Mike CHS
Herd Master
Many years ago, my daughter's (now) ex husband had the nerve to ask me what I would be leaving them. He was literally shocked when I said "nothing".
Ridgetop - our place and how we muddle along
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SageHill
Herd Master
I'm with everyone else on this one. Get while the getting is good. You don't want someone complaining and making you feel guilty and end up fixing something. For the little convenience of having a place to stay for dr visits etc - time to transfer all that to TX.
murphysranch
Herd Master
My Mother got a letter from her husband's adult daughter who was a pharmacist in HI. She asked for money to pay her tax bill, since Mother's husband had died that year. Mother and D had an A/B trust. Mother ignored her.
12 years later, Mother still lives. ahahahahah
12 years later, Mother still lives. ahahahahah
- Thread starter
- #4,154
Ridgetop
Herd Master
And the Ridgetop MIS-adventures continue. 
This morning DS1 was on the way back from dropping DSIL2 in Dallas. He was stopped to make a turn when a 19 year old girl ON HER CELL PHONE hit the front corner of his car. She was going fast and when she hit his car it ripped off the front bumper! He had to tie it back on with rope! She got out of her car still talking on her cell, and told him that they had to exchange info "FAST BECAUSE SHE WAS IN A HURRY TO GET TO CLASS!" He took pictures of the damages, license plate, her license, and her insurance card. When talking to the insurance company to report the accident he realized that the insurance card she had given him was for a Bronco. She was driving an Echo! The insurance man told DS1 "If I was allowed to tell you what I see in her file . . . ." DS1 thinks that the girl probably has a lot of accidents/tickets. The insurance company said they will send out their investigator.
Next up - Bryan rented the trencher and he and DS1 began trenching for the water and electric lines this afternoon. Several hours into the job the trencher slipped the chain. No way to fix it and the shop was closed. Bryan will return it in the morning and get another trencher.
DS1 is continuing to test the water from the well.
I will be calling the lady to have her come up and look at the property. It doesn't look very good right now with the living room empty of furniture and filled with boxes, and the weeds starting to grow out on the field. Around the house the fake grass looks good though and the patio is nice. I will set up a time for her to come up to look at the property which is what she is interested in since she wants to build her own equestrian training center. The sheep pens are all gone, the field is vacant now, but the barn and sheds are still there. She might want to purchase the Connexes too for hay and grain. Might not be what she wants, but unless she sees it no one will know. For enough money we will move everything left on the property into storage.
This morning DS1 was on the way back from dropping DSIL2 in Dallas. He was stopped to make a turn when a 19 year old girl ON HER CELL PHONE hit the front corner of his car. She was going fast and when she hit his car it ripped off the front bumper! He had to tie it back on with rope! She got out of her car still talking on her cell, and told him that they had to exchange info "FAST BECAUSE SHE WAS IN A HURRY TO GET TO CLASS!" He took pictures of the damages, license plate, her license, and her insurance card. When talking to the insurance company to report the accident he realized that the insurance card she had given him was for a Bronco. She was driving an Echo! The insurance man told DS1 "If I was allowed to tell you what I see in her file . . . ." DS1 thinks that the girl probably has a lot of accidents/tickets. The insurance company said they will send out their investigator.
Next up - Bryan rented the trencher and he and DS1 began trenching for the water and electric lines this afternoon. Several hours into the job the trencher slipped the chain. No way to fix it and the shop was closed. Bryan will return it in the morning and get another trencher.
DS1 is continuing to test the water from the well.
I will be calling the lady to have her come up and look at the property. It doesn't look very good right now with the living room empty of furniture and filled with boxes, and the weeds starting to grow out on the field. Around the house the fake grass looks good though and the patio is nice. I will set up a time for her to come up to look at the property which is what she is interested in since she wants to build her own equestrian training center. The sheep pens are all gone, the field is vacant now, but the barn and sheds are still there. She might want to purchase the Connexes too for hay and grain. Might not be what she wants, but unless she sees it no one will know. For enough money we will move everything left on the property into storage.
SageHill
Herd Master
Grrrr on that “accident” sounds like she shouldn’t have a license.
Keeping fingers crossed on the gal looking at your property. She may not even be interested in the house if she wants to build an equestrian center. It could end up a caretakers house or similar if she doesn’t tear it down for a big barn or something (hydrotherapy pool perhaps!).
