Shopping Day and Playoffs

Our morning was pretty much taken up by a shopping trip. We had some ideas on things that we wanted to get with our Christmas cash. Our first stop was at Macy's where we ended up getting a nice new purse and wallet for Josie. I wanted to check out the prices for the Instant Pots as we returned the large model to Amazon and are shopping for a smaller model. Macy's doesn't carry that brand although they have several other pressure cooker options.

Our next stop was at Sam's Club where we had to pick up some of our usual items that get replenished occasionally - cereal, shampoo, coffee, etc. That was an easy stop. After a couple other short stops for other items, we were home in time to watch the NFL Wildcard games on TV. The Titans won their game against the Chiefs, and Corey Davis made several catches for good gains. He was wide open on a sure touchdown pass that the Titans' quarterback couldn't connect. Corey could have walked into the end zone if the pass was accurate. It was nice to see him move on to another game in the playoffs. The second game was a ho-hummer won by Atlanta over the LA Rams. The playoffs will really begin to get interesting in a couple weeks when the Conference championships will be played.

There is another day of Wildcard games today. I really don't care much about the outcomes of these games as my teams (except for the Eagles) are already eliminated. We'll wait to see what teams survive and hope that we get a good Super Bowl matchup this year...

Prep Day

First of all, I wanted to show this neat shot that Josie took of the sunrise yesterday morning on the way to work:

Sunrise and sunset are usually great times for photos in Arizona.

There wasn't any notification from our property managers yesterday about any activity. We do know that the minor fixes were to be started and the new keys placed in the lock box. We were disappointed that we didn't get any paperwork to sign as there are several items that we need to complete. One is the tenants deposit reconciliation and another is the listing data. This is a busy time for the property manager as the first part of each month is a race to complete bank deposits, reconcile rents received and issue draws to owners. We expect to close these loops on Monday.

We are getting very anxious to get this home sale behind us so that we can move on. Decisions will be made as we go along through the process. I can say with some certainty that we have eliminated any possibility of renting any property. There just aren't any real good options there that we have seen and the money would be better spent either owning some property or saving the money in a bank. With no house payment or expenses, we should save a bunch. Of course, we would still have the RV space expenses but they are small in comparison.

We are definitely moving closer to solutions...

Moving Forward

We met with the property manager team at the house yesterday at noon. Following a complete walk through, we discussed the next steps. The first step was to agree on what fixes should be made before placing the home on the market. There are only a couple of minor fixes to be made which would not hold up going forward with the listing. Agreement was made on a listing price - $309,900 - and we expect to have all the paperwork done by Monday and the house made available for viewing.

We also agreed on an amount to be withheld from the tenants deposits to cover final cleaning and some landscaping issues that they should have tended to as part of their lease agreement. The house looks terrific and we are hopeful for a quick sale.

The timing for the house activity is close to what we anticipated. If it continues to move at the current pace, we will have to make our plans for the immediate future, sooner than later. Actually, there is no rush to leave this park, so we will just wait and see what happens with the closing. It appears that we will do another summer in Jackson, so plans need to be made to either replace the truck or get shipping information to have our RV moved to the space in Jackson. We have some homework to do on that situation...

Inspection Done

The house inspection occurred on schedule yesterday at 1 PM. We were not present - at the request of our property manager - and the inspection report should be ready today. Josie and I went to the house after she got off work last night to check on things. We were happy to see that the tenants took excellent care of the property. The landscaping is another issue. There are several "dead" bushes in the front landscaping that we feel are a direct result of poor landscaping practices by the landscaper that the was used during the rental period. We are scheduled to meet with the property manager today at noon, at the house, to review the inspection and determine what needs to be fixed prior to listing and showing the home.

The interior of the house looks like brand new. There were no problems that we could see and the house, from top to bottom, was super clean. Hopefully, we will agree on a next step today. Our goal is to have the home on the market no later than Monday of next week. We hope to talk about price today and to have all of the details worked out before next week. It appears that we may be able to get the home on the market quickly.

That's the big news from yesterday, and we hope to keep the momentum going today...

First Domino Falls

The first domino fell yesterday in our effort to sell the house. The tenants returned the keys and today, at 1 PM, there will be the inspection by our property manager. The locks will also be changed today and the new keys placed in a lockbox. We will have access to the house later today and the next step, assuming that the inspection goes well, will be to list the home.

The research that I did yesterday revealed only a half dozen homes for sale in the subdivision, and all but a couple are two story homes. I also saw requests by prospective renters wanting to rent in the area. That will help our sales effort as there are many investors that look in that area. Again, our fingers are crossed for a smooth and rapid close to this entire process.

The other plan for today is to return our Christmas boxes to the storage unit. We just wish there was a way to eliminate that expense. Until there is a place to empty the storage unit, we will be forced to live with that situation.

I received notice from Blue Mountain Ecards that there were 21 of the targeted recipients of our Christmas greeting that were not opened. That is nearly 50% of the cards we sent to email recipients that either have not checked their emails or changed their email address since last year. Of course, that also means that, in some cases, I have no way to contact these folks to get a valid email address. I receive these notices when 10 days have passed and the card has not been opened. Some of these notices were for family members which surprises us. The challenge now is to get a valid list before the next time we send e-greetings.

I'll finish this entry with thanks that we are not living in the east. So far, the winter has been extremely harsh for almost the entire east coast, including the northern states in the Midwest. The word today is that it is going to get worse for much of that part of the country...

Christmas Packed

It was kind of sad taking down Christmas and packing it away again for another year. It is normal, I guess , to have such joy in setting up for Christmas and to feel sorry about packing it away again. We loaded all the boxes into the car and I will take them back to our storage unit - probably today or tomorrow.

We also watched the Rose Parade and the big football games on TV and Josie also did some laundry to complete the day. It was pretty much a quiet day for the New Year to begin.

The sale of our home will be set into motion today as the tenants return the keys to our property manager. They will have new locks put on and begin the inspections leading up to the actual listing of the home. Our fingers are crossed that there will be no major fixes required before listing the home. It should only take a few days to get the home on the market and to get things going. This is the beginning of what we hope will be a rapid and successful sale...

Happy 2018

HAPPY NEW YEAR !!

It wasn't until later in the afternoon when we arrived home from Tombstone. The return trip was through Sierra Vista and Huachuca City which was a different route from our trip to Tombstone from home. By the time we got settled and got ready to bring in the new year, we were tired and didn't stay up to watch the new year come in like we usually do. We did wake up a few minutes after midnight, but 2018 had already arrived.

We have lots of things we would like to accomplish in 2018 - beginning with selling our home. That move will lead to other changes in our lives depending on how the house sale goes. There are also goals established for our weight, as usual, and that seems to be a never ending battle.

We also plan to make some changes with our RV as it is time to decide whether to invest in fixes to the current rig, or make arrangements for a change. We also would like to spend at least one more summer in Jackson, so the target is to make that happen. The RV situation will also impact our mode of transportation to Jackson - hauling our fifth wheel which involves another truck purchase (or perhaps a shipping arrangement) or getting a motor home and towing one of our cars. That leads to another argument over what to do with our current RV. We don't like the thought of a motor home as problems that occur with that mean that you are without your home while repairs are made. Several friends of ours that have motor homes have experienced extended periods of living out of hotels while repairs are made to their rigs. Sometimes, those periods end up being weeks as parts may not be available to repair your motor home.

The major decision for us will be how to replace our house - another home, a lot on which to place the fifth wheel, or do nothing and get an annual space here at Pioneer RV. It will all become clear, hopefully, when the dust settles from our home sale.

We hope all our friends and family have a happy, prosperous and healthy 2018...