stairs to within 29 inches from the floor.

Cleaned everything out of the storage cabinets and installed a couple of new shelves.

Reinstalled the washer and dryer the correct way.

Emptied the garage. About half went to our storage and the other half to the landfill.

Put an new spring and pulley on the garage door. I think this is the first time the door has been closed in a long time. A lot of dirt on that baby.

It is always a good feeling to move out of a house because it is finished. Exactly 31 days from purchase to fixed and Christmas and New Years day were in that time frame. I had told the tenants that I was going to try to have it finished by February 1st but could make no promises. They had contacted me if we had a house open while it was still a real mess. Walked through it anyway and rented it on the spot. That was not how I saw it playing out. It was definitely not the plan I had in place.

We have one house left to remodel this year. Last year at this time I was wondering if there were enough days to get everything done before the snow flew again. This year I am wondering what I am going to fill my time with after May 30. It is a lot less stress this year. Last year I kept telling myself whatever gets done, gets done. The rest will just have to wait till next year. Ok, so I was lying to myself and kept thinking we are not going to do this again. Too much work too little time. 

We not only finished all the siding and roofs we had on the list in January 2019 we did an extra house roof and siding in August, and put 3 roofs on houses and garages we purchased in the Fall after the middle of October.

I often find that my plans are not God's plans. I can build my calendar and figure out how my time will be used and it seldom turns out the way I had planned. I find it a great joy to see how God works. There are times when I have to stop and tell myself,"hey, don't stress out here, God is still in control and He's got this." 

Those who are Landlords or attorneys are surprised when they hear we have never had to evict a tenant. This week I started our first eviction process. As of yesterday it is beginning to look like we may not have to follow through with an eviction. Once again it looks like God is solving the problem for us.

Will God resolve the issue my way? Most likely not, but His way is always better. God's way builds His Kingdom, my way is usually an attempt to make my life easier or better.

I have to remind myself I am not in charge. It is my job to shovel the path so God can do the work. (see I did get back to those kids shoveling a path for me.) Take care of the details because God is coming to build his kingdom.

Count the cost

This week it was time to get motivated on the house we are working on. It is rented for the first of February and that is closer than one would think.

I finally finished cleaning up that awful floor. All the stuck down pad is gone. That took a lot longer than just putting in new laminate flooring, but that old oak will last forever.

I don't have a full picture of what the bathroom looked like when we started. Let's just agree that it was truly awful and leave it there.

Got the tile set around the tub for the shower.

Grouted, sealed, and the shower installed.

Vanity in place. It needs the vanity top yet. we have 4 in storage and none of them were the right size. The mirror came out of storage. It is actually an antique. It is old enough that it weighs about 40 pounds. The new ones weigh less than 10 pounds.  Putting it up, I started thinking about just throwing it away and buying a new one. It was heavy trying to get the cable to catch the screw in the wall while leaning over the vanity. Yes it actually has a 3/8 inch cable on the back to hang it on.

Hung a cabinet in the corner because there were no drawers in the vanity. It helps to have some storage in a bathroom. All that is left to do is the vanity top in the house. 

The garage needs to have an electrical outlet replaced and a light installed. The garage door springs are broken as well. Once those items are fixed all that is left to do is carry out the trash and move the tools to the next house.

With ice and snow on the ground and the wind blowing last night was a good night for a fire. I might have been dozing off sitting close to the fire instead of reading the book I had in my hands. there is something about the radiant heat from a fire on a winter evening that induces sleep.

Went from behind schedule to ahead of schedule in a week. That's a good feeling.

Sharon and I visited with a young couple on Friday night. They want to get into the rental business. We warned them that it was a lot of work and it took a disciplined financial approach. They seemed to be ready for the sacrifices that will be needed to be successful. You will get calls for repairs that are needed evenings and weekends. I got a call 2:30 Saturday morning that a tree limb had crashed onto the roof of a house because of the ice load. You will have deadlines to meet if a new tenant needs a house. You have to count the cost before you start a rental business because it can consume your life.

