The Interest is There, Presumably

Hick was working at the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s) on Wednesday, when a lady stopped to talk to him. Let the record show that Hick has a generic HOUSE FOR SALE sign in the yard, but without any contact information.

"An old lady stopped today and asked me about the Beauty Shop."

"I really want to buy this little house! Will you sell it to me?"

"I told her I couldn't, that the two houses came together."

"How old was she?"

"I don't know. Maybe in her fifties."

Huh. Such an OLD LADY, stopping to ask about the Beauty Shop efficiency cottage, without having even seen the inside of it!

Anyhoo... Hick met the building inspector, who had already approved the main house when it was finished. He also approved the Beauty Shop efficiency cottage. Hick mentioned the 'old lady' wanting to buy just the Beauty Shop half.

"He said it's because they each ain't on 8000 square feet."

"How much is it?"

"About 10,000 square feet, together."

"I know there are houses on less than that! The yards look plenty big enough to me!"

"I guess it's their new standard."

"Why wouldn't they let you use the Beauty Shop as your business, like you wanted to in the beginning?"

"They said it's not zoned for business!"

"It was a BEAUTY SHOP! My mom went there for years!"

"Yeah. It was a beauty shop for over 50 years. I asked about that, and he said they had a "variance" back then."

Funny how things USED TO BE okay. But now they're not...

Anyhoo... we knew when we bought the property that the houses could not be sold separately. That's not a surprise. We'll see how much interest we get once the listing is up.

Surely, Though a Bit Slowly

Hick is planning to sign paperwork and hand over keys to the realtor this week for the Double Hovel flip house(s). He has almost everything done that she suggested. Well. As much as he's told me. Seems he left out a couple things. White paint has been applied to the front and side of the Beauty Shop efficiency cottage. 

Still no rock garden or anything appealing under the front window. That appears to be Hick's "burn pile" in the background, for twigs and small limbs and wood scraps. 

Hick's buddy has still not delivered the load of gravel that will go in the area behind the burn pile, along that fence. Hick at first told me it had been done. Maybe he meant ordering it! I guess off-road parking will be a selling point, although many people around here just park on the street.

Tuesday, Hick was killing the weeds that are growing in the fence around the main house. He also sent me a picture of a surprise project:

"Painted back of shed too"

Heh, heh! Hope you can see it! It's like when Hick took The Pony on his college tour at the University of Oklahoma, and pictures were of a tiny Pony amidst a vast panoramic view. Oh, look! There's Old Buddy, who is back, over-the-weather rather than under it. He helped Hick paint the side of the Beauty Shop on Monday. In case you can't see the shed, I'll zoom in:

It's an eyesore that I might have torn down, but as the realtor told Hick, people like a place to put their stuff. Also, in the full picture, you can see that Hick has taken his tractor to town, to use for spreading that gravel when it arrives. He left the trailer over in The Pony's back yard.

Now Hick needs to find some cleaner for scrubbing the bathtub some more in the main house, as the realtor instructed! He said CLR. I asked if it was rust or lime scale, and he said no, it looked like soap scum buildup. Which I said needed something foamy, with the scrubbing bubbles. Maybe Soft Scrub. I told him to read the bottles and see what they're good for. Hope he doesn't mix anything that shouldn't be mixed! My old principal did that when he moved, and had chemical burns on his forearms! 

Gotta keep Hick working!

Hick Fulfills at Least Half His Commitment

Grab those smelling salts again! Make sure you're sitting down. If you're a drinking person, you might want to take a shot.

HICK PAINTED THE BEAUTY SHOP WHITE!

Sort of...

Wednesday morning at 8:00, Hick sent me a picture and text. 

"There is the first section white."

And another at 9:45. 

"Whole front painted will need another coat."

By afternoon, another picture at 1:55.

"Two coats all in front finished."

To be fair, the side wall has not been painted. Old Buddy has texted in sick all week, so Hick has been working alone. He says he's planning to do the side wall as soon as Old Buddy can help. I don't see it happening until at least Monday. Hick spends Friday/Saturday/Sunday at his SUS2 (Storage Unit Store 2), and I doubt Old Buddy will make a miraculous recovery for one day, when he typically doesn't work Fridays anyway.

