Our life in the slow lane continues to change. After spending most of the last two years in Mexico or in Europe, we are going to return to making Spokane, Washington USA as our primary residence.
Janice has already told everyone in this blog about the bungalow we have bought and her project to make it our home.
My guess that starting this fall we will spend April 1-November 1 in Spokane and then five months somewhere south away from the cold, northern winter. Unless there is a change of heart over this coming winter, it will be our last one in Mazatlan. We love Mazatlan and the wonderful friends we have made here. By the end of this winter Joel will have spent 4 1/2 years living in Mazatlan and Janice over 6 1/2 years as she came ahead and trail blazed while Joel was still working. We are anxious to check some of the other destinations that others have chosen for their snowbird lives. We would love to check out Arizona where we have friends that have wintered in Yuma, Lake Havasu, Phoenix, Tucson and Bisbee. We also would like to check out the west coast of Florida and Biloxi, Mississippi. Who knows, maybe even the Palm Springs area. If anyone has a suggestion, we will be glad to hear it.
Janice had been in Spokane since early May getting our new home ready. Joel and Janice drove up to Spokane and then Joel flew back to Mazatlan to stay out of the way of the remodel project, as that is not where he is gifted. (If truth be told, he was still needing more Mazatlan time) His contribution is the bookkeeping and transfer of needed funds. Luckily, at this stage of our lives we paid cash as somehow acquiring a mortgage at this stage of our lives did not sound pleasant.
The biggest change will for Joel to get into an American mind set. Joel loves the slow pace of life where a car is not required and eating out is affordable. Currently he can go to Pau Pau, his favorite hangout and nurse a couple of liter bottles of beer for the afternoon and be fed for around $6.00 that includes tip. Eating a full rack of ribs with salad, potato and coleslaw is $7. In the U.S. there are restaurants and bars that charge over $4-$5 for a 12 ounce bottle of beer, $5 - $10 for a glass of wine and $15-$25 for a dinner. Although our income is okay, if we want to escape the cold winters, we are going to have a budget in Spokane that avoids the regular eating out or getting a cerveza or vino that is easily affordable in Mazatlan. We will just enjoy more entertaining at home.
Both Janice and Joel are going to start re-entering Spokane life. Joel might volunteer at the local "Cop Shop" and the library. Janice is looking at volunteering at the local Civic Theaters. Also continuing setting up our home and oil painting. We are going to have a house warming on July 7 and we will celebrate Janice's birthday at the same time. On July 14th Joel will run the Missoula Marathon. Janice and our two grandsons, Jayden and Jaxson will come along to cheer him along for the 26.2 miles. We will also see Jackie, Jelani, Jordyn and Javin while in the Seattle area.In September we are going on a cruise along with Janice's brothers and their wives. We will go the inside passage of Alaska with a trip to Denali and then fly from Fairbanks to Seattle. Kenny is helping us with our gardening, lawn mowing and some other jobs helping him earn money this summer.
I am sure we will update this as our summer in Spokane continues and plans evolve.
Tuesday, June 18, 2013
Saturday, June 15, 2013
Buying - Remodeling - Nesting - Adding a new chapter to our lives.
Over the last year (2012/2013) Janice has been feeling a real draw back to Washington. Family is always important to her but it seems as the grandchildren get older, her desire is to see them more often and try to be around family more then just once or twice a year. How does one manage this when there is a unique draw to the warmth and friends of Mazatlan and where Joel loves spending his time and be closer to family and friends in Washington? Over the past several months there was more and more talk of some changes and choices we could make to both compromise to what we'd both like to do. Janice spent countless hours researching the real estate market and after some looking and negotiations, we found a small home in a lovely neighborhood at a great price. The great price however came with the job of a major remodel. Mostly some major cosmetic work. We managed to close and receive our title in a couple weeks, and the next morning began the job of remodeling the 1930 bungalow. It is what Janice calls her "Diamond In The Rough".
The house in on a corner lot and it's not in a gated community so there are no homeowners dues which would then include a gardener. With Joel in Mazatlan until June 30 (after we drove up to Spokane the beginning of May and he flew back after the papers were signed) Janice gets to take care of this yard which is pretty good sized. Janice planted a garden of about 10ft. by 10ft with tomatoes, cucumbers, cabbage, lettuce, 3 different types of peppers, zucchini and summer squash. Mowing the yard took over an hour and that wasn't even finishing it up with edging and watering. This can be enjoyable seeing a beautiful lush yard and garden, that I forget about the amount of work as we are now retired and have plenty of time to complete the job.
