Lap House Dance

Hick spent Monday and Tuesday evening talking about Lap House. With a gleam in his eye. I could tell it was his new love. So desirable. Bargain House was a fleeting memory. An old flame.

I couldn't really find any good reasons to reject Lap House, aside from cash flow. I'd talked to The Pony, who was on board with a new flip, given the understanding the money from the Bargain House sale was needed for investment. Hick kept emphasizing that he'd told Some Guy that he would need a couple days to think about it, and would let him know. So Wednesday night, I gave the okay.

Hick called Some Guy, and said he'd like another walk-through. That was on Thursday. On my way to pick up The Pony for our errand day, I heard a text come in. I was driving, and couldn't read it. My phone rang. It was Hick. I also shouldn't have answered, because that's illegal here now. But being a scofflaw for selective purposes, I did.

"Val. Some Guy wants more than we talked about. Three thousand more."

"Where are you?"

"I'm here now. At the house."

"Can he HEAR you???"

"Nah. There's some other guys here."

"I think we can come up with that. Since it's still lower than what he asked for. You couldn't even do your 'split the difference, split the difference' bargaining. 

No. I tried."

"Well. It's only $500 more than splitting the difference would have been. It should be fine."

"Okay. I'll tell him."

By then, I was only a few blocks from The Pony's house. We drove down that way to get a look. Hick and some guys were standing out back in the alley behind the house. We waved. The front looked decent enough. Lap House has good lines. Nothing sagging. Nothing falling off. Not an eyesore.

After going to the bank, and getting gas for T-Hoe, and shopping at Country Mart, I drove The Pony home.

"Let's go by Lap House, up the side street, to get a good look at the back. I can pull into the alley."

No. I couldn't. Because there was still a bunch of guys standing around behind the house! Hick was gone. I didn't want to look like a weirdo. But I was already going up the side street.

"YOU look, Pony. So they don't suspect anything."

The Pony reported that the back looked okay. We'll have to go by this Thursday if we want to stop. IF there's nobody hanging around then. Hick reported later that there were two other guys hanging out with Some Guy, and they were all drinking beer. A lot of beer.

Anyhoo... Hick accepted Some Guy's price. He called the title company and got an appointment for Monday afternoon for him and Some Guy to go fill out paperwork to start a title search.

You'd think we just bought ourselves another flip house. Or DID we...?

Lap House Specs

Hick went to look at Lap House on Monday afternoon. Since this opportunity fell into his lap, that's the name I have chosen for this potential flip. The house was not listed with a realtor. Just Some Guy wanting to sell it, who was a friend of the guy who sold us the Double Hovel flip house(s).

Some Guy was waiting to show Hick the property. It is TWO HOUSES DOWN FROM PONY HOUSE! Of all the places it might be, there it was. Almost a neighbor of The Pony. Some Guy inherited this house from a friend who died.

Anyhoo... it's on a corner lot. Across from it is an old elementary school that has been converted to apartments. Beside it is an old church that is not occupied. There's a gravel alley in back, and off-road parking. A back door on the church side, for easy entry from the alley parking. The roof is shingle, and in good shape. The house has vinyl siding, also in good shape. There's a basement with an outside entrance. Hick likes this, because it makes running plumbing and electric easier than with a crawlspace. Inside, it's 2 bed/1 bath. Hick said the kitchen is outdated and needs to be completely redone. The only way to the bathroom is through a bedroom. It needs new electric. There's a gas furnace, but no air conditioning besides a small window unit. 

Some Guy has painted some of the rooms. Has torn out all the carpets. Hick doesn't know if he was planning to flip it, or update it to live there. Some Guy quoted Hick a price. Hick said he would have to talk to me and The Pony, and would get back to him. Hick thinks that after fix-up costs, we could make a $20,000-30,000 profit on Lap House.

A House Falls Into Hick's Lap

Hick was driving to his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5) on Monday when he got a phone call. It was some guy he didn't know. He said that he heard Hick buys houses to flip. Turns out Some Guy knows the guy we bought the Double Hovel flip house(s) from. Who is the dad of Genius's elementary school teacher.

"I told him I'd come by and take a look at it later this afternoon."

Well. We haven't sold Bargain House yet. The Pony's money is tied up in that. So we'd have to front the money until The Pony gets his cut of the Bargain House sale, then recoup it. Not a problem, but something I'd rather not deal with. We could still come up with the asking price without getting a loan.

With nothing happening on the foreclosure house that's been stringing us along since last fall, Hick is getting antsy for another project. Hick has told Loan Officer that he will not pay one penny more for that foreclosure house than he had first offered and been approved for. We have no idea what will happen when it goes up for bids on the courthouse steps.

"Maybe this is what's supposed to happen. So if we would get this new house, we'd forget about that foreclosure?"

"Not necessarily..."

Well. I'm sure I'll have something to say about THAT. I'm pretty sure The Pony will share my concerns. More details about the "Lap House" tomorrow...

Reuben Was Here!

Hick did indeed bring home a Reuben sandwich for us on Tuesday. Of course I was giddy with anticipation. As giddy with an-ti-ci-paaaa-tion as a 1970s Heinz Ketchup commercial! I was really looking forward to the menu:

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Reuben Sandwich

Slaw

Cookies OR Fruit

Hick brought them home around noon, to stash in FRIG II, then watch an episode of Gunsmoke before leaving to go play at his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5). He unpacked the bag at the cutting block.

"Did you only get one dessert?"

"There's four cookies in it."

"Is there slaw?"

"No. No slaw this time."

"But the menu says SLAW!!!"

"They had beets."

"You brought BEETS?"

"Nah. I said we didn't want the beets."

