25 July 2014

Home Inspection

Hiya Dad,

            Today, I was in the crawl space at Tower Court; hard to believe but true ~ it was just like it was 30+ years ago when I was down there with you, fixing some pipe or another.  The Tower Court odyssey is a journey of miracles, obstacles, and moments indescribable.  Mom asked Jim to move Heaven and Earth; you well know, Dad, Jim has to get any mortgage for her.  We found out that the brother (executor of the estate) had already engaged a realtor to get the house ready to sell ~ they claimed they would "get it all fixed up" and list it for $184,000 ~ a completely ridiculous claim on so many levels. The details of the shenanigans involved in real estate and this particular "sale" are unimportant now, but I will say these things (knowing you would agree): the realtor was an ass, the brother was an ass.  We all hoped for an "as is" sale, but of course the realtor being involved sort of made that idea moot ~ still, as the negotiations went on, it became obvious that, no matter what the final price was to be, they were not going to clean a thing, fix a thing, yet they acted like the house was still worth $184,000. They knew Mom wanted the house, they knew she had lived in it before, they knew you had just died, they knew everything, and they quite simply took advantage and inflated the price.  Jim and Phil did some intense negotiations back and forth with the realtor, and at one point, we were all prepared to walk away ~ even Mom said, "this is too much" (the "this" being the realtor/brother's attitudes).  I took her to look at some houses in Old Town; that was rather depressing day. We planned a day in Rushville; property is cheaper there, and Phil wanted her there, near him and Charlotte.  Mom was resigned.  But, we all knew one thing: she had her heart set on Tower Court; she wanted to go home. 

            On 16 July 2014 (the day I took Mom for her first eye shots without your insurance coverage), Jim told me the deal was done ~ the house was hers. I am the one who got to call her ~ I knew she was in her bed recovering, with the phone beside her.  I called, we both cried ~ she kept saying over and over, "Alys are you telling me I get to go home?" and I kept saying, "yes, yes, Jim and Phil did it."  We agreed: we were not wrong about the signs: Jim and Mom driving by it after we took your ashes to the tree, she and I going there the next day and my hand reaching for that door handle and opening that door, us walking through the house, finding out the timing involved in the man's stroke and death and the eviction of the son, just all all all of it ~ signs that it was meant to be: Mom and I, we believe. The next day, I took the earnest money to the realtor's office.

             (I sent the photo below to your friend Bob: he replied, "who is the man with your mother?" It took me a minute to realize that "the man" to whom he referred was Johnny . . .)

            So, yes, today I was in our old crawl space ~ the home inspection was today, and I followed right behind the inspector, photographing everything he saw as relevant to the condition of the house. Well, truth be told, I did not go onto the roof!  But, I was in the attic (and THERE were stored Mom's interior shutters for the master bedroom windows!) and I was in the crawl space ~ the inspector kept turning his head and saying, "I cannot believe you, a lady, are in this crawl space with me."  I just laughed and said, "yes, well, here I am, gotta get the photos of anything that is a problem!"

            Dad, the house is in pretty good shape, but there's a lot that needs to be done ~ most of the stuff that needs to be replaced or fixed will not help Jim negotiate a lower final price, but we will work on everything as best we can ~ a labor of love for our Mom. (You did not leave her much, Dad, you know that, but that's a different letter ~ one I can maybe write to you one day, about how I feel about all of that awfulness, but for now, I am putting all of that aside.)  Anyway, it is not going to be easy to get the house in good enough repair for Mom to move in, but we are going to do it ~ Jim is coming out for a week right after Johnny leaves, so he and Phil and I will get a lot done then. In the meantime, Dad, you should know that your boys were perfection ~ they both did their best for our Mom. You should be so proud of them; I know you are proud of them.

Love,
Alys