Thanks for your kindness lately. We really appreciate it.

We just gave away the valve of another "Black Diamond" Barnes Custom rifle again today - in an effort to get someone to walk thru our house in Md.

Kelly was reading a long article - and confirmed with the Realtor. Both said what I have been saying. HGTV has completely ruined any chance of selling used homes anymore. People fully expect that a crew of 30 have just spent three months of 24/7 shifts renovating and dressing out every speck of every home. If you have 60 watt light bulbs and the last Homes Show claimed 75 watts are in now ... Too bad. NEXT!!! And people go look at 45 homes and never decide. Of course, in our case - they don't even look. The home has beautiful original 1894 cabinets and hardwood floors with brick restored fireplace in the kitchen. BUT - that's not two acres of Granite and Stainless Steel .... Now IS IT????? And that's not a Restaurant grade six burner Gas Stove with double ovens, and Quad Terabyte Hard Drives to program the timer ..... well .... is it?????????? HUMMMMMHHH!!!!! no ..... it's not. NEXT!!!!!!

We'll never sell it. So - all the ones who said I was a fool for using my skills and tools to correct the house .... They're Right!!! Dumb ole Gary.

So - anyway .... It's 9:02 pm Friday night, and dumb old Gary is going back to the shop for the next shift. Thanks for reading!

Gary

Oh..... Injections Tuesday.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2014 05:20AM by barnespneumatic.

Thank goodness for injections!! I could use one in the temple right about now. Got myself into a project that uncovered another project that uncovered yet another. Leaving me to a ask myself why I started the first one to begin with. Oh ya that's right a small spec of rotten wood to replace around a door. "Honey, this should take me just 15 minutes, I'll be in for dinner in a sec." If I couldn't laugh at the predicament I got myself into I would douse that side of the house with gasoline and set it on fire!! The good thing is Home Depot isn't open at midnight so I'm just going to have to sleep on it. It's probably for the best.

I find that when the one day at a time approach doesn't work you just have to break it down into even smaller pieces and have a laugh along the way. I figure as long as you don't get one of those insane asylum laughs going, your doing fantastic!

Thanks for posting Gary, I enjoy the humor.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/16/2014 04:02AM by Sal.

Thanks Sal,

Oh yeah! We got 'cher humor right here. Buckets full.

Boy ... did we find a bunch of work in progress today? Yes we did. Buckets full of that too. 1981 ... welded up this bar of Damascus steel. Forged off about five individual blade blanks from it. Eventually used three of them. 1985 ... Got this huge knife show in New York City .... NEW YORK CITY??!!!!!!! Yessir. Lovely time it was too. And every year for twenty or so. The two days a year you spent at the show - and then the entire REST of the year you spent fighting the New York Tax People who assess penalties because you were late, absent, delinquent, pregnant, or constipated with the rest of their expectations of riches - and you can not convince them that it's possible for you to be there for one weekend and NOT there for the rest of the year. Hoggwash!!! You are here once .... you are ALWAYS here!!! So; to April's crappy bill and penalties, you copy Jan., Feb., and March's response papers and send the whole 20 pounds of paper back. Next month, you copy it all again, and add another month's response - send back 25 pounds of paper .... lovely place to do business. Where was I .... ???

Oh ... so I'd make as many knives as I could to take to sell. And, four would be left unfinished ............. and then decades would blink by ....

And so; it became that airgun parts were added .... and animals presented themselves by two's ... and none of them helped finish the extra parts that rested in cans and trays, and tins. Today, we had 40 year old moths flutter out of tins we opened ... you should have seen the looks of "Really???" on their faces as they limped away ......

Well Sal, good luck with your project. Thanks for stopping by ....

Gary

Gary,

It will sell for the right price. You may not like that price, but when it is right, the house will move.

Lon

The trick is to look at it from the perspective of how much you paid for it all those years ago versus what you eventually sell it for, instead of just focusing on what you think it "ought to be worth" based on the neighbors house that sold X years ago. That train of thought leads to nothing but frustration and heartache, barring the fortunate few that happen to sell "just the right house" at the peak of the market, AND happen to find "just the right buyer" at the moment when the mortgage money spigots are wide open. For every one of those you see on TV, there are lots more you never hear of in situations that are a lot like yours...waiting and hoping and frustrated.

