Notes on one of my current projects:
I just can't believe that our off-site rehab project, a house, is taking so long to finish. I've owned it for about a year and we're not even close to being done with it. I must give myself a break. It's a huge project.
When I bought it last summer, I had squatters inside and others living outside in the yard. It was the community "dope" house. I didn't know if the house was teardown or if we could save it. I didn't get inside the house for over two months after my purchase date. I lost track of the many truckloads of garbage we hauled away from the yard.
The inside was just as bad. The house was a shell, filled with garbage -- two floors of garbage. And the squatters had cut a hole in the downstairs bathroom floor that they were using to poop into the basement. Ug! It all had to be cleaned up before we could start to make a work plan.
Supporting the house was the first critical issue. The concrete front wall of the unfinished basement had to be replaced and the back wall had to be raised by making it taller. The side basement walls were leaning so they had to be repaired and reinforced. All that took a few concrete pours. The sill plates (boards at the bottom of the house walls) had to be replaced along with all the wooden support beams that ran under the house. All that wood was rotten. Our climate is really hard on building materials such as wood. So the house had to be jacked up in sections to replace all those beams and supports. My husband harvested the trees and cut a lot of the new support beams on our sawmill. And we had to pour pads in the basement and put in upright supports under more than half of the house.
Now we're working on the other issues. It will be a 4 bedroom, 3 bath home with a large family room when we are finished. Yeah!
The squatters in the yard last summer were really challenging to get rid of. They had multiple RVs and a huge bus that had been gutted and converted into yet another RV. And they had a fleet of dead vehicles and garbage taking up most of the lot. They finally left in the fall after I took a bunch of legal actions. We didn't even have to appear in court. I guess I wore them down over the months of daily visits to them and working on the house in the middle of all of their mess.
Right after all the squatters left, winter hit early and we had to stop a lot of the work we planned. Winter lasted through May this year. We had 126" of snowfall with 4' to 5' of snow on the ground all winter. When spring came, we had "break-up" and the driveway turned to mud that was a couple of feet deep. The house and driveway were totally inaccessible for our vehicles for a while until the ground firmed up. Next spring we won't have that problem. We rebuilt the driveway during this summer to remove the mud problem.
After detailing our journey so far, I guess we're doing OK on it. We can only do what we can do. Maybe we'll have it ready to sell next summer. Our leaves are starting to turn right now. Fall is kicking in and winter is coming on fast.
Dislike ads? Become a Fastlane member:
Subscribe today and surround yourself with winners and millionaire mentors, not those broke friends who only want to drink beer and play video games. :-)
Membership Required: Upgrade to Expose Nearly 1,000,000 Posts
Ready to Unleash the Millionaire Entrepreneur in You?
Become a member of the Fastlane Forum, the private community founded by best-selling author and multi-millionaire entrepreneur MJ DeMarco. Since 2007, MJ DeMarco has poured his heart and soul into the Fastlane Forum, helping entrepreneurs reclaim their time, win their financial freedom, and live their best life.
With more than 39,000 posts packed with insights, strategies, and advice, you’re not just a member—you’re stepping into MJ’s inner-circle, a place where you’ll never be left alone.
Become a member and gain immediate access to...
- Active Community: Ever join a community only to find it DEAD? Not at Fastlane! As you can see from our home page, life-changing content is posted dozens of times daily.
- Exclusive Insights: Direct access to MJ DeMarco’s daily contributions and wisdom.
- Powerful Networking Opportunities: Connect with a diverse group of successful entrepreneurs who can offer mentorship, collaboration, and opportunities.
- Proven Strategies: Learn from the best in the business, with actionable advice and strategies that can accelerate your success.
"You are the average of the five people you surround yourself with the most..."
Who are you surrounding yourself with? Surround yourself with millionaire success. Join Fastlane today!
Join Today