And you do know that the Equestrian Events for the next Olympics will be down here at Galloway Downs. Could have a bearing on that as well.
Keeping fingers crossed on the gal looking at your property. She may not even be interested in the house if she wants to build an equestrian center. It could end up a caretakers house or similar if she doesn’t tear it down for a big barn or something (hydrotherapy pool perhaps!).
And you do know that the Equestrian Events for the next Olympics will be down here at Galloway Downs. Could have a bearing on that as well.
- Thread starter
- #4,156
Ridgetop
Herd Master
She is interested in the house to live in on site. She has 8 horses of her own. It might be too steep for her prospective use. There is about 2 acres of flat land on top of the ridge. The ridge can be flattened a bit more, and there are other flat areas where stalls can be put up. Turn outs can be made using electric fencing on the hillsides. There is a gate onto the trails. We would like to sell it to a horse owner.
If she is not interested, I will come back after Christmas to paint the interior and get the place ready for sale. I think I will start on doing stuff here next week by stripping the wallpaper in the hall. Then I will move on to the bathroom wallpaper. The paper in the end of the kitchen looks good still, so I don't know whether I will remove that. If we decide to put the house on the market there are a lot of small repairs to be done. We will haul off our belongings and put them in storage, or rent a giant moving truck to move them to Texas and put them in storage there. I am glad I already started giving stuff to the kids. I need to give more away, and see what exactly is being stored that belongs to the children. DS2 has 2 small plastic stoage sheds full of their crap, and part of one Connex has his stuff in it. There is also a bunch of furture in the Connex we need to take to the consignment store in Palm Springs, as well as stuff to give away or donate.
Bryan took the trencher went back and apparently found out it had not been cleaned or checked after the previous use. The shop is having to take it apart and totally rebuild it. Bryan got another one and they have finished putting in the lines. Oncor came out and installed the electric lines from the pole to the new meter yesterday. The new meter is not in because that is a separate work order. They will be out again in another week with the meter. I think. Then the house current has to be disconnected whie they hook up and energize the barn, storage shed, and well wiring. At least this work is addind value to the property by having electric lighting and outlets in the barn.
DS1 ordered a new water test kit for magnesium and some other metals. It arrived today and he is going to test the well water again. We will probably have to drill another well for house water, but I would like to keep this one running if it can be cleaned up enough for the livestock.
DS1 corralled all the lambs and checked the ear tag and scrapie tag numbers together. He gave them to me over the phone to check off. Now I can register the rest of them. I got a butcher name from Cody in Sulphur Springs and will make an appoinment for November/December. That will give us time to sort out any ewe lambs that don't suit us. They can go to slaughter or auction. He gave me 20 numbers - 3 rams, 17 ewes, but some have already been registered so I have to go through and check them off.
Just made appointments at Hopkins County Locker to slaughter 4 lambs. 2 in November and 2 in December. We will choose the ones that are small and feed them up on corn for a month. Any others we don't like can go to the auction yard. Once I see what we have, I will advertise some of the registered ewe lambs for sale. Anything not sold will be bred for May/June lambs. If I like them but they are small I will hold them to go in with the flock to be bred in April/May.
We played bridge yesterday. I enjoyed it but my knee swelled up from sitting for 3 hours. I did stand up and try to stretch the knee occasionally but it still got stiff. On the good side, it is bending perfectly and I will start my machine exercises to build up leg strength. I am also trying to kneel on it on the bed and am able to sort of do that. Early days though - only 6 weeks.
If she is not interested, I will come back after Christmas to paint the interior and get the place ready for sale. I think I will start on doing stuff here next week by stripping the wallpaper in the hall. Then I will move on to the bathroom wallpaper. The paper in the end of the kitchen looks good still, so I don't know whether I will remove that. If we decide to put the house on the market there are a lot of small repairs to be done. We will haul off our belongings and put them in storage, or rent a giant moving truck to move them to Texas and put them in storage there. I am glad I already started giving stuff to the kids. I need to give more away, and see what exactly is being stored that belongs to the children. DS2 has 2 small plastic stoage sheds full of their crap, and part of one Connex has his stuff in it. There is also a bunch of furture in the Connex we need to take to the consignment store in Palm Springs, as well as stuff to give away or donate.
