And my pool

And I can't sign off without commenting on my pool. We had to drain our pool this weekend - it was a disaster. I should have drained it last year but it is such a hassle. The water in Phoenix is so hard that over time it's like you're swimming in chalk. It just about becomes impossible to maintain the chemistry in the pool. So, we drained it. It was stressful. I think our main drain is seriously clogged ( I have never noticed any water movement down there) and so I had to rent a drain pump from Home Depot. Holy crap that thing was awesome! The downer was, of course, that the discharge hose from the pump didn't come close to fitting into our cute little sewer clean out pipe and even if it had I don't think it could have handled the flow. So, I went into my alley, located a manhole cover, and popped it out. Down goes the hose, on goes the pump, away goes the water. I was seriously stressed out about it because my neighbor on one side is a cop and the one behind me has gotten on me about pool water and trash and stuff...so I didn't want to piss him off. All things considered, it was pretty cool watching it drain away. When it finished, Aimee and I spent a few hours (late at night) cleaning the surface and pressure washing away the scum that accumulates over the years. We were really hoping we might find someone to resurface it for us but the bank said NO THANK YOU when we looked into getting some money. I guess we're in a recession and a housing crunch. I can't wait until things cool off and people get back on their feet...it's going to be hard for us to sell this house unless we can do some things like resurface the pool and what not. Anyways, it was empty and clean and we decided to just fill it back up this evening after getting some CRAZY quotes to resurface. So, as we speak I have two hoses spilling forth into the depths and hopefully tomorrow night it will be full. What a freaking crazy week. At least now the pool will be nice and clean and we can start having some parties :)

I also got some cute pictures of Aimee sweeping the pool. She is the coolest wife ever!

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Posted in: home improvement,real estate

Well, as you all know Aimee and I have a house in Florida. It's the house my grandparents built in 1960 and I bought it in 2001. We got very lucky as we bought it just BEFORE the big housing boom so we paid next to nothing for it and its value shot up very quickly. When we moved to Arizona we decided to keep it and rent it out mainly because we weren't sure if we'd stay in AZ but also because its a piece of family history. We also didn't think we'd ever be able to buy again on Merritt Island the way the real estate market was going. Anyways, it has been an adventure being a landlord, thank God for my dad who manages it for us, and we have gone through a lot of ups and downs. Well, we have had good tenants for the past two year (finally!) but have never really been able to build up a surplus again like we had the first few years we rented it. I got insanely worried today when I got a voicemail from State Farm telling me they needed to talk to me ASAP about my house in Merritt Island. Yikes! I was really nervous when I called and, thankfully, it wasn't an emergency. Unfortunately, it appears that State Farm is pulling out of Florida altogether and thereby leaving me with no homeowners insurance. I guess it won't happen until November and they told me they are going to help get us a new policy but I'm a little nervous. I have heard nothing but horror stories from friends and families trying to get insurance and, frankly, I always felt secure knowing that State Farm had our back. When the hurricanes rolled through in 2004 they took great care of us and put a new roof on the place for us with absolutely minimal hassle (I MIGHT have even wound up with a few bucks in my pocket after it was all said and done).

Apparently there was a big to do between the Governor and State Farm and he was threatening them in order to keep them from pulling out (that's what she said) but it must not have worked. I guess his threat to banish State Farm auto insurance from the State wasn't enough. There is a bit more info here but I'm not sure how much most of you care anyway. Wish us luck in the future!

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Posted in: family,florida,real estate