20 March 2010

BUSY March, 2010


Refinished floors and trim in the kids room

Today is the first day of Spring in the United States, March 20. What a wild and BUSY month it's been here. The weather has been unseasonably warm and sunny for March in Wisconsin which has allowed me to open windows - so the painting began in earnest.

We had contracted to have the 2nd floor Red Oak floors sanded and refinished in two steps. The kids room on March 2 and 3. In preparation for that, on March 1, I stained and varnished all the wood trim in the room I had hand scraped during February. I also painted the door and wall. Now that the floors are done, this room is finished!

March 8, the contractor came to install the new kitchen counter top. He removed the old counter top and installed the new counter and reinstalled the sink on day 1. On day two, he got the 3 pieces of the rest of the counter together and set in place overnight. On day 3, he secured the counter top and replaced the ceiling tiles and put up new trim in the living room. Everything looks great.

During the week of March 8, I was supposed to be painting the living room, master bedroom, Clara's room, trim on a window, and touch up paint over the stairs. However I didn't get that much done as Zoe was home from school 3 days (dentist appt, sick, and no school). Clara was home from school 1 day (possible strep throat) = trip to doctor's office. I still managed to get 3/5 of the painting done.
Clara's room floors before
On Sunday 14 March, we moved most of the furniture out of the 2 bedrooms into the kids room. Left only 1 dresser and a mattress in each room to sleep on Sunday night. Monday morning we moved the remaining furniture so the floors could be refinished. The kids went to school and Dave took his car to the shop. Tristan also went to the dentist for filings. When we gathered at home, the sanding had just been completed.

Refinished master bedroom

We stayed overnight Monday night and Tuesday night at the Wilderness on the Lake Condos. I'll post a separately about our time there.

On Wednesday afternoon, we came back to replace all the furniture, and begin cleaning all the fine dust off the floors, walls, fixtures, etc. It was everywhere.

Thursday morning, I had court at 8am. Dave stayed home with the 3 kids. I won the case against our management company. The judge agreed that they didn't properly manage one unit during the time we were away.
Refinished stairs

On Friday afternoon, we had the closing for the sale of our 4 unit in Mineral Point. The building was built at about the time of the civil war. It was a cash sale and we did OK for ourselves. The Buyer is local to the area. While we were away this week, I had to make arrangements for title work, warranty deed, and transfer return. The title company we used did a great job. We're really happy the building is SOLD.

Catherine outside the 4 unit apartment building we owned for 5 years

08 March 2010

Great News about the 4 Unit in Mineral Point!!!

I have been marketing my 4 unit building in Mineral Point, WI to sell it myself. I feel confident that it's a good building with good income and I can sell it as well as any Realtor. At the end of January 2010, I thought it's time to really get going on the sale - Spring is coming, we need to sell soon. I put another ad on Craigslist and paid to have the property listed on the MLS. I received a reply to my Craigslist posting. The Prospect wanted to view the property as soon as possible, so I set her up for 1/2 hour before my meeting with the Realtor to post it on MLS. He arrived while we were just completing the viewing. I explained to her that I was putting the property on the MLS and said I'd get back to her. She called me back, saying she'd like to write an offer and asking who to contact to write it. Then I called the other people I had previously showed it to. She wrote an offer a week later, and we spent a week countering the offer. Finally on Sunday I phoned her and asked her what her best price is. She told me and I agreed to sell it at that price. The closing is set for on or before March 19. Now just to get through the inspection. It's a cash transaction. I have to say 9% per year return isn't a bad thing....plus the tax benefits. She's getting a really good deal - but we have places to go.....and things to do.....