What you did today

[Calax]

Well, my boss told me today that next week we should all be getting a dollar raise

And that next weekend she's dragging me to a birthday party (I think) so I can be social and find myself a woman. Apparently not realizing that my "good" clothes are basically my work uniforms.

[Gfted1]

Congrats!

[JFSOCC]

Well, my boss told me today that next week we should all be getting a dollar raise

And that next weekend she's dragging me to a birthday party (I think) so I can be social and find myself a woman. Apparently not realizing that my "good" clothes are basically my work uniforms.

maybe you can borrow clothes?

[Walsingham]

I am experimenting with the notion that perhaps my nightmares are caused by reading the news before going to bed. So I have eschewed it tonight in favour of looking at pictures of fluffy kittens.

 

EDIT:

 

Edited September 27, 2013 by Walsingham

[Calax]

And then spent most of my afternoon holding my sandwich away from the cat.

 

Didn't turn out so well

 

At a different point he was standing with all four of his paws on my arm as I held it extended.

Edited September 27, 2013 by Calax

[Labadal]

Got a tip on some property that I could buy. It'd cost me, but after some repairs, I could possibly sell with a double profit. I'd make as much money as two years of working. I have been thinking about this for the last two days. It's a big opportunity, but the risks aren't to be taken lightly in cases like this.

[Azdeus]

Yeah, that's a high risk buisness, it's very easy to get tricked into thinking "It's only this and this" that needs fixing, there are a ****load of things that can be hiding. How much experience with those things do you have?

[Labadal]

I don't have much experience with it. The person who suggested this to me has. I also trust this person unconditionally. I'd be the one coughing up the dough, he'd get paid for the work he does.

 

The thing is that if I wouldn't be able to sell, I wouldn't have a huge problem moving in myself. Though I would rather make some money on this. Other houses in the area go for double the price without any trouble. The difference with this place is that it hasn't had renovations for decades. We'd need to renovate the kitchen, toilets, and lots of other stuff. I'm currently calculating costs other than the actual buying fee to see if it is worth it with renovation costs included.

[Azdeus]

Warning! Anecdote!

 

I hope that your trust is'nt misplaced. A few years ago my mother started renovating one of our houses, with the help of my uncle and his friends company. She trusted him implicitly, I did'nt trust him to keep checks on his partner. The crapenter came and looked over the house, said 400 000kr.

They started working, dug up the front yard to lay down new sewage pipes and tanks. We got that cold snap, and they held up work, our water-pipes froze because they were exposed to -20C, and after the cold let up - they did'nt come back. Apparently my uncles partner bailed out with his machinery, told the carpenter we did'nt have the money, so they did'nt come either.

 

The next two carpenters took a look at the house and said, "Yeah, I could fix the house, but the logs in the foundation needs to be switched out, and that's really expensive! If I don't fix it, it'll set and become crooked and you'll have wasted all that money".

It's been years now, and the house is still just standing there, now as a giant fricking litterbox for cats and whatnot. :/

 

So, before you trust your friend, get a couple of other professionals to look it over and get a second and third opinion. It's a ****load of money you might loose afterall.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Azdeus

[Labadal]

I've heard and read about many stories like that. That is why I'm being extra careful and thinking and looking up stuff to be completely sure what to do. I'd be helping with renovations to cut costs. I'm not an expert but would lend a hand. There aren't many exterior things that need to be fixed and the pipes are a non issue. We're looking at 100.000 Kr for renovations, the buying fee is the only thing makes me cautious.

[Raithe]

Having a bout of flatness and lack of focus. Hm, also got that fasting blood test and ecg at the start of the week. That'll be fun. But mostly trying to psych myself up to go to a friends birthday bbq tonight. Although I have managed to pick up a card and a bottle of good tawny port to take along.  But the autumn seems to have flashed back into grimly grey weather today which isn't helping.

[Walsingham]

I am a big believer in personal trust and honour. But I caution you, as Azdeus did. The worst deal I've ever seen go wrong was because to much was done on faith. The malefactor talked a good line of trust etc. But when push came to shove he just legged it.

 

In fact, I would suggest you have a similar failure case in your instance.

 

The deal was between friends, with an emphasis on cheap work doing the house up. However, the failure occurred because the malefactor could find better paying work elsewhere. Works lingered so long trust was lost, and the guy just decided to cut his losses and run.

