Around 3pm yesterday, I’d expect that my friends…ya know…the ones that owe me favors or just seem to always be there to help…all looked up at the same time, shivered, and said something along the lines of, “I’ve felt a great disturbance in the force…”

See, I’ve a project in mind…and I expect I’ll need a little help. I spent time yesterday getting some of the tools ready for the work…inspecting, lubing, and cleaning them.

Jack it up

Yep. Those are screw jacks…sometimes known as “railroad jacks” or “house jacks”. Folks that know what they are, or have used them, know that when they come out, that somewhere, sometime, there is a heap of work to be done.

The capacity is based on the screw size. The smallest is 1-1/4″, which is good for about 15 tons. The 2″ are good for 20 tons, and the big ones in the back are 2-1/2″ and good for over 30 tons. The jacks themselves weigh anywhere from 30 pounds for the smallest to 80 pounds or so for each of the two biggest ones. Altogether they weigh something near 400 pounds.

There’s enough jacks there to pick up close to 400,000 pounds…nearly half-a-million pounds.

“What the hell are you planning on jacking up?” says an incredulous neighbor.

I just grinned an evil grin and said, “Anything I want to.”

I’ll keep ya posted!

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Okay, I’ve given up on my bank…ya know…the one I’ve done business with for decades…well, not really decades, just ever since they “borged” all the other banks and credit card companies (and home loan and car loan) that I used to belong to.

My bank…let’s just call it “Three Initial Corporation” (TIC) used to be a little savings and loan when I joined it, way back over 30 years ago.

Mergers, buyouts, and other 80’s and 90’s failures and various evil corporate shenanigans, and now *poof* I belong to a behemoth. One of the big three really.

BOA TIC has served me well up to this point…but it is evident that they have our relationship wrong.

I want this house. I need a loan. It’s not a big loan, and I’m not begging for it. I expect it. I am credit worthy. My “papers” and other “tracked to an obscene level” bios, stats, and history fit all the qualifiers, the appraisals all come in over the selling price, and still, they try to make me jump through hoops. It’s in their handbook. “Must do A, B, C, etc”. When I’ve already done A and B they find something new for me to do instead.

None of it has been what they said they’d do.

Dishonesty, even dishonesty caused by corporate bumbling and procedural mumbo jumbo that nobody can answer for, is unacceptable in my banking institution.

They want hoops. The hoops are not needed. There’s nobody to discuss it with. “Once it’s on the list, it’s got to be done.” etc. I can’t even talk to the loan underwriter. The certificate that says, “Commitment to Loan” does not mean that. Gad. Sad thing is it took them a month to get wound up to this point, which is most of the time on my contract. Now they want the seller to jump some hoops too. I guess they can’t comprehend that “as is” thing we all agreed on.

Oh, and there’s a holiday week next week, which further complicates everything.

Anyway, the relationship. Well, it’s like this…they don’t make money unless they lend it. I want a loan. Should work out, but for some reason they’ve assumed I am desperate and will do anything to get it. They’ve forgotten that in the end, they work for me. I guess they expect their customers to be desperate.

Oh, and worse, when “TIC” ordered another unnecessary expensive thing (an additional appraisal right after the unneeded survey), the appraiser was told it was on behalf of another lender…which after a little research I see that TIC now owns…and that lender has a terrible reputation for customer and loan service. I do not want to do business with that lender.

The wife and I aren’t complete morons…we saw the handwriting on the wall when the loan officer’s phone system wouldn’t let us through…it’s designed that way…nobody can get through. Voice Jail supreme. After much button pushing the message says to give them 36 hours to return your call…and the Internet checklist wouldn’t budge no matter how many documents I faxed to them. And then it got bigger!

So, a little over a week ago…on a Monday, we drove back to our new town and sat down with a local bank. This is what I should have done in the first place. They are going to know their own market, and when the loan is made, the money will stay in my region. I can talk to the underwriter, loan officer, and the VP of the bank all at the same time. They do what they tell me they are going to. They answer the phone.

They are left scrambling due to the short time left for closing and the holiday week ahead, but we still may make our closing date…so far, no problems, but we may miss it by a couple days. We’re pretty sure the seller will be okay with this, and I’ve been in continual contact the the Realtor.

Anyway, bail on the big banks guys…they’ve lost the customer service thing completely in the “efficient” phone systems and procedural manuals, and they don’t have a clue why customers are leaving.

All this waiting is making me nuts…another 11 days to go, only 4 of which are business days. Sigh. I really need something firm before that…I’ve got utilities to handle and so on. Ack.

When I say I “expect” this to work, I really do. By everybody’s measure, I qualify for this.

