NEXT! Bargain House Bedroom Progress

Hick sent pictures of the front bedroom of Bargain House on Wednesday. He's been busy with his store and the elderly apartments, but he and Old Buddy finished the trim and put in the light and receptacles.

Hick says there are a couple areas where the paint needs touch-up, but they're not noticeable in the picture. The chair is one that was in the house. Not sure why he set it there. It's not like that's a way to "stage" a bedroom. I can imagine Hick sitting there, telling Old Buddy what to do, heh, heh. The only suggestion I have for this area is that Hick paint the light switch plate and electrical receptable white.

See? This electrical receptacle is white, and goes with the trim. The light fixture looks nice. There's that chair again. Not sure if Hick moved it, or if there were two. Kind of ruins my vision of Hick the taskmaster ordering Old Buddy around, if they each had a chair.

Hick said they also ran the exhaust for the bathroom vent so it goes to the outside. And that next, they are starting on the other bedroom, first by painting the closet. He says it doesn't need much work.

Hick also went by to talk to Realtor about any suggestions for the Double Hovel. Any ways to bring it to the attention of more buyers, or if we should adjust the price. I've always said that her listing did it no favors, and maybe just an updated listing, better describing the properties, might garner more interest. Unfortunately, Realtor was not in her office. Hick had to get to the Senior Center. Not to work, but to eat meat loaf for lunch. Then he was heading over to Illinois to pick up some merchandise for his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5).

Hick Dives into His New Job

Hick has been doing the duties of his new job. Not that it takes up much time. The old guy showed him what needed to be done. He fixed a couple things brought to his attention, like the lights in the hall. He said he had a meeting to take the expenditures to the city accountant, or some such entity. I don't really listen the whole time he's droning about things that don't interest me much.

Monday evening he got a phone call. I didn't hear to much of it, but it sounded like a problem. So I asked what was going on.

"It was a lady at the Senior Center. She said she turned on her kitchen sink, and the water gushed out all over the floor, and would I come fix it in the morning. I said sure."

"Is she okay? Should you go tonight?"

"No. She said she got it mopped up. She asked me to come in the morning. She said she left the mop right there, in case there's a mess, I can clean it up."

"Will she go somewhere while you're working? I mean, where would she have to go?"

"She's 88 years old. She still drives, though. She'll probably just go downstairs while they're getting lunch ready. She's usually down there by 8:30."

"Was it her faucet? Did it spray the kitchen?"

"No. I think it was probably a bolt that came loose from a pipe under the sink. I'll get it fixed. I'd go at 7:00, but that's probably too early for her. So I told her 8:00."

I'm sure Hick would have gone that evening if it was an emergency, or if the lady had asked. It takes about 20 minutes for him to get there. He wouldn't leave an old lady with water leaking overnight in her kitchen.

Less Taxing Than Last Year

You may recall that I started working on our taxes March 20. That was a Wednesday. I got a lot done, and the weather calmed down, and I was able to get to town the next day like normal. By Friday evening, I had Hick's business information entered, everything finished. 

I'd reviewed my returns twice. 

On Saturday, I submitted the tax returns online as usual. I got the email that they'd been received, both federal and state. That was a relief. Done for another year. I usually don't give it another thought. I'm not one of those people who constantly check to see if our refund had been issued yet.

Imagine my surprise on Friday, when doing the weekly balancing of our checking account, when the bank information line said we had a deposit for the amount of the Missouri tax refund! That has to be a record! Submitted on Saturday, refund deposited on Friday! It usually takes a few weeks. And in the past, Missouri has lagged behind the federal refund.

Anyhoo... it's not like we're rolling in dough. We always have the taxes held out up front from any monies we receive, and set our exemptions so that we are more likely to get a refund rather than having to pay. I know that we are just giving the feds interest money by letting them hold out more than necessary. But it prevents a "surprise" tax bill. You never know when we might sell a flip house, or if Hick will have a really good year of SUS2.5 sales.

The Pony was working on taxes Sunday. He called for the amount we had spent on the QuickFlip renovations between buying it, then selling it three weeks later. The Pony got his own paperwork for his portion of the sale at closing. So he had those figures, just not the expenditures. Back at the time of the sale, The Pony looked up info on capital gains. He set aside some of his profit for tax time.

The Pony said his taxes are done, but he's waiting a week to file, so he can look over it again with "fresh eyes" to see if there's something he might have missed. He will be paying again, not getting a refund. But he says it looks like the amount will only be about half of what he planned for.

Poor Genius. He also has to pay. An amount that is near what The Pony made off the QuickFlip. POOR Genius, indeed! That's a terrible problem to have...