Here we are in week 4 of a 2 week construction project which has eliminated any hope of coming in under budget with this deal. That’s OK – I don’t think it will be that far over budget and I’ve learned a lot in this process. In addition, I do believe I was being setup by the locals due to the fact that NOBODY ever mentioned anything about the mold. My contractor claimed that a 3 year old would know that was mold. Yep, some locations just aren’t conducive to successful “rehabbing remotely”. Knowing who you can trust is critical.
If you remember from part 1, my contractor was doing a friend a favor by bringing her 21 year old son to help with the project. This was a total win-win as he has never been out of the state of Alabama, he could get some income and enjoy some beach time. Everything seemed to go along just fine. Suddenly my contractor mentioned he was putting the kid on a bus back home. “What?” I was worried about my contractor’s trip home. I really didn’t want him to make that long drive alone and suggested that if the kid didn’t have any more work to do, then just let him hangout at the beach. He said that was the problem…he spent some time at the beach over the weekend and got into a little trouble with the locals and ended up spending the weekend in jail. Yep – put that kid on a bus back home.
Remember that we are in week 4 of a 2 week project. Some of the delays couldn’t have been helped, as in any rehab project there will be surprises (I’ll tell you about Chicago another time). Every time the surprises are different. Sometimes you find a leak you didn’t expect, or an unknown growth between walls, or maybe there’s no electricity to a building. Sometimes you poke a hole into drywall and just see something you wish you never saw. Delays and surprises are a normal part of a rehabber’s daily life. But I admit I am a little suspect about delays when the contractor tells me about this really neat lady he met out there that lives about 2 blocks away from the beach. Hmmm.
The next think you know, I’m getting contacted by Virginia Beach wholesalers wanting to send me deals. Ha! I think my traveling contractor may never return.
To be continued…