Jesus said the same thing about following him.  Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’ Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won't he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still along way off and will ask for terms of peace. In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

The couple we talked to were counting the cost before becoming landlords. I wonder how many today want to say I am a Christian but are not willing to count the cost. Jesus says you have to give up everything. All those sins and bad habits have to go. Putting yourself first has to go. Loving anything more than God as to go. The cost is high but the rewards are great.

God's Time

We are making progress on the house we are working on. That is a good thing because it is rented for the first of February. 

The appliances are in and when the appliances are in we are usually wrapping up. Not this time. 

I did get an additional cupboard put up in the kitchen. We had one in storage that was a close match.

Cupboard space was adequate at best, but that extra space will be appreciated, I'm sure.

Remember this awful floor? This has been the real time consumer. I have spent days wetting and removing that stuck down pad.

The end is in sight. Final cleanup left on about 8 square feet.

 

Rich got the new breaker panel in this week. Running saws with the current going through an old fuse panel is not my favorite way to go. With breakers you can just flip the breaker back on if a saw starts to pull too many amps. (I think it is amps). Fuses blow and you have to have a new fuse, we don't keep those on hand. We have been running the saws through a surge protector so the protector would shut out before a fuse burns.

The bathroom is the major project left. I had thought we could save the vanity but the former owner had allowed the drain to leak, the drawer rails were rusty and the base wood was soft. It came out just by grabbing it and pulling. No tools needed. That means it was past needing to be replaced.

The electric outlets in the bathroom are updated with GFI. That is all that is done in the bathroom. This is the room that has me concerned with that Feb 1 end date. Shower faucet needs to be replaced and then the walls tiled. Time needed for set up and curing between each step.

There are always a few things in a house that really make you shake your head. The dryer vent was completely plugged with lint. It should have been cleaned a long time ago.

The vent had disconnected and the lint was blowing against the back wall. The 220 volt plugin completely covered in lint was a scary sight to see. That is flammable at its definition. I can almost hear it go WOOF.

Last night Sharon's family celebrated her mom's 80th birthday. It was a blessing that all the grandchildren could be there.

After the meal we lit the Christmas tree.

We started this tradition when the boys were small and we lived in the country. We had to stop when we moved to town because the city frowns on large open fires. Last year the tradition was rekindled out at Sharon's parents.

Micah and Linsey provided the tree. they admitted the had neglected to water the tree since it was purchased at the first of December. It took Joshua some effort to get it lit with the stiff breeze blowing.

There is nothing that says Christmas is over like the lighting of the tree.

Singing "Come on ring those bells, lets light the Christmas tree" as a tree is engulfed with flames bring a beautiful conclusion to the holiday season as ashes float down around you in the evening air.

As I write this the Sunday after the new year, it is time to get back to work. There have been family gatherings and a real good bout with a virus that have kept me from much progress the last 2 weeks. It's time for a new season of work. As Matthew and Meagan left for Michigan this morning we told them we wanted them to live and work where God wants them to be and where they are happy, even if that means hundreds of miles from us.

I want that for all who I know, be where God wants you to be, doing what God wants you to be doing. If God wants me scraping a wood floor and fixing a bathroom that is where I want to be. We had a couple want to rent a house from us. They told me if they could rent the house it would be an answer to prayer. I told them we pray that God will put the person he wants in our houses. I thought it was a done deal. They had prayed and we had prayed. Well it was not a done deal and we had to go our separate ways. Then 3 weeks later Eric called me to ask if we had anything open. "No, sorry, Eric we don't" 5 minutes later Amber let me know they were moving out on the 17th. I called Eric back and they rented that house for the 17th of January that night. This house is a much better fit for them than the one we both thought God wanted them in. We just had to wait 21 days for God to get it right for us.

As you enter this year make sure you are where God wants you and not just where you want to be. Be a servant of God and wait for Him to show the way. We need to be where God wants us to be and we need to be there on God's time not our time.