Huh. Now that I look at it, the brown color was kind of pretty... But not worth having to explain to casual observers that it really isn't PLYWOOD, but "CEDAR SIDING." Even with stain, it would look like a patch job to me.

Two Businesspersons Walk Into a Beauty Shop

Hick met with the realtor on Tuesday at 1:00. They toured the Beauty Shop, and the main house of the Double Hovel. The Realtor brought some comps from the neighborhood, for an idea of what comparable homes were selling for.

Hick told her what price he was considering. The Realtor suggested an amount $6000 lower. Hick's reasoning was that we would have room to lower the price if there was not enough initial interest. The Realtor said she preferred to set it lower in the beginning, to get people actually asking to walk through the houses. Hick agreed. The Realtor said the size of the bedrooms was a factor in the pricing, but that having two bathrooms instead of one would offset that a bit.

The Realtor told Hick that she could charge a commission of 7.5 percent, but that since he had come back to her after buying Pony House through her, she would sell our Double Hovel for a commission of 5 percent. Can't beat that with a stick! That's what Hick gets for customer loyalty.

The Realtor told Hick that he needs to get a load of gravel to pour beside the fencing at the main house, for off-street parking. Hick has already had it delivered by a buddy, and will be fetching his tractor from The Veteran (who was using it to level ground for his new swimming pool) to spread it out on Thursday.

Hick also PAINTED THE BEAUTY SHOP FRONT WALL WHITE on Wednesday, and will be painting the side wall perhaps on Thursday. Old Buddy has called in sick for three days, leaving Hick in the lurch. The Realtor said to have the gravel and painting done before the photographer shows up, but Hick said he didn't know when that will be. We are supposed to sign papers with The Realtor next week.

We are happy with the pricing, and will stand to get a good return on our investment if we sell within a reasonable amount of the asking price. I have no qualms about The Realtor changing Hick's price. I figure she has a vested interest, standing to profit on the sale.

Hick Gives Me Written Evidence

Not wanting to be outsmarted by smartypants Hick again, I told him I would only believe his statements about the Beauty Shop flip house if I had it in writing. Mainly the part about painting the other two walls white, to match the remaining ones. 

Hick must have still been suffering from a merciless browbeating Sunday evening, because by noon:45 on Monday, he sent me a picture with a text.

"Window trim painted and i am getting the white paint for outside now"

So there was his commitment. Still, knowing Hick, I was a bit wary. He came home with a receipt he said was for white paint. The receipt doesn't mention white, but I'm beginning to believe the transformation might actually happen. 

Heady with assumed victory, I pushed my luck further on Tuesday at 12:30, just before the realtor was scheduled to meet Hick at 1:00.

"A little rock garden would improve the area under the window."

"Yes im going to do something there"

Not a statement that sends my heart racing at the thought of a beautiful rock garden. But at least enough to pacify me for now. And hope that he will mention it to the realtor.

FYI, here's what the Beauty Shop originally looked like.

Aside from all of the outer walls matching back then, I think Hick has done good job!

Here We Go Again With Hick's Buddy System

Everybody is an expert, you know, when it comes to giving advice on what is best for presenting the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s) for sale. Everybody except VAL!

"My buddy says that we should leave the front and side like that, so the realtor can ask the buyer what color they want it painted."

"That's the stupidest thing I ever heard! It will discourage more people from looking at it. THEN you will be doing the painting for free for a prospective buyer, after they've made an offer."

"No. They will like that they can get it the color they want."

"But all the other people who drive by to look, or see it in the pictures from the realtor, will think it looks like an unfinished flip, with plywood on the outside to patch up something wrong."

"It's NOT PLYWOOD! It's cedar siding! They sell it everywhere! Lowe's, Menards. Everywhere!"