Bryan took the trencher went back and apparently found out it had not been cleaned or checked after the previous use. The shop is having to take it apart and totally rebuild it. Bryan got another one and they have finished putting in the lines. Oncor came out and installed the electric lines from the pole to the new meter yesterday. The new meter is not in because that is a separate work order. They will be out again in another week with the meter. I think. Then the house current has to be disconnected whie they hook up and energize the barn, storage shed, and well wiring. At least this work is addind value to the property by having electric lighting and outlets in the barn.
DS1 ordered a new water test kit for magnesium and some other metals. It arrived today and he is going to test the well water again. We will probably have to drill another well for house water, but I would like to keep this one running if it can be cleaned up enough for the livestock.
DS1 corralled all the lambs and checked the ear tag and scrapie tag numbers together. He gave them to me over the phone to check off. Now I can register the rest of them. I got a butcher name from Cody in Sulphur Springs and will make an appoinment for November/December. That will give us time to sort out any ewe lambs that don't suit us. They can go to slaughter or auction. He gave me 20 numbers - 3 rams, 17 ewes, but some have already been registered so I have to go through and check them off.
Just made appointments at Hopkins County Locker to slaughter 4 lambs. 2 in November and 2 in December. We will choose the ones that are small and feed them up on corn for a month. Any others we don't like can go to the auction yard. Once I see what we have, I will advertise some of the registered ewe lambs for sale. Anything not sold will be bred for May/June lambs. If I like them but they are small I will hold them to go in with the flock to be bred in April/May.
We played bridge yesterday. I enjoyed it but my knee swelled up from sitting for 3 hours. I did stand up and try to stretch the knee occasionally but it still got stiff. On the good side, it is bending perfectly and I will start my machine exercises to build up leg strength. I am also trying to kneel on it on the bed and am able to sort of do that. Early days though - only 6 weeks.
SageHill
Herd Master
When we sold our house OMG 5 years ago now, the biggest thing any realtor that came in wanted to do was go neutral. BORING. God, the one we chose then wanted to paint the wood ceilings white, wood walls (cedar) white as well. I put my foot down and said NO. We were working with that one to list it. A week after I said absolutely NO, but ok we'll change out carpet and paint painted walls light neutral or white, the realtor fired US! She couldn't deal with it. GRRR idiot.
But for the most part the whites and light neutrals are what the buyers are looking for.
Fingers crossed for that gal to say "YES"! It's hard to find level-ish or flat land, if you've got 2 ac flat that's great. Anything she wants to build can be done with cut and fill (for the most part).
But for the most part the whites and light neutrals are what the buyers are looking for.
Fingers crossed for that gal to say "YES"! It's hard to find level-ish or flat land, if you've got 2 ac flat that's great. Anything she wants to build can be done with cut and fill (for the most part).
- Thread starter
- #4,158
Ridgetop
Herd Master
DH has come down with whatever bug DS2 and his famiy had while in Minnesota. They caught it here since DS2 got off the plane and went straight t bed with flu syptoms. It went through the family while back there, but Nicholas had a fever when he came home. DH succumbed last night with vomitting, fever, etc. I slept on the sofa to avoid getting it. 
Not sure if that worked or if I spent an uncomfortable night for nothing. Apparently it only lasts a couple days so hopefully he will be well again tomorrow.
NIght before last DD2 was outside in the rear yard (not the field) sitting and talking on her phone to DSIL2. Her dog was with her. A coyote came right into the yard! Her black German Shepherd went after it. As they ran onto the field another coyote joined the first and both attacked Abby. She managed to fight them off and they ran off with her chasing them and DD2 screaming after her to cone back. Abby had no punctures on her, but it shows how bad our coyote problem is here. People used to roll their eyes when I told them we had 3 or 4 Anatolians to protect 6 acres. It has only been since June that the last Anatolian has been off the property. In 2 months the coyotes were coming on the property into the field. Now they are even coming into the yard! Predator load is heavy in the residential neighborhoods backing up to foothills. People are always disbelieving that within 15 minutes to downtown Burbank we have so many problems with predators. Burbank actually backs up on the north side to the Angeles Forest mountains. Cougars are filmed prowling in yards on door cameras, and often people find bears in their yards!
