home care.....

Went to the movies this afternoon to see the second Chronicles of Narnia installment, Prince Caspian. It was very enjoyable, but I think I liked the first one a little bit more than this one. It is really very close, but I think because I did not know what was happening in the first one (having never read the books), made the story stand out a bit more.

Today was Cassie's last day of school. Morgan and I have decided after much thought, and prayers to allow Cassie to stay in this school instead of transferring to the private school. She has made some friends, and even though she is like us, and does not have them over or seems very close to them, they are friends, and a comfort level for her. Having her switch and become the "new kid" again, just did not seem right to us. Also, it is not the same as attending Christian school everyday, but she enjoys going to church and attending Sunday School, and other events through the church, so that helped us with our "comfort" in making the decision.

I am learning more and more each day that renting a home from somebody else is not much fun. Especially when your landlord is cheap, and not handy at the same time. We have had the normal small events happen, but on Tuesday we had the drain in the second sink in Cassie's bathroom literally fall out of the sink. Luckily it is not normally used, and there was only a small amount of water. When I examined it closely, it looks like it was "repaired" once before, and silicone was used to "plug it up" around the outside to stop any leaking. A terrible job. So far, I have received no response from the landlord, so I guess it will not be fixed for a while.

Morgan and I have also come to realize that the landlords took all the "holders" (towel, toilet paper, etc.) out of the house and replaced them before moving out. How did we find that out? Well, after the third one came out of the walls, we saw the repainting and holes where the originals were secured. Again, this would not be a problem if they used toggle bolts, or found a stud to secure the hardware. Nope. Just plain old screws into the drywall. The ones that have fallen are now secured by us with Gorilla Glue.

Add to the fact that they never did any maintenance around this house, and you can see why it is not on our shopping list. Actually, we would just like to survive the rental period without them claiming these were our problems. I email and take pictures of every and all problems around the house, just to be safe.

The no maintenance is what amazes me. Just some simple "checking around", and examining things every couple of months can save a world of problems. I am not handy, but I always kept an eye on our house, and for certain items, like the heavily used air conditioner, had a contract so a professional looked and cleaned it twice a year. When we sold, the inspector was amazed that our unit was 10+ years old.

Why do I bring this up? Well, Morgan and I thought we had found a house back in NC to purchase and rent out until we return. It is in the subdivision right next to here we used to live, and we knew the house because we each took our walks in that neighborhood. Well, after we hammered out a contract, and then brought in the inspector, the fun started. The list of non-maintained items was very large. The house is not falling apart, but it has us concerned. My broker is working to try and get us even a better deal, but I don't think this one is in the cards. I have a good friend who is a contractor, but we're not sure if we want to start owning it this way. We will be thinking hard about it these next few days. Simple "keep up", and they would have had a sale with no problems.

Morgan is going to look at some other houses while in NC next week. Cassie is being taken by different friends for the Monday and Tuesday after her Sunday night birthday party, so Morgan figured she can give a look and see what is available. We looked near Kellie, but did not find any for sale in our price range. Morgan has scoped out quite a few off of Johnson's Pond Road.

More on what we are looking for in a house next time.

- I guess, "hold the tomato".
- A new FireFox for you IE "haters".
- US Open is in town. Let's go Lefty!

Until the next time.....