"The average person driving by will only see it and think plywood. Only flippers like you, who want to save a buck, will know that it's "cedar siding." There's a house on the road over by Walmart with that "siding." I've told you from the first time I saw it that it looked like crap! CHEAP! And they even have the whole house painted white. But since I saw it before painting, I know what it is. And I can see the pattern. It does not fit in with all the other houses in that subdivision. It looks cheap."

"Well, it's siding. Not plywood. Everybody else knows that but you."

"You are going to cost us money by insisting on this "cedar siding." It does not look good. It will scare away prospective buyers."

"That's why I'm going to ask the realtor about it this week."

Yeah. We'll see. Last I heard, Hick was going to contact the realtor on Friday. He's got a few projects that need completion before getting pictures of the Beauty Shop efficiency cottage out for prospective buyers to see.

Three Is the Unfairest Number

In the continuing saga of The Little Efficiency Cottage That Could (make Val crazy), Hick has finished putting plywood "cedar siding" on the side where he took out a window, and also on the front, where he said the siding "had some holes in it."

As you surely recall, Val wishes for the whole structure to be one color: white. It only seems right that all four walls of a house should match. However, the monkey wrench in this equation is that The Pony is an equal partner in this venture, financially. Still, that only gives him 1/3 voice in decisions. Usually, The Pony and I agree on matters such as a stove instead of a cooktop, and making this structure a house instead of a garage. That's our common sense gene, which is sometimes questionable in Hick's DNA.

I fear that The Pony has inherited Hick's aesthetic (non)sensibilities. Wednesday, The Pony said he likes the idea of a STAIN applied to those two "cedar siding" walls!!!

Here's the latest picture of the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s).

"I still think Dad should paint it all white."

"I'm not sure. I personally lean toward a stain like on my back wall, but to be honest, I just like dark colors."

"I think they all should match."

"I feel like this would be decent on it."

Heh, heh! That's a picture of The Pony's back wall! You may recall that I was against that as well, but since The Pony is paying for his house, it wasn't my place to make that decision.

Anyhoo, there's a chance I could be outvoted on my white paint demand! Fair is fair. Majority rules on this project.

Meanwhile, Hick is planning to finish painting on the interior Thursday, get two bar stools to put at the kitchen bar, install the dryer next to the washer in the utility closet in the bedroom, and call a realtor on Friday. 

The end is in sight!

Just When You Thought It Was Bad Enough

Never underestimate Hick when I comes to bad choices. Oh, he's good with construction knowledge. But aesthetics are his downfall. 

Monday morning, I got a text that elevated my concern for the resale value of the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house.

"Sideing [Hick's spelling, not mine] on front corner. We can figure out color when I have it all on"

WAIT A MINUTE!!! ALL ON??? How much more can Hick lower the value on this property?

"What was wrong with the other siding on the front?"

"It had some holes in it"

Huh. That's news to me! I thought it was fine.

Now we are looking at TWO sides of that little "efficiency cottage" having different siding from the others. I doubt Hick would have gone to this trouble if he just left it as a garage. But drawing attention to an exterior that is not the same for all four sides does not bode well for the asking price. Says Val, an expert in real estate value...

Please, PLEASE let Hick listen to reason for painting that "cedar siding" white, like the rest of that little efficiency cottage!

It boggles my mind to put all this work and money into such a property, and then cut corners at the end, just for Hick's ego.

At the Risk of Making Good-Guy Hick Unpopular

I know Hick only has sight in one eye, but how can he be so blind??? I told him I put up a picture of the Beauty Shop with that "cedar siding," and that the opinions of "my people" were not favorable.

"All my buddies say it looks good!"

"My people say it looks bad!"

I elaborated a bit about the specifics.

"Huh. Where are they from?"

"What, like it's good enough for the denizens of Backroads?"

"Like I said, my buddies like it."

"That's another thing. Of course your buddies are not going to criticize something you've done. They're your buddies!"

"I told you I was doing it, and you said it was fine."

"NO! I did NOT! I hate that stuff! Why would I say it was fine? I didn't even like it on The Pony's house! You did NOT ask me about this. Last I heard, you were going to patch that white vinyl siding. You SAID you asked The Pony, and he said it was fine. I haven't asked The Pony if that's true."

