Real Estate Roulette

[Dudley]

"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. " -- Henry D. Thoreau

We all have our fingers and toes crossed for you!
Good Luck
Bill Gerrard
Dudley

[Sharkey]

Yea, and Thoreau spent something like $3.15 building his cabin on Walden Pond. I spend that much on a couple dozen screws.

No matter, Thoreau's meaning with that quote still ring true in my breast 30+ years after discovering that asphalt isn't the proper surface to have underfoot. Now I'm looking to go back to those roots.

Thanks, everyone, for the good wishes.

[Sharkey]

Just a quick update on the situation.

I went to the coast yesterday to meet with Jim and possibly meet Allen, the property owner. I was also hoping to spend some time on the property to explore more fully and take more and better photographs.

In the morning, I stopped by my client's radio station to drop off a nice invoice for April's labors for them and to talk a bit with the station's owner. Then I went to a nearby beach to have a sack lunch and then a short nap on the sand, laying on a blanket in the beach grass out of the wind.

On my way along the narrow road leading to the property, I met a fully loaded log truck coming out the opposite direction. This pretty much dashed any possibility of hanging out on the land, as there would be heavy equipment operating there, loading logs. At least this meant that the logging operation would be over soon.

Jim borrowed a neighbor's pickup truck and we went to Allen's 50 acre spread at the beginning of the road to pick up a small load of gravel for a project Jim was working on. Along the way, Jim noticed Allen running a Caterpillar tractor in one of the hillsides, so we stopped for quick introductions.

At Allen's place, we loaded about a half-yard of gravel into the truck and picked up a portable cement mixer. Allen's yard was strewn will all manner of interesting stuff, trucks, tractors, road graders, a VW turbo diesel (my passion...) and his grandfather's 1958 Cadillac Fleetwood which had been stored in a garage since 1969 (it was in rough shape).

The better part of the afternoon was spent helping Jim and Allen's helper Monte mix, pour, and finish concrete mounting pads inside Jim's neighborhood municipal pump house. Jim is a communications expert, but he also has built an impressive water pumping, storage and treatment facility that serves many of the residences at this end of the lake.

After the masonry work we returned the truck and went onto the land I'm interested in renting/caretaking to find Allen for a closer meeting. We also met another loaded log truck on the way out.

Allen was very busy at the time directing the loading of the log trucks, and getting a stub road made for log removal the next day. We didn't get much of a meeting, so Jim set up a dinner meeting between him and Allen for later in the evening. We returned to Jim's 'cabin' on the lake, where I get ready to drive back to town.

Jim seems genuinely interested in getting me into the neighborhood, and is dedicated to convincing Allen that I am the right person to be the new caretaker of his property. Jim also kept talking like he would help with improvements that the property needs to make it a comfortable place for me to stay (putting in a septic drainfield, developing a water system, etc.).

So, while I didn't get a yes/no answer about occupying the property, I did meet Allen and a couple of the other neighbors, and got an all-afternoon history lesson on the area and it's inhabitants. I also got a demonstration of how open life on the lake must be. All day long, we never encountered a locked door, and when the borrowed pickup refused to start at Allen's, Jim simply walked over to the nearest vehicle in Allen's yard, and drove it away, the keys were in the ignition. When we drove up to Allen in his own truck, he didn't even ask why.

More as the story unfolds. Jim schedules his Wednesdays at the coast, and I'll keep going over to meet him, helping with projects and moving the dream forward.

[Griff]

Sounds like a good start! At least if you keep going over every week, Allen & the locals will get used to seeing you, and get a good feel for your personality and your work ethic. That can only help seal the deal when the final time for the question to be answered arrives.
Man, I hope this works out for you!

[Sharkey]

A couple of days on the roller coaster.

Yesterday, I talked with Jim briefly on the phone. He said that the dinner meeting last Wednesday took place at a noisy bar, loud music and people shouting over it to be heard. His hearing aid had a dead battery, and he and Allen (property owner) didn't talk much, or about me and the property at all. He did mention that Allen's brother was a possible problem, as he has different ideas about the property, and may want to sell it.

The rest of the day, I had trouble feeling positive about this. I felt that if this possibility fell through, I'd be stranded, with no backup plan or property lined up.

Today, I went over to the coast to shake the bushes, get a real estate guide, see the realtor if he was in, and look at any other properties that might be available. I decided to not go to the lakefront property, as Jim was due back in town and I wouldn't see him over there.

Nothing much came of the trip, I drove around the Westlake area, retracing steps I had taken several years ago. Picked up a copy of the coast real estate guide, and had lunch on the beach. If nothing else, I decided that I needed a day off to think and refresh. Came back to town, arriving at 7PM to the usual noise.

Checking my phone messages, I found that Jim had called. He went out to dinner with Allen at a quiet restaurant last night, and said that Allen is still interested in renting to me. He'll have to talk to his brother, but the deal is still in the making, he didn't say 'No'.

So, another week of waiting and hoping for the best. Another week of picking up junk in the yard and recycling, dumping and organizing. Another week closer to something ...???

[Sharkey]

Email message from Jim today:

Allen was over today to pick up parts for his equipment. We had lunch and I asked him what he and his brother thought about renting you a spot.

They are concerned about the cost of building up the road to the point that it would be a all weather road clear to the old house site however he suggested another spot that would work for him.

About 900 feet in from the gate there is a spot to the left of the road where there is little or no bank on the East side of the road with a fairly large flat area. This is about 200 feet past the spot where there are some culverts laying along the road and maybe 100 feet or so past the second splice point for the underground feeder pipe.

This is attractive to him for the following reasons. The old spring feed that was run to the ranch is the creek that comes down through the culvert from a spring so water is easily available to that spot. Second, the road is in good shape and heavily rocked that far and he could spend a few hours with his cat and add a load or two of rock to access the flat spot. And this point is reasonably close to electricity (less than 1000 feet from my service point) also would be easy to extend telephone service to there as I ran two extra pipes.

I suggested that if you were still interested that you could hook up with him next week

Looks like I have some salesmanship ahead, the place mentioned is nothing but a clear cut without a view of the lake. It would be very private and quiet, but not much else.

More news as it progresses.

[Dudley]

Well that sure beats a poke in the eye with a sharp stick!
Good luck