Hey Sean,

I get it now ... I started working at Legget Department store, in 1969; for $1.65/hr. So ...... If I can only get about $5.50/hr. now ..... Well ..... .... That's a heck of a lot more!!!!!





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2014 04:38PM by barnespneumatic.

Hi Lon!

So .... You're saying we all reach our full potential then ....

That could start a long thread ....

Interview scene; page two.

"You are well qualified. We'd be willing to pay you $165k per year, plus stock options, and full benefits." But .... If you'll look down from my corner office, to the courtyard below .... You'll note a horde of Barbarians, which have breeched the outer gates of the Campus ... they do not appear to be - reasonable. We, unfortunately; will not be able to employ you, at this time - due to external influences effectingour hiring policy."



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/17/2014 04:44PM by barnespneumatic.

Gary,

Sit on the house until you get your price or it takes you down, or keep coming down on the price until you get an offer. It's not complicated.

Its your house, you'll do what you want. Its a hassle on a good day, you know I went through it recently. Good luck, I'll read about it.

Lon

Bigbore Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Gary,
>
> Sit on the house until you get your price or it
> takes you down, or keep coming down on the price
> until you get an offer. It's not complicated.
>
> Its your house, you'll do what you want. Its a
> hassle on a good day, you know I went through it
> recently. Good luck, I'll read about it.
>
> Lon

Hello Lon,

You kidding? You just practicing empathy? "Sit on it ... Til it takes you down ... It's not complicated".
If you are reading - did you miss the part where we've lowered the price repeatedly? We are way below ZILLOW. We are way below a few month old appraisal. We are the cheapest similar home in the town/area. And we keep going down. Just did again a couple of days ago.

Permit me to regret loosing another hundred grand. I could have used it.

Thanks much,
Gary

Gary,

It is a market driven deal. If I were king, You would have gotten your original asking price.

You brought up that it was causing you tremendous stress, that is where the "takes you down" comment comes from.

I wish you could close this last chapter and get on with BPS unencumbered. I'm hoping for the best for you guys, you know that.

Lon

Gary,

I pray that the injections relieve the pain and that the house sells tomorrow!
I'm guessing I know which would do the most to make you feel better.

Scott

Thank you Scott.

Much appreciated. You are correct.

Gary

Positive thought's only my friend. You can be sure that it is and will be good.

Thanks Guys,

We appreciate your good wishes. They help, if only in not feeling alone in the mess. Clearly, we never intended to go down these roads. I've never worked so hard in my life. My obligations are always on my mind. There's just really not a minute that I don't feel I should be coming up with a solution or a conclusion to a project. I guess I probably stay up so late because ... after midnight ... I suppose the pressure lets up just enough for a few breaths. Guess I just don't think anyone expects me to push beyond that. I'm probably wrong.

Even feeling like crap, I get in my 12 hrs a day. Usually 6 - sometimes 7 days. Now - if I ever get the rest of the shops set up - those hours will be more efficient. I'd like to do something other then work ... but I can't with this mess as it is. So; it does mean a lot to me to be able to walk out onto the Studio Patio and dial in the Forum ... and get a few moments of company. Sure - Kelly comes down - but it's really hard for us to not feel like two people on the same life raft. We're just looking for a break that we can take advantage of.

Now - tomorrow ... we have to travel several hours each way. Injections. Kelly hasn't been feeling well the last couple of days. Variables tomorrow. Well wishes appreciated.

Thanks for your Patience and Support,
Gary

Well wishes for you and Kelly and please have a safe trip to the clinic and back home.

julio

Hello Gary,

It's painful to see your house just sitting there with all those other houses, waiting to be sold, day after day after day. That said, you have a lot of company there, myself included. On the positive side for you though, at least you didn't buy your MD house five or six years ago, at the peak of the market....like we did. If we're lucky we'll come out of it even, or at least with a minimal loss. That's not a "loss" comparing our house to what we COULD have made if we sold it at peak prices, it's a loss in the traditional sense. As in selling the house for less that we bought it for, which is more than a little bit stressful. And there are still millions of other families caught in the same situation that we are, seeing their supposed real-estate nest eggs devolve into a zero-profit 'investment', or worse, into "negative equity". So while we wait for the market to "recover" we keep renting the house out (for less than the mortgage costs us), hoping that the renters will take halfway decent care of the place and REALLY hoping that the place sells soon.

