There goes the vacation plans

This afternoon, late of course, I received a call from my tenant in Augusta, that only a few electrical outlets are operational, and no electricity is available in the house.

How long has it been, I asked. Turns out he had been battling it since the weekend. Poor things.

He wasn't stressed, and I'm grateful for it. So I shouldn't either.

But at 4 p.m. CST, 5 p.m. EST, how on earth am I able to find an electrician to head on over? I called the contacts I have and had a couple of recommendations. But one of them couldn't go over until morning. Of course.

It sounds like one heck of an expensive job. The circuit breaker is not working, and I fear the entire old house has to be rewired. Ouch. I may have to take out a home equity loan. I don't even know how that works.

Home ownership is overrated and sucks. But if I should take away any lesson all these years from home ownership is that repairs are going to happen, sometimes they are affordable, sometimes not. There's nothing to do but be responsible landlords and adults, and take care of business.

Back to Augusta

... for a brief time.

Hey, folks, I'll be in town on Sunday June 18 and leaving for Savannah on Tuesday June 20. Hope y'all can make it to dinner with me Sunday and/or Monday night. I'm thinking Bonefish Grill.... mmmmmm.

Columbia folks, if you can make it, that'll be great.

Details to follow! Can't wait!

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Be Responsible

Good news since I so seldom start with those: I got a renter! Yay! And it's an MCG student with her husband. Only 1 week of empty space and the house is going to be occupied next week. Couldn't ask for better since we are hit with a heavy rent in Illinois, we couldn't afford to have 2 "house payments."

I'm soooo glad to be rid of my previous renters. Let's hope the new ones will be better. Without going into much detail, it's enough to say being a landlord is not easy. Those of you who know M and me, know that I'm usually the nitpicking one, and M is willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt, to a fault.

Anyway, we have rented in multiple places and always treat the place with respect and care. Can't say the same with our previous renters. It's costing us more to have them around. So I am beseeching those of you who are renting, please, please, please:

1. Pay your rent on time
2. Admit your tardiness and pay the late fees accordingly
3. Take care of damage you caused right away
4. Keep a perpetually clean house so that you don't have much to clean on your last harried days
5. Water the yard
6. Do it when you say you would
7. Respect the house
8. Bathe your pets. Pet stink are disgusting and attract fleas, etc
9. Answer your phone or e-mail

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Christina: I so agree with you on this one! I was proud to have been told by my previous landlords at the beach that I was an EXCELLENT renter. even if Snow did claw up the furniture a few times. I should copy your guidelines, tweak them for the "temporary" condo renters and send them out!

Me: Of course there will be mishaps other than regular wear and tear. As long as the renters are responsible towards it, I have no qualms. I like to think we are fair. We even paid for Merry Maids to get the house ready for the new renters cuz we have word that our old renters left the place not clean (to our standards) and smelling like wet-dog high heaven, and with fleas nonetheless.

Finance Update

Got the damage taken care of. It's a little more than 1k less than expected. But it still hurts.

For those of you in Augusta who someday need repairs done to the house, these are my recommendations so far (sight unseen for HVAC but good word of mouth):

Chuck Long - plumber (706) 589-4974
Cliff ____ - HVAC (recommended by Chuck) 706 -533-5816

Be sure to tell them Miss Ling of 2733 Edward Drive sent ya. My rep goes a long way.

Augusta in the limelight

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. Good thing, too. Seems like I usually blog about shit happening in my life.

Well, life's been good. Enjoying the hard-earned house. Learned a new dessert - Lemon Ginger Cake with Blackberry Curd Filling. Doesn't that sound so Junior League or whatever those frou-frou ladies' club is called in Georgia?

Ah yes, the headline. The Wall Street Journal in the 8/21 or 22 issue profiled Augusta, Ga., as the dreamy retirement city. And it took up half the Berlin-sized page. Nothing against Augusta. I love you folks, I still have my house there. But, for those unsuspecting foreigners, the article made Augusta out to be the Bahamas of the South. When they wax poetic about the medical complexes, the "short" distance to mountains, and big cities, and oh, the Riverwalk. The Riverwalk's not bad, but it ain't the one at San Antonio, for crissake.

Ask Damon Cline for the past issue. No more than 3 days from today.

That's all, folks. Take care.

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Christina: "Short" distance to mountains???? What do they term short? It's at least two to three hours to the Georgia ones, and more than that to South Carolina/North Carolina...
That cake sounds like heaven...

Jeremy: Augusta is more like the Pittsburgh of the South, except hotter than a blast furnace from April through October, and sometimes November.

Patrick: You know, I've heard that of all the rust-belt cities (Cleveland, Detroit, Allentown, Springfield, Mass, Hartford) Pittsburgh has rebounded the best, and is actually a decent place to live. I never thought I'd say this, but for once, I agree with the Wall Street Journal. I mean, I haven't read the story, so I don't know if they went overboard (I'll wager sure they did), but I can see how Augusta would be a decent place to while away the last years of your life.

Or to put it another way, it's a lot better than some of the typical retirement destinations in Florida, that ultimate geriatric playground. The day I stopped looking down at Augusta was the day I visited Ocala, Florida, which is the kind of place where you only go there to die. There was no history, no culture, no center of gravity, no waterfront--just miles upon miles of strip malls, swamps, chain restaurants and gated-off retirement colonies where grandchildren can visit but never, EVER live.

Then again, Augusta ain't no Bahamas either. I'm just happy my parents are retiring in Northern Vermont. :)