Striving to create a better life for everyone by sustainably solving real estate problems

(512) 807-8777

The Hermit Cave Has Spirit!

Let there be lights!

After I fixed up the offices yesterday, I went crazy moving things around so that the great hall area looked decent (I wrote about it here, on my other blog). It still was dark and cave-like. But at least it looked OK when Richard Crowe, president of the bank where all our money comes from, dropped by.

Oddly enough, I was not damaged by all that lifting and toting, and woke up all perky this morning, ready for more Hermit Haus adventures.

Goodbye, dead bugs and debrs. Hello, red carpet.

To remedy the darkness, today Mandi and I came in, vacuumed like crazy (I hope any previous visitors appreciate the lack of dead bugs on the stairs now), and brought light to the darkness.

We did this by going to the hadware store (where we introduced new resident Mike to the mayor) and getting many extension cords (plus house numbers for the mailbox and a toilet seat for the men’s room). Then we went to the Family Dollar,* which still had lights and decorations enough for us to create a Christmas ficus with Hermit Haus-themed red and gold decor. We also got white lights that we plan to keep up, to brighten the cave. We got colored lights, too, but the kind that will also burn white, so when January rolls around, we will just have “fairy lights.”

I can see, sort of.

We put another set of lights in my office, and that has lessened the creepy cave effect quite a bit. I’m fine in here now. Mandi was a real trooper and did a lot of light hanging with a headache.

And we  made the front of the building look even better with happy solar snowflakes. The crosses have also gone away to a new home, thanks to the local dog catcher!

Need Something to Do in Cameron?

And hey, if you’re in Cameron, she’s playing one of the three little pigs in the Milam Community Theatre Christmas play tonight and tomorrow afternoon. Drop by! Her dad and son are also in it.

I created a conference area, a dining area, and a lounging area (not shown).

If you are in Austin, go to the Zilker lights, see some music, or do one of the millions of nice things to do there. Anita and I found plenty of entertainment just driving around the neighborhood last week.

PS: Mike also followed us to the Family Dollar, where he reminisced with the manager about his previous career managing one of those stores. You always find someone to talk to in Cameron.

6Shares

We Can Work Again!

Lee can already work productively.

All of our stuff being in the Hermit Haus building does not mean all our stuff is set up. Since I know Mandi’s writing a blog post about the move, I’ll focus today on our ability to work, which is, getting our offices set up.

Lee spent a lot of time the past two days getting his office all set up. It looks very official, and we are all so proud of him for doing all this decor stuff by himself! He is especially proud of how he artistically hung up the wi-fi thingie.

Lee can welcome visitors!

Meanwhile, Mandi in the baby room has a lot of the important files piled in there with her, but she’s got her printer, her computer, and coffee. She’ll share more later!

As for me, I tried to be helpful and brought two rugs from Austin that we can put in offices. We put one in my new cave, and it’s rather wrinkly, but it will get figured out.

My desk does not want to go together properly, but it works, and thank goodness I have a high-quality surge protector/extension cord, because it was quite a challenge getting all the things plugged in. I need the light fixture in there, since the overhead light doesn’t work. It feels, um, cozy or moody or something in here.

Mandi makes the nursery look more cheerful,

Lee very kindly helped me hang some things on the wall. These aren’t necessarily my favorite things, or things I will use in the renovated office, but they do make it feel more cheerful. I especially like the mirror that got left in the building. I am pretending it is a window, though I think a “window” may be coming later.

I’m very pleased that Mandi bought heaters for our offices, since, as you may recall, there is no HVAC in here yet. I’d rather be in that situation in the winter than the summer, though, so I am not complaining.

The guest seating area has the valuable light, and the cool old mirror, plus the bobwhite picture!

Now that we have the offices set up, we can work on doing something with the “great hall” area. The bathrooms are in their cleanest 80s glory, so they’ll do.

The Suna cave is so cozy,

We can’t clean the kitchen yet, since the David and Randy team have been taking apart the baptismal, and it is causing “interesting” debis to rain on the kitchen. We will need gloves and masks again when we do tackle the kitchen! We have coffee, though, so we’ll live.

This is sort of fun, I think.

11Shares

Ready to Paint at Parkwood – Wanna Buy?

The workers have done a great job caulking all the trim to prepare for painting.

This house is getting closer and closer to being done. Here’s a sneak preview of the exterior paint colors. On the left is a sample with light exterior and dark trim, while on the right is dark exterior and light trim, all gray. The original plan was to paint the outside light gray, however the paint got purchased with more dark than light, so Carol decided we could go along with that. I think it will be pretty.

This shows how nice and light the family room area is with the new window and a door that lets in light.

The front and rear doors are IN and they look great. They will be painted turquoise. Ooh. You can also see one of the really cool kitchen pendant lights Carol found. This house is going to really be appealing!

The picture of the house exterior lets you imagine how all that gray will look, and also shows one of the things Carol is doing, which is marketing to Spanish-speaking buyers.

You can buy this house NOW, you know.

The Spanish part of the sign says we will do owner financing on the house (and if we do, the price will be higher), due to the risk we take when we do owner financing. Because, wow, people sure don’t pay. She is also doing mailings to neighborhoods where we know people are leaving due to that darned gentrification. The part of Round Rock where this house is provides a new community near the Interstate, with nice houses and big yards to people who sold smaller houses for inflated prices. We hope this might help a family who feels “run out of town.”

