Rent Free

I've neglected this blog for a while, as nothing interesting is happening.  In the last few months, we made two offers to Bank Of America to buy the house we live in for a short-sale price.  The bank valued the house 55k over what we offered.  We felt our price was fair, and what we can afford.  The bank wanted more.

I am curious about the big picture for the bank.  55k is a ton of money for me, but I am thinking it is not much for the bank.  I think we will submit another offer that is a bit higher (just a bit) and see if they bite.  If not, we can move when the house sells or the bank owns it.  We have 60 days to be out after that time.

For now the rent is very reasonable.  The owners are not charging us rent anymore.

Hurry Up & Wait

The papers are signed, all we need to do is wait.  The bank will decide, in their time, if they will accept our offer for the house.

It has been my experience that waiting, warps my perception of time.  This time, I am hoping the bank takes a long time to get to our stack of papers.  Last time I was hoping they would take a long time to get to our stack of papers.  Last time they only took a few weeks, and we had to move in a rush.  The longer it takes, the longer I am not paying rent.  Please take your time, Bank of America!

If the bell is going to ring at your kids school and you are running behind, those few minutes seem lightning-bolt fast.   If you are stopped at a stop light, the same amount of time can drag on, and on.  If you are carrying your first baby around in your belly, each day is long.  If you are carrying your second baby around in your belly, the same amount of days are seemingly shorter.

If my perspective and perception of time is what makes waiting short or long, then I am going to try to "suffer" during this time of waiting.  Will that stretch it out?

Giving In

The timing is terrible for us to buy a house.  We are leaving for a long time to go to Eastern Europe.  This weekend we will make a short sale offer on the house we live in, for what we feel is a screaming deal!

I think we will be fine on the details of the transaction, because it will take a long time to deal with the bank. So there you have it!

I really don't like to be pushed for time on a huge decision.  I have already made some decisions about what I will do to this house if it is mine.  I've had a year to think about it!

The first thing I will do is cut down the evergreen topiaries that flank either side of our front door.  I have posted a photo, so that you can agree with me.

HOA

My mind is racing a bit with questions about buying the house we live in.  The main one is doubts about the home owners association.  We don't know the details of membership.  What we do know is it may be a community, but it is not neighborly.  Or, our experience so far has not been warm and generous.

Does that matter?  Will it be okay to have the 'trashy' house on our street?  Can I survive wondering if folks are judging me as they walk to the mailboxes?

Though I had nothing to do with the pink toilet in my yard, it exposed the nature of several neighbors.  It's good to know that how our block looks, is something people care a lot about here.  I care a lot about being a steward of my stuff as well.  I hope to be generous with it, and cling loosely to it at the same time.  I know it was weeks ago now, but I'm putting into the category of things to think about if we really do want to buy this house.

The time crunch on the decision ins't really helping.  I have to pack to go to Europe for 5 weeks!!

I was raised down a country lane, without a neighborhood.  The only neighborhood I knew about was Mister Rogers'.  It didn't seem so confusing when I was a pre-schooler.

Oh Bother!!! or Adventures in Missing the Point.

As my favorite stuffed bear might say, "OH!! Bother".  

In lieu of foreclosing,  starting Friday, our landlords are short sale-ing ("short saling" the verb has not been invented yet) this house.  Since they are not paying for this house, they are kind enough to ask us not to pay rent, which is nice for now.

So, Friday.......  That is the day that folks will start tromping through my house.  Next Wednesday will be the day I leave to go to Europe for the rest of the summer to teach English (don't worry, my house will be occupied, by bouncers and armed leprechauns).

We recommended our realtor to our land lord, so now our realtor is selling our house for our land lord, while we are hoping to buy this house from our land lord/B of A.  He did short sale our other house without a hitch.  What is not recommendable about that?  Here's what:  Now, the person helping us find a house is selling our house.  He said we need to make an offer before we leave next week.  NEXT WEEK?  I'm busy next week.

I though, sure, great, whatever.  Really though, I am not sure I want to run our side of escrow from Europe.  I don't want the pressure of financing, and inspections, while I am away.

It seems before you do something big in your life, there are always distractions.  Your best girlfriend decides she HATES you the week before she stands up for you in your wedding.  Your dog gets expensively/mortally sick before a big trip.  Life is an adventure in missing the point.  I want to go teach English at camp for the next several weeks and not think for five minutes about the roof over my head.  Of course I have not been thinking of it much, but now that I am leaving for a LONG time, it seems pressing.

Real estate stinks.  Plain and simple from my perspective.  If this house we live in is still for sale when we get back, then we will make an offer.  I will be sad to miss an opportunity to live in this house for longer.  I also will wonder if I missed an opportunity at another place somewhere else.  There is no winning at the game during this state.  Prices will still go down in the next year, and we will wonder if we could have something better somewhere else.

Every time I go teach English abroad, I have come home a different and better person.  I am banking on that this year especially.  I am okay leaving, knowing I might not get to buy this house, as someone else might beat me to it.  It is uncomfortable, yes.  If you read this blog at all, you know I am getting better at letting myself be uncomfortable.  That feeling is not fatal, just difficult.  Mostly it requires fortitude and integrity.  I've got tons of those!

Extortion or Creative?

Unique fundraiser leaves youth group flush with cash

By Kyle Magin
Staff Writer

Share on FacebookEmail Print Comment 

Recommend

ENLARGE

Emily Dyer, a 15 year-old Bear River High School sophomore, and her pink toilet, which she painted and decorated as part of an unusual fundraiser for starving children in Africa.

Extortion never looked this flamboyant.