"You said it was okay."

"No! I didn't. It will lower the price we can get on this property. It's not worth doing this to save us each a couple hundred dollars on materials. You need to ask a realtor about it!"

"I'll do just that! I'm hoping to have it ready to list with a realtor by the end of this week."

"Fine! We'll see what they say. Since you won't listen to me and my people!"

I can't believe a licensed realtor will agree with Hick that this siding is fine! I'm not even sure that Hick will actually paint it white, to somewhat camouflage this shortcut! Since he kept saying that it wasn't yet stained!

What in the Not-Heaven is Hick thinking??? Is his ego getting in the way of common sense?

Further discussion with Hick (quite unproductive), informed me that:

I don't know nothin'. 

I never get out. 

A house one street down from ours has the front a different color than the rest.

Out on the highway, a new subdivision has houses with different colored sides.

All the old ladies at the Senior Center like this "cedar siding."

The house-flipper lady at the Senior Center asked what color stain Hick planned to use.

You can't tell me nothin'.

Of course Hick will ask a realtor about the "cedar siding" affecting the value.

Hick is planning to make that side and the front the same color!?!?

I criticize everything Hick does. 

I can just do it myself if I don't like it.

Hmm. Seems as if my input is not well-received...

Please, For the Love of All That Is Not Hick-Enabling, Give Your Honest Opinion

Hick has been working on the outside of the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s). He fixed the handrail on the wooden sidewalk.

Not a major overhaul, but there's a rail to hold onto while walking if you need it.

Hick is patching the siding where he removed a window. Except he's NOT! Not patching with vinyl siding like he originally told me after taking out that window.

HICK IS USING THE CHEAP CEDAR SIDING THAT HE PUT ON THE BACK OF PONY HOUSE, after I disagreed on such material!

I refuse to blow smoke up Hick's rumpus like his cronies! I think this looks terrible! It doesn't match. It's not an "accent wall." It looks like a cheap patch job. Like there was a fire, or a car drove through the side of the house, and now it must be boarded up!

Hick says, "All my buddies like it." Sure. All his buddies who kiss his rumpus in case he might throw some of his hoard their way if they need it, or wish to sell it at their own storage unit stores. I can't even believe this material is called siding! It looks like cheap (well, not-so-cheap these days) plywood. Not meant for a permanent surface on the outside of a house!

"Rail looks good. Siding is *interesting.* Can you at least paint it white? So it's less noticeable?"

"It can be painted or stained whatever color we want."

NOW Hick is saying that he likes the wood color, since his buddies say it looks good.

What say you?

Too Soon! Too Soon! Val Blogs, The Universe Laughs.

Welp! I certainly regret sharing yesterday's views of the mostly-finished Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s). I normally wait until something is pretty much a done deal before I share it here. No jinxes, you know.

I typed up that Beauty Shop tale on Monday afternoon, around 2:30. Which I found out later was the time Hick was leaving there to come home and mow the acreage here with his beloved new zero-turn mower.

Tuesday morning, Hick and Old Buddy arrived at the Beauty Shop to find water all over the floor! One of the most recent things they'd done was to install a water heater. Old Buddy had done that job. I think maybe it was last week, since they don't work Friday-Sunday, and Old Buddy had texted-in sick on Monday.

Anyhoo... Hick was doing a few things there Monday. Everything was fine when he left. But between 2:30 Monday afternoon, and 7:00 a.m. Tuesday, the water heater couplings sprung a leak. Hick had to cut out a section of drywall to find the problem. Seems the couplings required crimping, which Old Buddy had not done. 

They mopped up the water with a pile of Hick's rags. Got the couplings corrected. Hick put a fan blowing on the floor, and left the air conditioner on, in hopes of drying out any remaining damage. He says patching the drywall section is not an issue, but if the floor warps, it will have to be replaced.

Oh, and with the water continuously running for however many hours, and the water heater trying to heat it, the water bill and electric bill are going to be high. Hick doesn't know how long the water was flowing. Says it could have started right after he left, or an hour before they got there. No way to tell.