Money where my mouth is? Well, we’ve purchased tools and equipment for the coming changes we want to make to the house, new heaters, and such…A couple thousand dollars worth so far.

More later!

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Trying to buy a house is like trying to pull teeth…from a Dragon…a fire-breathing one…that’s awake and has had no anesthetic…AND she’s crabby too!

Should be pretty simple…we need a bit of financing, our credit report and income/debts readily support/permit it, we’ve made an offer and it’s been accepted. We’re putting in excess of 30% down on this place.

Simple, right?

Nah, not really. There’s the “underwriting” process…in short, yes, the bank will loan us the money, but WILL they loan it on THAT house?

Even that should be simple…is the house worth what we are borrowing? Yes. Appraisel done. Insurance? Check. Flood plain? Nope. Cool, everything checks out…

A few days later…

But wait…now we need a survey, says the bank…well not WE…but the title company needs it. Well, nope, that’s not true either. The title company only needs it if the bank requires it. Both of them insisting they don’t need it unless the other requires it…but neither will move forward without it.

Back and forth we went on that. We finally managed to determine that somebody, somewhere, might possibly need a new survey, so I ordered one. Sigh. I could have done that two weeks ago.

Next, well the appraisel is done, but now we need a different kind of appraisel. We’ll let you know about that. Oh, and while we’re at it, get a licensed contractor to inspect the roof.

Gad. All things they explicitly said would not be required simply because those items are between the buyer and seller. IE, if I pay a contractor to tell me the roof is not great that’s a negotiating point with the seller.

I’m aware of the condition of the roof (pretty good, not all new). I’m aware of any other problems the house has as well. That’s why it’s worth $68,000 instead of $250,000…and is the reason we are buying it. I have the skills, the tools, and I have the means.

In the mean time, time ticks by. Our contract on the house expires December 1, and now it seems we don’t even have final approval on the underwriting yet.

I’m already buying stuff we need to fix this place up…

I just want to scan the big bar-code, swipe my card through the reader, and be done with it.

If this deal gets nixed (for us, it really is a deal of a lifetime), we’re done with banks as creditors. Why help them earn money when they aren’t around to help us?

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

So, money’s tight…at least, that’s what the media and the prospective presidential candidates are striving to convince us of.

Many folks, including us, are tightening our belts a bit and doing our best to cut down. The news is downright scary. The stock market is down a bunch. Folks…GOOD folks, are getting laid off. 401 K’s are suffering. Prices are going up. Credit is tightening up. The dust-bowl is threatening. Bird flu is coming. Some are headed west in an old Hudson Super six truck…oh, wait…

BOOM! Up goes the DOW.

Maybe it’s not all that bad yet.

Scary stuff.

What to do?

My solution? I just drove around 250 miles round trip to give somebody $500 to see if they want to let me give them a whole bunch more money.

Yeah, I didn’t do what I was supposed to do…namely cower in fear and hope for a better tomorrow.

Heh, well, I never could color inside the lines anyway. I also know that better tomorrows come to those who dream of them…and actively pursue them.

Make no mistake…there are risks. Some of us that passionately pursue those better tomorrows sometimes fall…flat on our faces. Fast and hard. Splat. It sucks.

We know no other way.

Bottom line is I still have a job, and I’ve have kept my credit in okay shape. Cars? Trucks? Houses? With the proper down payment, it’s an excellent time to buy. Prices here in Texas for real estate are unlikely to creep much lower. Your market may vary. California? East coast? That real estate was never worth what folks were paying for it, and that’s really where the big crash in prices is and may continue.

For us? We found our retirement home. Prices have dropped. We can afford it.

So, we did it. We offered today. Now, it’s just a matter of an acceptance, a minor altercation with the bank (along the lines of, “Yo, dudes! Time to cut the check for the loan you promised you’d make.”)

And of course, (deep breath) all the other paperwork and survey and inspection and underwriting closing agents and insurance and titles and miscellaneous nonsense wrapped up in a standard real estate transaction (breathe again).

With any luck, we’ll have us a genuine certified money-pit by this time next month!

Lord I’m buying us a bunch of work. The sheer size of the thing alone is intimidating.

I’m not even sure quite where to start.

Perhaps at the beginning…

The house...

edit:
As of Tuesday morning, offer made, verbal counter-offers have gone back and forth, and we now have a verbal agreement. Now all we need is an updated contract and to get the bank started on the underwriting process.

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Something over 300 years ago an English poet named Alexander Pope said, “Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.”

I’ve always liked the quote…simply because to me, it means “No limits.”

Angels have no fear, you see. I’ve met a few.

I’ve always tried to live my life without fear. Mostly, I’ve succeeded. I’d like to think so anyway.

No fear. There are benefits, but there are costs too.