We have definitely decided to sell. Partly due to election possibilities. If Kamala is elected her new tax strategy is to raise the capital gains tax rate to 42%. She also wants to tax unrealized capital gains. That means that if you own something and it becomes more valuable (property, stock, retirement income, etc.) the government will tax it on the new value it becomes. This would be before you sell it.
If you don't have the money to pay the taxes the government can either put a lien on it or take it.
The other reason is that the Democrats here in California led by Gov. Gruesom want to repeal Prop 13 which is the only thing keeping property taxes affordable for seniors or anyone who has owned their home for years. It has been opposed by both property dwellers and rental owners for th last 10-20 attempts. Now with so many illegals coming in, homeless allowed to cmp in the streets, and the cost of rentals and homes going up, I can see the Dems using the removal of Prop 13 against property owners. People that can't afford to buy or rent may very well vote to repeal it to punish property owners. The first opportunity would be a continuation of the push to remove Prop 13 from comercial property. That would segue into removal of Prop 13 from rental property which would technically be considered "commercial". There is already talk of the government price fixing rents and sale prices of property.
We will talk to DS2 so he will decide if he wants to buy it. Also can he afford it with the additional 4 1/2 acre empty lot since both have to go together. If they decide not to buy it, we will put it on the market and he and DDIL2 can rent or buy another place. They might actually be happier in a standard neighborhood house with a pool and less upkeep. This property takes a huge amont of work and money to keep it up. In addition, the private road will need to be resurfaced again eventually.
We will have to rent storage units to remove everything from the property while getting it ready to sell. DS2 has almost as much stuff as we do in the small storage sheds near the barn andin the Connex. LOL We will sort and donate as we remove stuff to a storage unit. We can transport a lot of the buiding materials we were going to leave for DS2 to Texas. Stone for flower beds, paving, etc. or have DS2 and 3 decide what they want and take it.
Anyway the decision to sell has been made. Just a matter of to whom we sell, and whether we have to put it on the market. Kris has his California Realtor license so he can handle any paperwork. I have every receipt for all work done on the property for tax purposes since we bought the property.
DS1's water test showed very low levels of magnesium in the well water. He is looking on line for water test companies so we canfind out what is causing the color and film on the water when it settles. We will spend some of the house money on a new well and tractor. DS1 wants some sort of 4 wheeler so he can go around the fences checking them every couple of days. He says it takes him half the day on Baby 'Bota which has a top speed of 2 mph! LOL He has been pricing new and used ones. He wants one with some sort of cargo bin to carry dead sheep and tools. If we sell the CA house he can have one.
He sent me numbers of 2 ewes that marked today with the crayon color change. One is a remark.
Oncar is connecting the new farm meter today. Then DS1 and Bryan will hook up the wores to the well pump and the barn. Lights in the barn in time for coming short winter days. Also for fans next summer and shearing equipment. It is coming along!
Not sure if that worked or if I spent an uncomfortable night for nothing. Apparently it only lasts a couple days so hopefully he will be well again tomorrow.NIght before last DD2 was outside in the rear yard (not the field) sitting and talking on her phone to DSIL2. Her dog was with her. A coyote came right into the yard! Her black German Shepherd went after it. As they ran onto the field another coyote joined the first and both attacked Abby. She managed to fight them off and they ran off with her chasing them and DD2 screaming after her to cone back. Abby had no punctures on her, but it shows how bad our coyote problem is here. People used to roll their eyes when I told them we had 3 or 4 Anatolians to protect 6 acres. It has only been since June that the last Anatolian has been off the property. In 2 months the coyotes were coming on the property into the field. Now they are even coming into the yard! Predator load is heavy in the residential neighborhoods backing up to foothills. People are always disbelieving that within 15 minutes to downtown Burbank we have so many problems with predators. Burbank actually backs up on the north side to the Angeles Forest mountains. Cougars are filmed prowling in yards on door cameras, and often people find bears in their yards!
