002 TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS

There is such a mixture of emotions running through me with regards to the move.  There is a deep sadness that the house which has been in the family for 70 years is no longer part of the family.  There is the excitement that comes with the purchase of a new place.  There is the anticipation of the closing on the old house and the resulting influx of money.  Seeing my bank account blossom from $400,000 in debt and credit cards maxed out to having over a million dollars.

I'm a millionaire!  Which lasted all of 15 minutes as the money was transferred to service debt, pay the new house, pay taxes, pay commissions etc.  It was truly fun while it lasted.  But at least I come out of it all with a new place, a new city, a new adventure and debt free.  My sister asked me on my 60th birthday, "so did you ever believe you would be 60, have a big mortgage and be living here?"  Truth is, no I didn't.  I would have gladly stayed, but physically and monetarily I just couldn't make a go of it.

I met the new owners and they are a very nice young couple, who grew up just six blocks from here and even went to the same Elementary and High schools as I did.  They love the neighbourhood and have always loved the location of our house, across from the park.  He is a dentist and she a real estate agent, but it was her brother (also an agent) who brokered the deal.

They have been very cooperative with allowing me to stay in the house until I have a place to go.  As he stated, "it's in our best interests to have someone living in the house until we can get the permits all worked out".  Yes, the house will be torn down, but I knew that long before I even considered selling it.  The house has seen 75 years (it was built in 1941) and was showing its age.  After the closing on October 30, 2015, the house no longer belonged to me and I was a now a renter in the house I had owned until the day before.

THE OFFENDING OIL TANK

 One day in early November the new owner called and was very sorry.  He had gone to his insurance company to get insurance on the house.  I had switched my policy over to "Renters Insurance" but that no longer covered the structure.  His insurance company refused to insure the house because of the oil furnace.  He tried several more companies with the same result, no insurance unless the oil tank was removed.

Of course once the tank was removed the furnace would no longer work and we were just heading into Fall and then Winter.  He didn't want too have the house left uninsured and I sure didn't want to live in a place that was uninsured, so I immediately agreed to have the tank removed.  He delivered four little space heaters to help keep the chill off.

GONE

A BIG EMPTY SPACE