Oh, well. It's only money. Not like anybody got hurt. Just a setback. I have not yet broken the news to The Pony, who will be harder-affected by his half of the increased bills next month.

Not Such a Beauty, But Surely Efficient

Hick is making progress on the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house(s). This month he's gotten the kitchen mostly ready. It still needs some "dry mudding," and paint. Don't even ask about the dry mudding. I assume that is to patch some holes or crevices before painting.

With such limited space, Hick has trouble finding room to keep his tools. On July 2, he and Old Buddy put in the upper kitchen cabinets.

I'm sure you see what I mean about the tools.

July 11 was a productive day. The lower cabinets, countertop, and sink went in.

The lower cabinets were the right size, though not an exact match. A stain will help with the color. Also, the floor installation was underway here.

Here's the "breakfast bar" that will serve for eating, since the place isn't really big enough for a kitchen table. Not if the resident wants to have a living room. Obviously, the door to the bedroom needs paint (and a doorknob). The other stuff in there is the flooring material.

The finished floor. It's coming along. Just waiting for a stove...

At last! The $150 stove has been installed, as of July 18, and is working. The kitchen sink has its hardware, and the water has been turned on. I told Hick I think that refrigerator door is awkward, and needs to open the other way, but he said it would hit the wall. Efficiency-renters can't be choosers, I suppose.

Here was another bone of contention: stove versus cooktop. Hick originally planned on a cooktop, and a microwave. I think his reasoning was to get more cabinet space. I disagreed. Anybody who rents/lives in an efficiency unit is like to be young and single, or maybe a mom with a toddler. They need an oven, by cracky! Nobody wants pizza, fries, or fish sticks warmed in a microwave! Think about what the resident would be eating. The Pony agreed with me. So we won the stove battle. It's easier for the resident to provide their own microwave than a stove.

Hick was hoping to be finished by the end of July. Not so sure that will happen. Old Buddy "texted in sick" on Monday. Hick was going to try doing a few things himself.

It's not the Taj Mahal. It's an efficiency cottage. Making the Double Hovel property more enticing to a buyer than just a garage to go with the main house. It's an income-producer to help with the mortgage payments.

The Stove Saga Heats Up

You may recall that Hick was hot on the trail of a $150 used glass top stove that he found on Facebook. There were some inconsistencies with the location, and responses from the seller.

After a text Wednesday evening at 7:30 saying he could pick it up THEN, Hick set up a time of 10:00 a.m. Thursday to go get that stove, which was located in Sis-Town, not far from the Casey's where I get T-Hoe's gas.

At 11:42 on Thursday, Hick sent me a picture of that stove, IN THE BEAUTY SHOP KITCHEN! 

I will share that progress in a day or two.

"Stove in and it works."

That was a relief for me. One more step towards getting that last half of the Double Hovel flip house ready to sell. When Hick got home that evening, he had more to say about the stove transaction.

"I was having my lunch at the Senior Center just before noon, and that stove lady called me. She said, 'I guess you're running late?' And I said, 'No. I'm not sure what you're talking about. I already picked up the stove. At 10:00.'"

"Did you go to the right house??? Maybe you got somebody else's stove!"

"No. I went to the address she texted me. There was a man and a woman there. I gave them the money, and Old Buddy and I loaded up the stove. It was done, as far as I was concerned."

"Was it a rental house? Or maybe a flip house?"

"I don't know. All I know is that a man and woman in the house took my money, and gave me a stove."

"What if they didn't give her the money? Maybe something weird is going on."

"I don't know. But I paid for a stove, and I got a stove. She didn't say no more about it after I said I already had the stove."

Huh. A strange transaction indeed. Sounds to me like maybe the seller was selling a stove out of a rental house. Thus the changing times for pick-up, like when the residents were there. And it could explain why the seller thought Hick hadn't been to get the stove yet.

I hope nobody crazy put a tracker on that stove, and plans to come repossess it!