Imagine your shed or your pool in this HUGE yard.

That large back yard is also appealing to buyers with small businesses or hobbies, who can put a good-sized shed behind the house and use it for a shop or work area. Or, maybe a pool, if they made a LOT off their previous house.

As always the houses we work on provide surprises. The last photo shows one that snuck up on Carol. There, in the middle of a tree, is a tool, or a harpoon, or something, which someone obviously left in the crook between the two main trunks. The tree has completely grown over the tool. I guess it’s now a decorative feature, and a little reminder of what a mess this house once was, but will be no more.

Wow, someone never missed this cool thing?

1Shares

Note That New Address!

Thee side entrance looks so welcoming. But, it’s not the way in. That’s around the corner.

Hip, hip hooray! The Cameron office move happened! There were two very tired Hermit Haus folks at the end of the day, but Mandi and Lee persevered and got all the stuff done. I don’t think they want to move offices again any time soon. The plan is most assuredly NOT to move again. So, for your Christmas cards and such, make a note of our new address:

411 Main Street, Cameron, Texas 76520

Visitors: the office door is in the BACK of the building. We will soon have an obnoxiously loud doorbell system.

Thanks to this fine moving company and their nice staff. They really were helpful.

Just from the reports I received from the team (I was conveniently in Austin, hosting a party of coworkers, its own form of stress), I foresee one of Mandi’s posts with tales of terror and hilarity will be coming soon. The main issue was that, somehow, the movers had been told they were moving two rooms, not the whole first floor. I guess Mandi got it all straightened out, because soon she was sending photos of the desks and such in the Hermit Haus building. Whew.

There was a report of one of our fancy desks getting dropped, but though it scared Mandi a lot, things seem okay.

Once the stuff was in the building, Lee got the fun of putting things back together, because the desks and credenzas were all in the wrong rooms.

Of course many little things had to get taken care of, such as buying a lot of extension cords for the offices. Why? There is exactly one outlet in each room, that’s why. We look forward to the upgraded electricity in the renovation, for sure!

I’m very happy that Mandi’s priorities were good, and she made sure to put a wreath on the side door and a fake tree with lights on the porch. We are trying to make it welcoming. That reminds me that we need to take down the welcome sign over the door at the old office. It will be much more visible at the Hermit Haus.

It’s not a Christmas tree, but it does have red lights! Welcoming!

From the sound of it, I will have plenty to do this weekend to continue getting things in shape. I’ll have a hammer, nails, and maybe even a couple of rugs, if I can fit them in my car.

PS: the old office wasn’t empty long! Martha and Mike are moving in on schedule! They get to take their time, though, since they have nice landlords at their previous house (us).

Goodbye to my really bright and cheerful office. May it once again be a bright and cheerful bedroom.

8Shares

Windows at Parkwood

Wow, just wow about that giant window.

It’s moving day, but we’ll report on that tomorrow. Today we’ll share some great Parkwood progress.

First, look at those windows! That horrible back window is gone, and the rotting wood is replaced. It’s now very obvious that the back door needs to be replaced. Happily, the new front and back doors have been purchased and will go in this week.

This is gonna be so pretty once it is painted.

The exterior is being prepped for painting. It’s good to see how nice that front trim looks now that it’s beeen all fixed. The house is going to have plenty of positive curb appeal to make up for its former negative impression.

Interior lighting is all in, too. The bathrooms look so great that Carol said she’d be willing to live there hereself. That’s saying a lot, considering how you could barely stand to be inside it a couple of months ago!

They are filling in the new cabinet area. Custom!

The kitchen is being finished up, with still just a few trim out things going on. The light fixtures are bought, but not installed yet. We don’t want to break them (which is what happened to one of mine at the Bobcat Lair).

Enjoy these photos! I had to write fast today, but I’ll have more time tomorrow.

The bathrooms all look this nice.

1Shares

Most Recent Posts

The Hermit Cave Has Spirit!
12/15/18 - Business Update, Commercial Buildings, Rehabbing - No Comments

After I fixed up the offices yesterday, I went crazy moving things around so that the great hall area looked decent (I wrote about it here, on my other blog). It still was dark and cave-like. But at least it looked OK when Richard Crowe, president of the bank where all our money comes from,…

Continue Reading
We Can Work Again!
12/14/18 - Business Update, Commercial Buildings - No Comments

All of our stuff being in the Hermit Haus building does not mean all our stuff is set up. Since I know Mandi’s writing a blog post about the move, I’ll focus today on our ability to work, which is, getting our offices set up. Lee spent a lot of time the past two days…

Continue Reading
Ready to Paint at Parkwood – Wanna Buy?
12/13/18 - Rehabbing, Strategies - No Comments

This house is getting closer and closer to being done. Here’s a sneak preview of the exterior paint colors. On the left is a sample with light exterior and dark trim, while on the right is dark exterior and light trim, all gray. The original plan was to paint the outside light gray, however the…

Continue Reading
Note That New Address!
12/12/18 - Commercial Buildings, Rehabbing - No Comments

Hip, hip hooray! The Cameron office move happened! There were two very tired Hermit Haus folks at the end of the day, but Mandi and Lee persevered and got all the stuff done. I don’t think they want to move offices again any time soon. The plan is most assuredly NOT to move again. So,…

Continue Reading