Where to start? Mr. PFL and I came home a day early from our vacation (we were supposed to be back Tuesday, but arrived home Monday night instead, cutting out one day in San Diego) and we (or at least I) am still feeling jet-lagged and off-schedule. The jet-lag and the ridiculousness of Hawaii roads are really the only negatives I have to report about the trip. Hawaii was as amazing as I had hoped.
Condo Update: So, just before we left, I signed a contract with a handyman service for our rental properties. The day before we got home, while we were hanging out with Mr. PFL’s college roommate in San Diego, the furnace broke, again. I advised the tenants to contact the handyman service; they did; he provided a temporary fix and emailed me for permission to get the new part (the same fan broke in the same way, again!); I told him not to since it was under warranty; and I got the invoice yesterday where they charged me $0 for the service call. Wow! We also now have a brand-new furnace as of yesterday for $2,500. I left the tenants a couple of bottles of wine and a thank you note; hopefully they will forget this ever happened and will live there forever…
Duplex Update: After a ridiculous amount of drama over the past couple of months, the duplex that we are selling on a land contract basis seems to have stabilized again. I nearly fainted when the purchaser actually showed up at my office with a money order like she promised. Hopefully she will get caught up over the next few months and everything will be okay. I also just received confirmation yesterday that my application to buy the vacant lot next door has been approved by the City. We will be getting it for the low, low price of $705 (yes, seven hundred and five dollars) plus $100 processing fee.
BD 6-Unit Update: Unfortunately, between the holidays, the weather, and all of the traveling we have done in the last six weeks, I haven’t cleaned and listed the empty unit yet. I also received an email from one of the other tenants a couple of days ago telling me that she will be moving out on the 26th. I was getting ready to evict her, anyway, because she was so behind in her rent, so this was actually a blessing and saves us both a lot of trouble. So, I’ll have two 2-bedrooms ready to list next week (I hope!). I also need to reach out to the two 1-bedroom units to see if they want to upgrade to a 2-bedroom, sign a new one-year lease, go month-to-month, or move-out. I had a lot better luck renting the 1-bedrooms, so I’m hoping one or both will consider upgrading.
TEFL Update: I haven’t done any courses since before the holidays. Mr. PFL is nearly done.
Travel Agency Update: Right around Christmas, I had a group planned. Then it fell through. Bummer. And a lot of work for nothing, except experience. I am working on a couple other projects now, though, and I should get some commissions from our trip to Hawaii (hotel, rental car).
Real-Job Update: Ugh. We still have them. As I told Mr. PFL when he was getting anxious to come home: I’m not looking forward to dealing with difficult people and therefore I don’t want to go home. It would be amazing to live in a world where nobody needed a lawyer; I’ll settle for living in a world where I don’t have to be a lawyer anymore.
Life-Plan Update: I want to have a small coffee farm near Kona on the Big Island, Hawaii. I know this sounds totally insane, but it is actually a practical possibility. Mr. PFL and I have been doing some research since we got back, and it just might work. I’ll share more about this soon.
For now, I need to get to work on some lawyering and travel planning.
Let me just leave you with this picture of sea turtles. Aloha!