A toilet, spray-painted pink and decorated with flowers, has recently been making the rounds in front yards across Nevada County.

Homeowners who find the porcelain throne stuck in their yard can choose to pay $10 to have the toilet removed to a friend's lawn, and an additional $5 to make sure it never appears on their property again.

The gimmick is the design of Bear River sophomore Emily Dyer, a 15-year-old south county resident.

She is participating in a hunger fundraiser sponsored by the youth group at her church, Sierra Presbyterian. She got the toilet from Habitat for Humanity and spray-painted it bright pink.

Dyer's father transports the toilet from location to location, and so far she's estimated the plan has raised more than $1,200 since they began in May.

Proceeds from the toilet removal service (victims can opt out if they don't want to play along) go to an organization called World Vision, which feeds starving children in Africa.

“Hopefully, we'll keep it going until the end of summer,” said Dyer.

Students in the youth group have been working on a hunger initiative recently, which included a 30-hour fast in order to better understand the effects of hunger, she said.

You can contact the church to find out how to help at

Blackmail and the Pink Toilet

My rental is in a 20 year old, fancy neighborhood.  It has HUGE custom homes, wide streets, perfect yards, pretty lamp posts, and we are the only family here, under 60 years old.  We have heard that the home owners association is strict.  I have lived in a neighborhood with a HOA before, and have been in trouble with one before.  I have been in all sorts of trouble, but not because I am devious or evil, just fiery, feisty and dyslexic (I write checks for the wrong amount or put change in the wrong parking meter).  I'll admit that what happen tried my patience and my mouth got away from me.  I am not blameless.

A teen-aged girl at my church has been fundraising for World Vision.  If you don't know what they do, you should find out, but mostly they feed kids around the world.  $1 feeds one kid, for one day.  I feel passionately about World Vision, and about my friend who is fundraising for them.  I love her!

She has raised $1200 so far, the local news paper is doing a story about her, and it has been in the nicest developments in our county, without incident

Here is her plan to earn money:  She purchased a toilet from the Habitat Restore.  She painted it hot pink and put flowers in the tank.  On the seat is a note explaining the project.  It says something like:  If you want the toilet out of your yard, make a check out to World Vision for $15.  Call the number on the lid, and tell us who you would like the toilet delivered to, and they will donate to World Vision, and so on, and so on, yard after yard!  Then it said,  (this is all in good fun, and if it is an inconvenience, we will come and get the toilet right now).

You know that toilet ended up in my yard.  You know my financially well-off, 20 years retired, neighbors weren't very happy.  As soon as the toilet was in my yard, I called the number, wrote a check and put it on the toilet seat in my yard, so everyone who looked, could see I was taking care of it.  I left the toilet in the yard, instead of hiding it in the garage, so that everyone could see it.  I was proud of my friend's creativity and caring.  I wanted to give everyone a chance to support hungry kids around the world.  I guess my faith in human kindness was a bit naive.   Anyway, I went on a long hike and returned about noon to my house.

There in the driveway was the president of the HOA.  I'll call her Lady A.  Her husband was in their high end car, with the engine still running.  Her friend was standing nearby.  Oh, no.....

We got out of the car and were as friendly as we are by nature, which is friendly.  Silas introduced us, again, and asked her name, again.  I observed she seemed upset, aloud.  She was shaking and nearly in tears (because of the toilet).  I asked her several question.
"Could you tell me more about what is going on?"  no real answer
"Could I tell you more about the fundraiser and what it is for?" no real answer, just very upset.

She had been called by several home owners in the development, complaining.  My plan was to ask her questions, until she deflated her own position, which was flimsy.

That was my plan.  What happened was I lost my patience, and my frontal lobes were unable to restrain my tongue.  Then, while I was listening to her fumble on, about the "eye sore", I saw red.

I went to the toilet, and picked up my check.  I held it up for Lady A to read, and pointed with my finger to the recipient of the check, World Vision.  I said, "Do you see who this check is made out to, by me?  That says World Vision.  World Vision feeds hungry children all over the world.  If you are the kind of person who is worried about this toilet being in my yard for a few hours, then you are a very shallow woman!"  I was back to seeing blues and greens, and there was Silas, with his mouth agape and his eyes wide, stepping back.  This woman is clearly my elder, and I should respect her enough to not serve her the honest truth with a fire poker, but I did.

For sure, she huffed off, saying I don't know her.  That is true.  I am hopeful that she is the most caring and generous woman who has lived, but her actions and words were telling me differently.  Maybe we caught her on a bad day?  We asked her not to leave, so that we could resolve it.  She had already called the number on the toilet to complain.

The mother of the sweet girl who is fundraising, told her she was coming to get the toilet, that we had nothing to do with it, and how could she make it right.  She was so nice.  Lady A told her some neighbors were going to call the police, as it was clearly blackmail.  I was hoping they would, to further the silliness of the whole event.   Lady A also said that donating to World Vision is something she might be interested in.

Later that day, I wrote her a letter to apologize for losing my temper.  I told her I felt compassion for her situation as a leader of folks complaining to her, and at the same time, the toilet was actually for a good cause.  I told her I was sad she went away mad, and that I want a friendly relationship with her.  I feel absolution for it, though I don't feel sorry I said, "shallow" to her.

Wouldn't it have been nice if to get rid of the toilet, instead of a lot of angry complaining, there were 20 checks for $15 in the toilet?  Do our worlds get smaller as we age?  I want to have world vision.

• If you haven't thought of donating to World Vision before now, consider it.  You can help someone who needs it, a kid.  You also might broaden your scope!