The unfortunate reality is that the buyers taste and budget dictate the market, not the sellers, certainly not in this market. Once your house hits the right price for the market, it'll sell. You may not be thrilled about the final numbers, but while it's painful having to reduce your asking price yet again, it certainly could be worse. For what comfort that brings.

Sorry Sean,

That's not helping. Somehow you've gotten the wrong channel.

We are not grousing that we missed the peak. WE are the ones who put in 46 replacement windows. We rewired every inch of wire, every switch, every plug. We replaced every inch of plumbing. New water lines in - new sewer lines out. Added a third floor Master Suite. Put in 3 1/2 baths. Black topped the drive. Put in the wrap around patios. And I could go on for six pages. But you see - ZILLOW didn't get the memo on everything. So most of their info is wrong. Since they are infallible - you don't change that. And two houses on the block went for short sale within a year. So - in the trade ... we call this .... "Getting screwed".

I observe that you hate to sell your extra house for what it's worth. As regards "waiting for the market to recover" ... I'd suggest you advise your Son as to your wishes. Regarding that / I heard the other day. In the late 60's it took approx $25,000 to raise a kid thru 18. Now it's $250,000. Same kind of kid, devalued money.

Best,
Gary

While I have a few after my injections ....

You'd be amazed how few people have considered these few basic economic facts;

1970 a very nice Mustang cost $3,000. Now $30,000.

Very nice used home - $25,000. Now $250,000

Gas probably 40-50cents. Varies $3.50 -$4.00

A first job paid $1.65/hr. now - obviously it varies but you willing to work you'll find $10-16
For very little experience.

All these are just quick grabs from memory. But you see a 10X showing up?

The things are relative stable items - sure with alterations - but for relative lifestyle - it shakes out. It's the fact that the money just buys about a tenth of what it did. That is what printing funny money without backing and runaway debt does to the value of currency.

Gary

What I'd like to know is WHY I am required to pay insurance ( by mortgage company ) on the inflated value of my house as opposed to what I actually paid for it 25 yrs ago or the value ( worth) of my last 5 yrs of payments ! Hmmm I haven't done much to house besides a roof job as far as repairing and really no upgrades . No matter what I put into it to make it comfortable for us , I won't get back after I sell it but did get to live in it the way we liked it . No matter what you do it won't be good enough for the next folks . And it still doesn't help the fact that a $39,000 house cost me somewhere in the neighbor hood of $230,000 at the end of 30yrs of payments ! But I did get to live there and liked it ( mostly) floods and all .
I wish whoever get your house knew what kinda craftsman you ARE they would appreciate the sweat equity you and Kelly put into it

I don't get it. The house looks great and is well presented. I can't see any reason for further price drops, it's the customer that can live with the kitchen and appreciate all the fantastic details and floors and windows that will come along. Sure, dropping the price to $20 will no doubt bring in a speculator but the house is already well below even the Zillow valuation. Hopefully traffic picks up.

Thks Jerry,

It is maddening.

I haven't heard that the entire concept of "flipping" a house has been abolished. 34 years of investment in improvements should establish value. Jerry, it's this nonsense of ... "We do it THIS WAY NOW". And we own the game. The Sheeple fall in line. I've gone thru more shop radios recently .... ZILLOW commercials ...

Gary

Hey Gary,

I don't mean to be...well...mean about it. That's not at all my intention. We've moved around a lot as part of being in the military (bought 7 houses, sold 5 since 1999), so I can definitely tell you it's a nail-biter every time. Some are worse than others, as you well know.

Like everyone here, I'm crossing my fingers that your house in MD sells sooner rather than later so you can get back to doing what you want to do, instead of slugging away at what you HAVE to do. With any luck at all, all the stress and aggravation from the move south will soon be a distant memory. Then you can get back to enjoying all that space in your big new shop, and the total lack of snow to be shoveled at your new home.

I took the Zillow virtual tour and looked at the other stills and I still don't get it. Yeah, big kitchens are all the rage these days but so are a million windows, non-spay ceilings and great floors! I think the real problem is the economy not yet picking up in New Windsor. It just sucks but I hope you can hold on a bit longer and not have to give the place away! There is no other house in that neighborhood that has had all the fundamentals made solid. Only things I might do (not that they are huge) is to replace the fan in what was the kid room, spray all the outside fences and trellis with brightener and possibly put patterned paint on the deck. PIA after all the actual significant work already done and maybe it won't matter (I'm no expert) but when I took the tour, that's all I thought I would do if I was moving in.