That's good. Because we don't eat the beets, and all they do is leak their beety fluids onto the REUBEN. Here's what we got:

Soup and a sandwich. Which is fine. Better than no Reuben. I warmed Hick's Reuben in the oven later, to get the bread all nice and crispy. The Reubens were better than usual. Had plenty of sauerkraut, and just enough of the Russian/French dressing, whichever they use at the Senior Center. 

Hick didn't want his soup, so gave it to me. I saved it for the next day, with the other half of my Reuben. It might look like a lot of soup, but the bottom of that container is not flush with the table. It's got about an inch of rim under there, with the bottom of the inner part built up. So about a half-cup of soup. It was pretty good. I would have liked more, seeing as how I didn't get my SLAW. There was actually a little piece of broccoli in my soup, and a piece of cauliflower. Hick's had two little pieces of broccoli.

The cookies were chocolate chip. I gave mine to Hick. They looked pretty good. He ate all four that evening.

Now I have to start nagging Hick to bring home the March menu. I don't want to take a chance on missing the next Reuben.

Hopefully, We Will See Some Bargaining for Bargain House

Bargain House hit the market last Thursday. 

Saturday, Hick got a call from Realtor Guy saying that he had shown the house, and had another showing that afternoon, but it had just been rescheduled.

Monday, there was an afternoon showing, and one scheduled for 6:00.

Tuesday, a showing was scheduled for 4:30.

Realtor Guy told Hick that the couple who viewed Bargain House on Monday said they would be in touch. You never know if they will or won't. They may have other properties to look at, or they may be checking on a loan.

Hick wants to know if people say there's something they don't like about the house. Not that he would change it, but so in the future he will do things differently with another flip.

On Monday, there had been 447 views of the listing, and 14 saves. 

Hick said, "And it's only been listed for a week."

I replied, "You mean 4 days."

On Tuesday, there had been 479 views, and 14 saves.

On Wednesday at noon, it was 510 views, and 20 saves.

I figure the saves are people who are interested in viewing the house, actively looking to purchase property. They're probably waiting to see if the price gets reduced, and how many other people are looking. It's not flippers, because this house is done, and costs more than flippers want to invest. When we are looking for a flip house, we will save the listing and check back for price reductions.

According to Zillow, Bargain House is "Likely to sell faster than 89% nearby."

We are happy that people are showing an interest. We don't plan on dropping the price unless several months pass with no offers.

The Gift of the VAL-i

Hick bought dry food for our new puppy, Pepper. Pepper did not find it at all enticing. Not even with water Hick sprinkled on it to make it moist. So he went to town and got Pedigree Cycle for puppies, in a can. The can said to feed a 1-3 pound dog about 1/3 to 1/2 a can per day. Pepper liked it okay. Hick was feeding him morning and evening. He left a spoon stuck down in the can, and put a baggie down over the top.

Well. I discovered that Hick was using my GOOD plastic spoons! I like to eat with a plastic spoon. The plain white smooth kind of spoon. I only had four or five, and washed them with the regular silverware. But NOT one that was in dogfood! Of course Hick got an earful, and then switched to using a fork. But he used my GOOD plastic forks! The white smooth kind. Hick got the other earful. I showed him which plastic forks he was allowed to use.

Anyhoo... Hick had four cans of food. It was running out. I was afraid Pepper would go hungry because Hick kept delaying the purchase of more puppy food. I wanted to make sure he got the kind Pepper liked. Hick went back for more, but the feed store was out, and Walmart didn't have that kind. So he was going to try Tractor Supply, and Rural King.

Meanwhile, I was doing the regular shopping, and picked up some clear plastic spoons for Hick to use specifically for dishing out dogfood. 

Then I saw something else that would solve our problem, hanging from one of those annoying plastic strips.

Lids for pet food cans! Sure, they have cat pictures on top. Pepper's not gonna mind, and Hick can stop using baggies. He can cut a slit in one of the lids for the spoon handle to poke through, and throw away the spoon after that can is empty. Or just use a new spoon each feeding.

I was pretty pleased with myself, getting these items to make Hick's chore a little easier.

Hick was also buying something that day. Food that I had been harping about for Pepper. Imagine my surprise when Hick came home with this:

At least Pepper enjoys the pouches of puppy food. I daresay he'd also enjoy the spoons and lids, but those are not healthy things for a puppy to chew on.

The Little Pepper Reveal

If you play a long medieval trumpet, get it out and blow a fanfare. It's time for the big reveal of little Pepper! He's our new puppy. Because it's pretty hard to find an old puppy.

Pepper is not pedigreed. Just a little mutt. We are quite enchanted by him. He was born January 1st. His dad is a blue heeler, and his mom is partial beagle. He had three littermates, two of them spotted like Pepper, but with varying length and color of ears. The runt looked just like the mom, black with tan accents on her face and chest and lower legs.

Of course Pepper does not live in a box. He's an outside doggie. Right now he's penned-up on the back porch, off the laundry room for easy access. He has a doghouse, and room to romp. Every morning, he is carried into the living room by Hick, to sit on the couch with me for petting and chewing. His teeth and claws are phenomenally sharp. On March 4, Pepper has a vet appointment for puppy shots, worming, and will also have his toenails trimmed. My forearms thank the vet in advance.

The Pony came out Sunday to download my tax software on my new laptop. We brought Pepper in the house for about three hours while Hick was doing business at his SUS2.5 (Storage Unit Store 2.5). At first Pepper was quite feisty, trying to climb out of his box, which was sitting right by us at the kitchen table. We played awhile with his blue towel and pink squeaky stuffed pig. Then Pepper grew tired and had an hour nap.

After the weather warms up a bit more, and Pepper is big enough to understand steps, he will have the run of the grounds with our other dog Jack.