I’ve flown…and fallen.
I’ve done great things…and failed spectacularly.
I’ve found the love of my life…and experienced pain no man should endure.
I’ve vanquished my demons…just in time to find new ones.

I ride. I fly. I love. I live.

“Passion as principle.” It’s a hell of a thing. When exercised fully, it should mean “No regrets.” I have regrets. Damn few of them though.

From an old rambling of mine:

When it breaks, I fix it
When it falls, I pick it up
When it threatens, I subdue it
When it persists, I kill it

I am a mover. A doer. A builder. A fixer.
There is little beyond my reach.

Yeah.

So why then, am I sitting here in the middle of the night…pondering decisions…questioning what is the right thing…the smart thing…the safe thing?

As I’ve aged I find myself evaluating more, and “leaping” less. Is this experience? Or just comfort disguising itself as misgivings?

Everything positive in my life…EVERYTHING that I’ve succeeded at…EVERYTHING that I makes me what I am has been the result of taking a risk…some of them not even calculated. Sure, I’ve fallen too. I’ve screwed up, failed, lost money, lost love, and lost friends.

Hell, once I lost an entire motorcycle, but the bike was small and the mud was deep and that’s another story.

Without risk, I wouldn’t have my home, many of my friends, my lover, my job, my motorcycle, my books, my art…without risk I would simply be surviving…instead of living.

But where’s the line? Risk or folly? How much role should my passion play in determining my risk? When should I leap, and when should I cower?

Tough questions, those…

Mostly, my instincts have served me well, but as I’ve aged I’ve found myself occasionally hesitant to move…to pounce.

Is that experience? Am I too comfortable? Or is it something else?

I’ve regretted it…that hesitation…on occasion. “He who hesitates is lost.”

The full quote is, “He who hesitates is lost. Swift and resolute action leads to success; self-doubt is a prelude to disaster.”

That’s from “Cato”, by another English poet, Joseph Addison…also about 300 years ago.

And so here I sit…in the middle of the night where my demons roam…questioning my instincts despite knowing they’ve always served me reasonably well…wondering whether the uncertainty is legitimate experience or something else…wondering…WONDERING…whether to act on my passion.

Wondering whether “Passion as principle” has a place in my life. Wondering whether passion now or regret for not acting is going to hurt more later. Or will acting on my passion lead to regret later?

What is this feeling? Doubt? Fear? Am I hungry?

It’s a new feeling for me.

I don’t like the taste of it.

Where angels fear to tread. No limits. Fear itself. Media blitz. Doom. Gloom.

Love. Life. Desire.

Live. Ride. See. Fly.

Things are within my grasp…but should I lose my grip, it’s a long way to fall.

I’ve been told at times to remove the emotion from the decision making process. I don’t see the point. I can’t even imagine where I’d be today if I’d done that in my life. Passion drives me. Passion moves me. Passion and emotion define me. I do what I do…because I’m passionate about it.

Remove the passion, and what else is left?

Passion as principle.

Is the flight worth the fall?

And still I have no answers.

I hope y’all are sleeping better than I am.

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

About Saturday’s post…Yep, we’re going back to take another look.

Another view of the house

Lots of porch.

Not sure why we torture ourselves so…

After all, if we weren’t looking, and didn’t find anything we liked in an (barely) achievable price range…then we wouldn’t be agonizing over decisions.

Hopefully, looking at it again will clinch things…one way or another.

I shouldn’t sweat the risk…after all, life is risk. Everything of value comes of it.

Banzai

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer

Must my reach always exceed my grasp? Must my dreams always push me beyond my current capabilities? Financial, equipment, time, market, employment…always, something is just not quite there.

Yeah, a dream is available. Yep, I could probably swing it for the purchase. It’s a small, friendlier town…off the mains…the perfect place to carry out my writing and artistic career.

But I can’t retire from work yet…even though I can’t depend on the income anymore…I really should not make decisions based on the income/stability of that job, even though I am good at what I do and have been there…gad…23 years now. See, they are trying to lay off about 500 of us.

My writing career is not yet paying the bills, the soft real-estate market means the home we are in now wouldn’t sell at a premium. The commute would be prohibitive.

But how often does a dream come up for sale?

Pretty much my dream house.

(110+ year old, 2 story Victorian, 5 bedrooms, formal dining, library, rich wood, glass, pocket doors etc)

I can reach it. I may even grasp it. But I’ve been at the bottom…I know how far it is to fall. I don’t want to be there. But am I overcautious? Is my comfort or safety consuming a dream?

Don’t suppose I can get y’all to buy a few thousand books or so? Perhaps a couple hundred art prints?

CUAgain,
Daniel Meyer