After a couple of realtors that left Janice feeling less then confident in their being the right match for us, Janice finally found a realtor that we will praise and recommend as long as the buyers or sellers are in the Spokane area and wanting to be treated with 100% professionalism whether you are buying a diamond in the rough or buying a mansion. Erik Dordal with Coldwell Banker Realtors out of the South Hill Branch is on top of the game. He ALWAYS answers calls, emails or text within 12 hours, usually less. His communications are always straight forward, he is knowledgeable about real estate, has contacts for all your home needs, and you feel when you are finished with the transaction that you've made a friend. We will be happy to give you his contact information should you find yourself needing it.
So the house we've purchased is a 1930 bungalow that is small. Both Joel and I have agreed though that in our time of life, this is all we need or want. There is a basement, but it is for storage primarily and currently holds our washer and dryer, otherwise the house is on one level. The floors were all carpeted. Under the carpets in the bedrooms and living room are hardwood that are being restored. The kitchen, hallways and bathroom are being tiled with natural stone tile. On most of the walls were wall paper that have been applied with something that was never meant to come off. This has been one of my workers worst nightmares. The kitchen will actually have wall board put on to cover up the mess and the living room the paper has been steamed off. At this time also the ceiling of both living room and bedroom had old-time tiles attached with some weird type of glue. These all came off and one by one, the glue had to be removed. The removal of the glue revealed many deep cracks in the ceiling and walls. The next 3 days spent was filling in all the cracks and resurfacing the areas. The last 2 days now has been texturizing the areas. While this has been going on, my other worker has been busy gutting and building back up the bathroom. Some pretty bad plumbing was revealed when the fixtures were taken out. New flooring now has been laid to prepare for the tile, the walls have had new wall board applied after all the plumbing issues fixed.
Almost every one that knows us good enough has asked us why we would by a home that needs so much work. The quick and simple answer is, Janice was up for the challenge of turning a 'rough gem into a diamond'. This place as all the makings of the 'almost perfect' flipper if the market in Spokane was good. As it stands, the market is fair, but that wasn't the purpose. Janice may never want to do this again, but another box checked off the bucket list and we'll have our summer retirement cottage all paid for and closer to family and friends in Washington. While I (Janice) is looking after all the details in Spokane, Joel is relaxing in the sun of Mazatlan and not having to help with these details. We've decided for us this is the way it works. I will spare all of you the problems and issues that comes up with taking on this kind of venture. As of today, I have not been able to move in yet but hopefully it will be ready by Joel and my 22nd wedding anniversary which is June 21st. Happy Anniversary Ducky!
After a couple of realtors that left Janice feeling less then confident in their being the right match for us, Janice finally found a realtor that we will praise and recommend as long as the buyers or sellers are in the Spokane area and wanting to be treated with 100% professionalism whether you are buying a diamond in the rough or buying a mansion. Erik Dordal with Coldwell Banker Realtors out of the South Hill Branch is on top of the game. He ALWAYS answers calls, emails or text within 12 hours, usually less. His communications are always straight forward, he is knowledgeable about real estate, has contacts for all your home needs, and you feel when you are finished with the transaction that you've made a friend. We will be happy to give you his contact information should you find yourself needing it.
So the house we've purchased is a 1930 bungalow that is small. Both Joel and I have agreed though that in our time of life, this is all we need or want. There is a basement, but it is for storage primarily and currently holds our washer and dryer, otherwise the house is on one level. The floors were all carpeted. Under the carpets in the bedrooms and living room are hardwood that are being restored. The kitchen, hallways and bathroom are being tiled with natural stone tile. On most of the walls were wall paper that have been applied with something that was never meant to come off. This has been one of my workers worst nightmares. The kitchen will actually have wall board put on to cover up the mess and the living room the paper has been steamed off. At this time also the ceiling of both living room and bedroom had old-time tiles attached with some weird type of glue. These all came off and one by one, the glue had to be removed. The removal of the glue revealed many deep cracks in the ceiling and walls. The next 3 days spent was filling in all the cracks and resurfacing the areas. The last 2 days now has been texturizing the areas. While this has been going on, my other worker has been busy gutting and building back up the bathroom. Some pretty bad plumbing was revealed when the fixtures were taken out. New flooring now has been laid to prepare for the tile, the walls have had new wall board applied after all the plumbing issues fixed.
Almost every one that knows us good enough has asked us why we would by a home that needs so much work. The quick and simple answer is, Janice was up for the challenge of turning a 'rough gem into a diamond'. This place as all the makings of the 'almost perfect' flipper if the market in Spokane was good. As it stands, the market is fair, but that wasn't the purpose. Janice may never want to do this again, but another box checked off the bucket list and we'll have our summer retirement cottage all paid for and closer to family and friends in Washington. While I (Janice) is looking after all the details in Spokane, Joel is relaxing in the sun of Mazatlan and not having to help with these details. We've decided for us this is the way it works. I will spare all of you the problems and issues that comes up with taking on this kind of venture. As of today, I have not been able to move in yet but hopefully it will be ready by Joel and my 22nd wedding anniversary which is June 21st. Happy Anniversary Ducky!
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