If I paint out the walls, I will go with off white throughout. Using the same color will cut down on paint costs. I wont have to paint the woodwork since it is natural golden oak so just taping the moldings is required before painting. The moldings, doors, and woodwork are golden oak, the entry and one bedroom have white painted moldings. The floors are oak hardwood in the living room, ceramic tile in the family room, kitchen, bathrooms and hall. Two bedrooms are vinyl plank, the other 3 are wood laminate. The exterior siding is a combination of vinyl siding and colored stucco so very little in touch up painting except for exterior doors from dogs. 10 windows are dual pane, as are garden doors. Only 4 windows are single pane. If we put it on the market I will hire someone to wash all the windows and mini blinds. I will scrub the oak cabinets and woodwork which will give me an opportunity to revarnish any worn areas. If necessary I can have the tile kitchen countertops replaced with inexpensive granite. However, we will offer to leave a couple thousand in escrow for any thing like that.
We have definitely decided to sell. Partly due to election possibilities. If Kamala is elected her new tax strategy is to raise the capital gains tax rate to 42%. She also wants to tax unrealized capital gains. That means that if you own something and it becomes more valuable (property, stock, retirement income, etc.) the government will tax it on the new value it becomes. This would be before you sell it.
If you don't have the money to pay the taxes the government can either put a lien on it or take it.The other reason is that the Democrats here in California led by Gov. Gruesom want to repeal Prop 13 which is the only thing keeping property taxes affordable for seniors or anyone who has owned their home for years. It has been opposed by both property dwellers and rental owners for th last 10-20 attempts. Now with so many illegals coming in, homeless allowed to cmp in the streets, and the cost of rentals and homes going up, I can see the Dems using the removal of Prop 13 against property owners. People that can't afford to buy or rent may very well vote to repeal it to punish property owners. The first opportunity would be a continuation of the push to remove Prop 13 from comercial property. That would segue into removal of Prop 13 from rental property which would technically be considered "commercial". There is already talk of the government price fixing rents and sale prices of property.
We will talk to DS2 so he will decide if he wants to buy it. Also can he afford it with the additional 4 1/2 acre empty lot since both have to go together. If they decide not to buy it, we will put it on the market and he and DDIL2 can rent or buy another place. They might actually be happier in a standard neighborhood house with a pool and less upkeep. This property takes a huge amont of work and money to keep it up. In addition, the private road will need to be resurfaced again eventually.
We will have to rent storage units to remove everything from the property while getting it ready to sell. DS2 has almost as much stuff as we do in the small storage sheds near the barn andin the Connex. LOL We will sort and donate as we remove stuff to a storage unit. We can transport a lot of the buiding materials we were going to leave for DS2 to Texas. Stone for flower beds, paving, etc. or have DS2 and 3 decide what they want and take it.
Anyway the decision to sell has been made. Just a matter of to whom we sell, and whether we have to put it on the market. Kris has his California Realtor license so he can handle any paperwork. I have every receipt for all work done on the property for tax purposes since we bought the property.
DS1's water test showed very low levels of magnesium in the well water. He is looking on line for water test companies so we canfind out what is causing the color and film on the water when it settles. We will spend some of the house money on a new well and tractor. DS1 wants some sort of 4 wheeler so he can go around the fences checking them every couple of days. He says it takes him half the day on Baby 'Bota which has a top speed of 2 mph! LOL He has been pricing new and used ones. He wants one with some sort of cargo bin to carry dead sheep and tools. If we sell the CA house he can have one.
He sent me numbers of 2 ewes that marked today with the crayon color change. One is a remark.
Oncar is connecting the new farm meter today. Then DS1 and Bryan will hook up the wores to the well pump and the barn. Lights in the barn in time for coming short winter days. Also for fans next summer and shearing equipment.
It is coming along!
SageHill
Herd Master
Really hope you can sell w/o a realtor/listing it. The new law on commissions is not good, esp for the buyer. Who knows what that will do to the market. We've got a Honda Pioneer side by side -- love it. Goes anywhere, the back will dump contents with the flip of a lever. Just a 2 seater, I ~think there's also a 4 seater.
- Thread starter
- #4,160
Ridgetop
Herd Master
We will use our friend and property manager Kris Franks. He is actually locate in Fort Worth but has his California license so will go through him. Whether we list or not, all the California paperwork is horrendous so will use him for that. It is worth paying a licensed person for.
Just went through the tag numbers and filled out the registration paperwork for the remaining lambs.
Just went through the tag numbers and filled out the registration paperwork for the remaining lambs.