Progress Inside the Double Hovel Beauty Shop

You may recall that Hick was going to leave the Beauty Shop as a garage. The Pony and I, 33 percent of the investment group, did not agree! We had bought the Double Hovel with the intention of having TWO homes to sell after renovations. Otherwise, the price we paid was not a bargain.

Hick finally came to his senses, and once the main house was done, started on the Beauty Shop. The first thing he did was tear out the floor, essentially gutting that structure.

That's the back half of the Beauty Shop, destined to become a bedroom/bathroom. Hick had to make the floor level. Then frame out the bathroom and put in the fixtures. Which required plumbing, and electricity. The bedroom would be L-shaped, with laundry facilities in the back part of the L. It's not the Taj Mahal. Just an efficiency cottage.

Here's the latest picture. The bedroom/bathroom was framed out. Drywall and paint applied. Hookups for washer and dryer. And this week, Farmer H and Old Buddy put down the bedroom flooring.

That's Old Buddy, putting down the flooring in the front part of the bedroom. The bathroom is behind him. You can see the front living room/kitchen area filled with Hick's tools.

There's the back part of the L-shaped bedroom. The door is for the laundry area. Hick had one set of the folding doors that had a mirror. He was going to take it back, to get matching doors, but I thought maybe a mirror might be useful for the future residents. More useful than matching laundry doors in this efficiency cottage. Not sure what Hick is going to do.

Anyhoo... I think that's a great renovation, considering how Hick started from NOTHING.

A Sneak Peek at the Double Hovel Beauty Shop

It's taken a while for Hick to renovate the Double Hovel flip house. He's had several irons in the fire, like the QuickFlip, and before that, his back surgery. He had decided that once the main house was updated, he would just make the Beauty Shop building into a garage. The Pony and I were not on board with that decision, seeing as how we invested in the Double Hovel with the intent of having TWO houses to offer upon resale.

Hick acquiesced with the efficiency apartment plan for the Beauty Shop. He and Old Buddy have been working on it between efforts for getting the QuickFlip ready for closing.

Here's what the Beauty Shop looked like when we bought the property:

It was actually the beauty shop where my mom used to get her hair done! When we bought it, the business had been closed for seven or more years. 

Hick put a new roof on it:

Looks black to me, but Hick says it's dark blue.

Then Hick decided to take out the side-street window, to make the living room more friendly for furniture. He will patch the vinyl siding to match.

Hick also put new windows in the front. Don't worry, the living room will have plenty of natural light. Also, Hick has replaced the original front door with a red metal door. 

It still needs fine-tuning, like painting the trim, and making the plants and "sidewalk" more appealing. But I'd say Hick hads made some major improvements for curb appeal. He's currently working on the insides.

The BS Is Coming Along

Hick has been working on the Beauty Shop part of the Double Hovel flip house. The last I showed you was the floor plan, I think. And maybe the bathtub set in place. 

A couple weeks ago, Hick and Old Buddy got the framing done in the back part of the Beauty Shop, which will be the bedroom, bathroom, and laundry.

Hick's message with this picture was: "I know you can't tell another but framing complete." Your guess is as good as mine about exactly what he meant. This is the view by standing in the living room of the Beauty Shop, looking through the door into the bedroom/bathroom/laundry.

A couple days ago, Hick and Old Buddy put in the rest of the bathtub. Mostly. Hick just said, "Tub installed." The plumbing is done underneath and in the walls. Hick just has to make a hole in that surround stuff to put the shower head. And caulk the cracks.

Hick has shown the flips to a couple of interested parties. I'm not sure they can get the financing. Yesterday he had a lady and her adult son looking at it. The woman said they haven't mentioned it yet to her husband! The son and his wife and toddler currently live with them. Their plan would be for the lady and husband to live in the main house, and the son and his family to have the Beauty Shop apartment. 

We never assume any "looker" will be able to swing the deal. But at least there's interest in the property. Once the Beauty Shop is finished, we'll probably list the Double Hovel with a real estate agent. That will get it picked up by the online services like Zillow. So there will probably be an initial flurry of lookers who see it and want to take a tour.

We have another property in the works, which is not yet ready to be revealed here...

