Today I am thankful for the grace of others.
I had to take a loan out to fix up the house.
As you probably know, my marriage ended ten years prior to the finalization of the divorce. My ex had numerous ways to put off the divorce.
He had never-ending legal issues which he didn't resolve. My lawyer suggested waiting until these ended to file.
Sigh....
I never wanted the house. I expected him to take it. I hadn't worked a real job in two decades and I doubted I could make the mortgage payments.
I expected him to get the house and the kids.
I expected to pay child support.
Of course, my ex demanded that I keep the house. We had little equity in it due to the housing crisis.
One lawyer thought he wanted me to stay in the house so he could continue to stalk me. My plan was to sell it after the divorce was final.
The only problem was that he refused to move out for three years, two months and five days after he was initially court ordered to leave.
In that time, he tore up the house. The house was neglected the ten years leading up to the divorce.
There is mold in the basement, the gutters are gone, the carpet and flooring is disgusting. The shelving, plumbing, cabinets and other things are broken. There is water damage in the basement apartment due to the lack of cleaning up the water from the shower.
It is BAD.
This is not to mention the mess he left in the basement apartment. We found nests of mice in his room. There is damage to the walls.
The doors are damaged due to the stalking. The shed and gate are broken.
The city offered me an interest free loan. Since we were at it, I decided to do the neighborhood a favor and replace the roof, the porch, deck and other things that really don't look all that great.
We got some quotes which ranged from $58,000 to $120,000. In fact, the outlier was the lowest bid.
I feared taking that bid despite all the positive references I found.
I adore the contractor. He's an artist. That's the kind of person I want to work on my house, someone who understands who colors and textures go together.
There was this fear that they'd lose money so I didn't want to accept their bid until I learned more.
It turns out that the company is owned by a woman who is battling an illness that killed one of my former mentors. She's getting our prayers now.
I wonder if she was raised by a single mother.
I took the bid.
It looks like I now have more that I have to pay forward now.
May all the deals you enter be win-wins for everyone.
Love ya,
S.