Friday 6/26/15

This might turn out to be the wettest June on record. Today it was unseasonably cool, and it rained fairly hard all day. Over an inch of rain had fallen Thursday.

Joe, Eric, and I were scheduled to meet at 940 Westview to have Eric give some tips on the basement renovation. He told me that he would not be available to tackle a job of this size, but when we realized that a new bathroom was not going to happen, he eagerly agreed to do the work.

A new bathroom would involve digging up the concrete and relocating and adding pipes, and the bill would be around ten grand, so I said NO. Eric has changed direction in his business, and now concentrates on 'flipping' homes, rather than home renovations. However, he'll make some good money on my job, and use the proceeds to fund another 'flip'.

I called both guys at 9am, and we all met at 930am in the house on Westview. Joe had arrived early and the lights were on and the doors were open. We talked for over an hour, and Eric will write up his offer, and I'll receive it in the mail be early next week. Joe suggested that we renovate the west side of the basement along the I-beam. The walls and ceiling will be dry-walled and the floor will be covered in carpet tiles. Also, he'll frame in the living room bay window in aluminum. This will seal the wood frame and it won't need to be painted again. And, he'll remove the hall and living room carpet. The entire project should not run above $15,000.

On Friday evening I got a call back from Bivin Construction. This was a name that was given to me at Wilkerson Shell when I had the car worked on last week. I called him back on Saturday morning, but had to leave word. I also called Kevin Slater who was highly recommended to Joe by one of his realtor friends. I contacted Kevin on Saturday morning, but he said that he was booked until late September. I called Eric and told him that I would like another bid, but he was '90% my guy', and I would allow him to see and comment on any counter bid. We also discussed getting the carpet tiles ordered since most places do not carry this product 'in store'.

Tuesday 6/23/15

Arrangements for the basement renovations-

BURASKI BUILDERS 529-5172  I arranged to have Larry meet me at 940 Westview Dr. at 9am the day after closing on Fr 7/10/15. He seemed to think that $20,000 would be tight.

CREASY CONSTRUCTION 546-1277 They seemed interested and will call me back by the end of this week.

ANDERSON CONSTRUCTION 971-1218 I left word on his answering device.

Steve Contri- Real Estate agent with Remax. Not sure if he does construction or not, but I left word.

I called Dax and spoke to Emily. I'll be taking $100,000 from my Ameriprise account and borrowing $45,000 from Ken Sr. I met Joe at Dax's office and we signed notarized papers regarding the loan from Ken Sr. I also tied my Heartland Credit Union account into my investments so that the check could be direct deposited.

Monday, 6/22/15

Hotter than Hell.

The AC went on for the first time this season and things seem to be humming along. I hope the furnace and AC stay intact until I can sell the condo because it would be a real kick in the teeth if I had to spring for a new heating and cooling system.

815am- Arrived at Wilkerson's Shell to have the Accords 'Check Engine Light'. $88 for a diagnosis and nothing else. Walked home west on Monroe.

Called to have a home inspection with BSafe on Monday, 6/29. Inspection begins at 1230pm, and Joe and I will arrive at 230pm for the report. $380

Long conversation with Dax that went down in confusion. He agreed to have $125,000 taken from my account, but I failed to mention that this would only cover the cost of the new home and not allow for renovation costs. He didn't seem to like the idea of borrowing from Ken Sr. because he (and I) were under the impression that this money was tied to his investment accounts. However, Joe emailed me that this is just a checking account, and not tied to any investments. Once Dax learned of this, he felt it would be best for me to take $100,000 from my account (leaving me $37,000) and then borrow $45,000 from Ken Sr. This allows $125,000 for the purchase of the home and $20,000 for renovations. The loan would be repaid at the sale of the condo.

I called Dan at State Farm to set up insurance on the home on Westview. We went round and round for over a half hour and came up with the ball park figure of $840 per year. This seems high, but I later talked to Joe and found that he pays roughly the same percentage based on the value of his home. I will have a meeting with Dan at 11am on Tuesday 6/30 to work out the details.

To add to the confusion I'm having some kind of problems with Google. I'm having trouble logging on to my email and all things Google, but the internet connection is strong and everything else is loading properly.

It's now almost 230pm and I've been on the phone or swearing at the computer since about 830am. And, I still have to walk to Wilkerson's and find out the results. And, then some kind of workout.

Entry #1- The First Foray

The week of June 15th I actually began looking at homes with Joe.

On Monday I went to Joe's office behind CVS at Bruns and Washington and we discussed what exactly I was looking for. On Wednesday he had compiled a list and we spent a couple of hours visiting the following homes. On Friday, Janny accompanied us and we visited the 'top faves' and a couple of more.

940 Westview   Springfield, IL $129,900  Off Chatham Rd west of Pasfield Golf Course.

201 COLLIER DR   Springfield, IL $134,500 Off Dickinson near Washington.

58 Holliday   Springfield, IL  62702 $144,900  Off Winch Rd near Stuart Park

92 Danbury   Springfield, IL  62704 $135,000 Right off the bike trail near Chatham and  Westchester.

2104 E SANGAMON AVE   Springfield, IL  62702 $109,900   Same block as the Catholic church around the corner from Joe on Sangamon.

3209 Dorchester   Springfield, IL  62704 $159,000  Far south near Chatham and Lindbergh. 

1651 Glenn   Springfield, IL  62704 $110,000  In Jerome around the corner from the Welch home.

2005 N 24TH ST   Springfield, IL  62702 $109,999 Just off Griffiths near Albany. On my bike route.

2148 S Walnut   Springfield, IL  62704 $117,000   Walnut near Outer Park. 

2124 BLACKHAWK RD   Springfield, IL  62702 $134,995  Directly east of Sangamon Shopping Center/North of Sangamon

2719 S WELCH AVE   Springfield, IL  62704 $109,000  East of Montvale in Jerome off Chatham.

Fairfield Dr. (One day while biking I noticed this house near Griffiths. Nearly Identical to the one I lived in thirty five years ago. This one was never in the running, but more of a curiosity.

On Friday we were mainly interested in Westview, Welch, and a home in Westchester on Danbury. The Welch home was eliminated when Joe found that it required flood insurance and the Danbury home was nice, but no Wow Factor (kitchen needed work). On Monday the lock wouldn't work on Glenn, and we saw that it was a big disappointment. Cheap construction and needed too much work. After Friday's foray I decided to put an offer in on Westview.

The owner was asking $129,900 and Joe decided we should offer $124,000. I thought the offer was too low and I really didn't want to lose the deal. But, a few hours later, Joe and Janny called to inform me that the order was accepted. I went back to Joe's office where Janny and Joe met me and we spent an hour or so signing and initialing paperwork. 

On Monday I was to arrange for a home inspection and to call Dax about financing details. Joe has suggested that I borrow money from my father's investment account. I have $137,000 in a 'taxes paid' account, but I don't want to deplete all of this, so I'll require some form of a 'bridge loan' until the condo is sold. 

In the middle of all this, the 'check engine' light on the Accord came on. On Monday 6/22 I'll leave off the car at Wilkerson's for an $88 analysis (but no work), then on the phone to three inspectors that Joe provided, and I'll tell Dax that the offer was accepted and how to deliver the cash only offer. 

Sunday I thinned four bags of books from three shelves in the living room. It's going to be a huge undertaking!!