Saturday, April 24, 2010

Logistics...

So, there's lots to do. DOH! I bought a house last year. You may think in retrospect that was a bad idea, but I didn't have a clue last year I'd be packing to move a gadzillion miles away! As you must be aware, the housing market isn't exactly booming for sellers, so the initial assessment from the realtor is that I certainly can sell my house if I'm willing to write a check for $10, 000. I'm not. So it looks as though I'll be entering landlord land, again.

I did that for several years, once as an out of state landlord and once as an in town landlord in Juneau. The out of state experience wasn't too bad. I had one of my tenants act as the overseer with a reduction in rent. That was because the property management group that I hired wound up asking me to pay them every month more than the rents I was supposedly collecting. For three months I was owing $700 or more in addition to the mortgage I was paying. Couldn't really figure out how that was legal, but I fired them pretty quickly. Scam artists! So I'm faced with that scenario again. Lesson: read the contract VERY carefully. It'll work out, because it has to.

Meanwhile, how to make this move work. You can't take your furniture with you. Have you looked at that map I mentioned? Barrow's nickname is, "The Top of the World", or as one of my friends put it, "The End of the Earth". (It's just a matter of perspective). The company does find a furnished abode for you, so it's not like we'll be dumped at the airport with no resources.

Today, my friend from work is coming over with her college son. He's moving to an unfurnished house next year with his buddies. Perfect! They can use the couch, the futon, the recliner, and all of the kitchen stuff. I can't part with my grandmother and my mother's furniture just yet, so it's storage bound. The big burly (<-not so burly) college boys are going to help move the big stuff around so I can get some space to sort out what goes, what goes into storage, what goes up to Anchorage.

Oh, I forgot to mention...we're leaving some stuff in Anchorage (well nearby, anyway) with Husband's sister and brother in law. They graciously offered to let us store our fabulous Honda Element with them. We've decided we should leave some toys and unusable in Barrow clothes (read that summer wear) at their house. We'll take golf clubs, downhill skis, roller blades, etc. You see how this takes some planning.
 

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