Melinda Slade

Well the first thing is the walls need to be painted.  All of the old flooring (carpet and other) has been ripped out and the under floors are in good shape so it won’ t be too bad putting down ceramic tile in the kitchen and bathroom.  The laminate floors will go down easy in the rest of the house too.  But like I said, paint first so the floors don’t get messed up at all.  The cabinets in the kitchen are in good shape so they’ll just get a fresh coat of paint and something to dress it up a bit like new knobs and hardware for the doors.  That’s the goal for today.

Tomorrow starts the ceramic tile and and what ever else can be done without messing up the tile work before it’s grouted.  I’m really lucky there’s a building salvage store not too far from here.  I save a bundle on most of the items that go into these houses.  Plus now there are members of the two churches that are helping on this house like the did on the last house because this one is for the other family that was brought to my attention.

I got a call from my lawyer this morning and he said that the papers are ready for both of us to sigh.  Everything checked out just fine, no back taxes owed or anything else so that was good.  I already talked with the owner and she’s meeting me at my lawyers office at 11:30 this morning.  I’ll go by the bank and get the money before that.

This is a small three bedroom house with just one bathroom but it can really be made into a nice little house.  It’s sound because I did have it checked to make sure there was no termite damage either.  I’ll have it treated as soon as the paperwork is all signed so there won’t be any threat if termites for a while.  I do that with every house I buy.  We can’t have termites infesting a house now can we?  Anyway, I’m looking forward to getting started on this one too.

Today our new President was sworn in and we met at my lawyers and signed all the paperwork for me to purchase the home I was telling you about.  Now all that has to be done is to make sure there’s nothing on the deed and the exchange of money and it’s mine.  We had the house appraised by someone that didn’t know either the owner or I so she would feel assured it was a fair appraisal.  I even gave her $2,500 over what it appraised for since she felt it was worth more than that and I agreed with her.  I’m not about to make money off of an elderly woman in need.

It should take about a week or so until the house is then transferred into my name and I can get started on it.  It needs a lot of work just like I was told but that’s okay.  It will make someone a wonderful home when I finish with it.  This will probably be the last house I do for awhile since it’s the third one.  With the economy like it is, I don’t want to get in over my own head, ya know.  We’ll just have to wait and see what the new President does I think.

Someone just called me and told me about a house that someone has.  It’s another fixer-upper that a young mother with three children lived in.  She just inherited a house and her grandmother owned the house she was living in.  It needs some work on it and can’t afford to do the work that is needed before she could rent it out.  Her granddaughter had done a little fixing up but it needs more than a coat of paint and wallpaper.

I’m going to look at it in an hour when the lady can meet me there.  This is an instance where I will not only be able to help her but also help another family.  Life is good sometimes.  I have been looking for another house for the other family I told you about that the church told me of.  God willing, this will be the house for them.  I’ll keep you posted.

Well yesterday was one of the best days of my life.  The look on that soldiers face when I opened the door and said “Welcome Home’ was absolutely priceless.  There before me stands a strong Marine that has been through hell and made it back to his family.  There before me stood this strong Marine, a man with tears in his eyes.  He looked at me in a way that no one ever had.  Sort of like I was Santa Clause or a guardian angel walking on earth.

Oh I’m no angel, I’m just someone that knows what it’s like not to have anyone that cares about you or what you’ve done.  Or at least it feels that way at the time.  You make choices in your life based on what you have experienced in your past and your present situation.  I have made a choice to take what I have an try to make life a little better for those that have given to me and didn’t even know me, our soldiers and Marines.

God has blessed me and if I don’t use that blessing to bless others, then I have wasted my blessings and I’m not about to do that.  I’m into real estate and with that, I have the opportunity to help others in a way that it seems no one else is.  Hopefully there are others out there that aren’t taking advantage of the economic situation just to benefit themselves.  I’m not and I hope it doesn’t sound like I am.  I’m using what I have to help others, not feed off of them.