Condo is listed!

We listed the condo on Thursday night. We were going to rent, but after running the figures we decided to sell and invest the money we get. This will give us a much better return than the condo would, also it is a lot less work, and lot less stress. I never slept on Thursday night and so had to drag myself in to work on Friday with a bad migraine. I managed to get through my first class, but then was sent home. I slept the rest of the day! Saturday Michael and I spent the day cleaning and getting the place ready for our agent to take photos for the mls web site, which he did on Saturday afternoon. We also had our first showing on Saturday afternoon. So now the routine begins....keep the place clean and tidy, keep the bed made etc. I hope it sells quickly.

Going to New York

On the weekend of May 22 to 24th we are taking the motorhome, towing the car and going to the Rochester area in New York. We are going to camp at one of the beautiful New York State Parks and go shopping. The Canadian $ is at par with the US$ and their taxes are lower. We are allowed about $400 each to bring goods back duty free.I hope the weather will be good!

88 Days!!

Over the weekend we met with some South African friends who are in the rental real estate market (they buy properties to rent out). They were able to give us a huge amount of help when it came to finding tenants, doing credit checks and police checks, etc. I have also sent an email off to a real estate company who specialize in getting tenants. They charge the equivalent of a month's rent to do this. Expensive!

Tomorrow I fly out to California for a week to see Virginia, then when I get back, hopefully, we will begin marketing the property. We want to rent it furnished as we then won't have find storage and we can charge a premium. Michael will spend the week that I am away, finishing off the painting and doing some cleaning of base boards, etc. I have found an old toothbrush that he is going to be doing some scrubbing with!!

MacGregor Point. Easter weekend

Our weekend at MacGregor Point was very successful It was the first time we had towed the car behind the motor home. Back last year we bought a used Saturn for next to nothing as the dealership was going out of business and Saturn has been discontinued. The we bought Blue Ox tow set up , also used from a guy who was selling his motor home. All we had to do was get the base plate welded onto the Saturn.

The Blue Ox tow bar attaches into the receiver on the motorhome and then onto the baseplate on Saturn. The Saturn is towed with the ACC on, hand brake off and a fuse removed so that the battery does not go dead. We have a brake Buddy, also bought from the guy along with the Blue Ox. This very nifty gadget is a brake accessory that applied the brakes in the car as soon as you apply the brakes in the motorhome.

The motorhome did not even know that there was a car back there! We did make one big mistake in that we went on a dirt road. The car engine was covered in dust! We'll know better next time.

The sites are very large with a "Drive Thru" which means that you don't have to reverse into the site, just drive through on the little driveway. Very easy access. 30 amp electricity but no water or sewer. We managed very well with the tanks, only having to top up the Clean water once or twice.

The weather was fantastic, feeling quite summerlike for most of the weekend. We enjoyed walks, cycling and a few trips into the nearby town of Port Huron. Great fish and chips at the Lord Elgin restaurant. Highly recommended.

The campground was almost empty, except for the Saturday, Sunday and Monday. We were there from Thursday to Tuesday, so enjoyed the peace and quiet. Here are some photos of our set up, and our camp site.

A flurry of activity

I advertised some stuff on Kijiji.ca and it was all sold. I sold 2 tow hitches, a bike rack and 2 filing cabinets.

I have spoken to a friend (Hermien) in the real estate business and she says DO NOT SELL!! Rent the condo furnished to a business if possible.
Businesses around the area are always looking for places to temporarily house visiting executives. I had heard that the local power generating station is doing some refurbishments and they will be bringing in people. We also have numerous office buildings in the area that may be interested. For a furnished rental we may get top dollar. By renting, it means that we still have the use of the storage locker downstairs for storing out of season clothes and those things that may still be of use to us. Not cutting the cord completely. Full timing may not work out and then we will have somewhere to come home to.

Good advice, Hermien! She and her hubby, Dirk are coming round in a couple of weekends time to help us to dress the house for photos and offer some help. What a friend!!