 

Just because you aren't paying up front doesn't mean you aren't at risk.

 

EDIT:

 

I just spent five minutes trying to find the new last notch on my belt, since I've been losing weight. It turns out that I'd gone past the last notch already in search of a good fit.

 

Thereby, ironically, proving I've become a bigger cretin.

Edited September 28, 2013 by Walsingham

[Nepenthe]

If it looks too good to be true, it usually is.

 

Getting progressively more and more broke here in the countryside, but looks like I might be getting at least some kind of bonus before the year's end.

[Ravenskya]

I just finished my last day at my current job, now I have a week to pack and move before I start my new one in Ohio. Ack, I'm stressing

[Walsingham]

I don't want to sound too pessimistic, though, Labadal. Only you know the guy.

 

I guess the charitable way to put my warning is that if a deal favours you too well, it may not survive even an honest initial agreement.

[Gorgon]

Don't go onto it blind I guess. If you are considering throwing a lot of money into it you should know everything you can find out about how it works and what the pitfalls are. It would be really stupid to lose money AND a friendship because you didn't have that information. 

[Labadal]

Good advice from you guys. I'll have my dad help me decide. He was once in the business and I'll contact another friend that works in the business but has too much on his plate to help out. I do have a hunch that they will say go for it.

 

Anyway, was supposed to take a nap, I slept four hours. My body probably needed that.

[JFSOCC]

I just finished my last day at my current job, now I have a week to pack and move before I start my new one in Ohio. Ack, I'm stressing

make a playlist on youtube of overly clichéd songs like "ch-ch-changes!" and "moving on" "moving on up" etc...

maybe humor will break the stress-tension a little

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

I went to a work meeting and then looked at scantily clad women.

[Guard Dog]

Got a tip on some property that I could buy. It'd cost me, but after some repairs, I could possibly sell with a double profit. I'd make as much money as two years of working. I have been thinking about this for the last two days. It's a big opportunity, but the risks aren't to be taken lightly in cases like this.

You should jump on this is you can pick it up without extending yourself. Real estate is seldom a bad bet. sometimes it is in the short term but seldom in the long term. The danger is you may have to site on it for a time.

[Guard Dog]

I've been working on the house the last few days. I'm extending the porch around the house. I'm doing all the work myself and it is slow going.

[Calax]

Spent four hours arguing with my cat about what legacy I would leave behind were I to end up dead in the near future.

 

Didn't go well...

[Labadal]

 

 

Got a tip on some property that I could buy. It'd cost me, but after some repairs, I could possibly sell with a double profit. I'd make as much money as two years of working. I have been thinking about this for the last two days. It's a big opportunity, but the risks aren't to be taken lightly in cases like this.

You should jump on this is you can pick it up without extending yourself. Real estate is seldom a bad bet. sometimes it is in the short term but seldom in the long term. The danger is you may have to site on it for a time.

Yep. Talked with my dad. He told me that the worst case scenario is that I move in there for a while. Price will go up, I'm sure about that.

[Woldan]

I've been wishing all day long I had 6 grands of spare money. 

A friend of a friend who owns a scrapyard sells some pretty cool stuff every once in a while, now hes a Caterpillar bulldozer (one of the REALLY big ones, I think its a 30 or 40 ton dozer) for 6 grands. It might not be the newest model and it shows some cosmetic wear and age but its in a very good shape. I've always been a sucker for big construction machines. Damn. 

[LadyCrimson]

My husband and his sister tried to do the house flip thing once. Altho in their case they were trying to flip it fast. Problem was, they tried it just on the edge of when the real estate market was about to (as it turned out) totally crash. Anyway, they did most of the work themselves - I think they hired a few cheapie guys for some manual labor, they went over-budget and time a bit, and in the end they basically made back what they put into it, but not much profit. Some, but not really worth all the time and trouble (in their opinions).

 

I think one of the keys is really knowing whether it's just the fact it doesn't have granite countertops and new appliances in the kitchen/bathroom that's keeping its price that much lower than average, or something else. Like the rooms are smaller, or the layout is different, it's a corner lot, the lot (not the house) is smaller than average, is it too close to a schoolyard, it didn't pass some inspection of some sort recently, and so on.  But yeah, if it's mostly some basic minor upgrades (new toilets, new sinks, new cheapish carpets, fresh paint etc), could be a nice turn, as long as you don't go too nuts on trying to make it seem "high end" on the inside.