It May Not Be a Beauty, But It Will Be Serviceable

Hick has been working on the Beauty Shop apartment at the Double Hovel flip house. He emailed me a plan of the bedroom and bathroom last week.

"I know you don't like drawings but this I think works out pretty good. This is the back part haven't figured out kitchen and living yet."

In typical Hickical fashion, he did not provide any orientation for his drawing. No north or south or reference to the other house on the property, or location of the front door. I was viewing it on my phone, and could not see where he had marked the door.

I DID notice that he had arranged the bathroom fixtures exactly like we have in the boys' bathroom here in our mansion. Which is great, because I had been talking for two weeks about how it was the perfect use of space in a bathroom. I'm really glad Hick had that idea...

Anyhoo... when Hick finally told me, after an hour of interrogation, that the head of the bed points at the other flip house, I could picture the plan inside the Beauty Shop. I spun the drawing around, as if I was standing in the front door looking in across the living room area.

It looks reasonable. I think maybe he should have the bedroom door swing the other way, so it won't hit that closet or dresser or whatever he plans to put there. Better start talking about that before he puts in the wall and the door! As you can see, Hick DOES plan to have a washer and dryer in a little laundry area with folding louvered doors. It won't be a palace, but a suitable space for a single person.

Hick put in the bathtub yesterday.

Don't go grabbing your rubber ducky just yet! Hick merely set it in place. Still needs to put the splash boards around it, and the faucet and shower head and plumbing. It will have a rod with a shower curtain, not an enclosure. He's got the toilet drain ready. It's still looking better than the last picture Hick sent two weeks ago of that area of the Beauty Shop:

Hick is a man with a plan.

Not Much of a Beauty Right Now

Hick has been working on the Beauty Shop half of the Double Hovel flip house. He was going to just leave it gutted, with the rotten floor torn out. That way a buyer could renovate it, or make it into a garage. But I suppose he was itching for something to do. Because after spending the first three weeks of January doing a paid job for one of his Senior Center cronies, he went back to working on flip house stuff. The main house is completed, ready to move in. 

Hick and Old Buddy started by tearing out the floor in the front part of the Beauty Shop:

As with all of Hick's photos, you either get an extreme closeup like this one, or a wide expanse of scenery with a tiny subject in the middle, like The Pony's college visit to the University of Oklahoma. Here is Old Buddy's lower half, standing between the floor joists that can be salvaged. This was last Wednesday, their first day of doing anything to the Beauty Shop, aside from hauling the contents to the dump a while back.

Yesterday, they tore out the floor in the back half of the Beauty Shop:

Again, an extreme closeup of a torn-out floor. Nothing to get your bearings. No view of it before, to show why it needed to be torn out.

I asked Hick for a picture of the whole building. Like a look in the front door. He finally sent me one, which I suppose is good enough:

They have already repaired the front room floor, and put down the sub-floor. This is going to be an efficiency apartment. The area where the trash cans are will be the living room. The kitchen will be along the left wall. The back area will be a bedroom and a bathroom.

So far, the only problem Hick has encountered is that the building settled about 3/4 inch in the back corner, and he has to jack up the floor. He said that's because it was a concrete slab foundation, and the builder didn't use rebar. 

Hick has already obtained a front door, which is metal, with a half-circle window at the top, and a 36-inch bathroom sink/countertop, for a total cost of $30, from one of his contractor friends. He is wishing he had bought the refrigerator another buddy offered him a few weeks ago.

Hopefully, Hick will take pictures of the progress, so I can share them. 

Hick has put the property on Facebook, and we've had several people interested. A couple never contacted Hick after a walk-through, and another offered less than we were willing to accept. They couldn't bargain with Hick, because they weren't approved for a higher loan amount. I'm not that concerned. This all happened the first week of January. Traditionally not an optimum time to sell a house.

Hick says that if the property hasn't had a legitimate offer by the time the Beauty Shop is done, we will rent it through a property manager. That way we don't have the headache of collecting the rent, and with a renter already in place, buyers looking for income property will be more interested. Sounds good to me, and our silent partner The Pony.