I have been in negotiations with a fellow who responded to an ad I posted to the San Francisco Bay Area craigslist for a Ski Lease. I have been given a deposit but the remainder of the Ski Lease payment has not yet been paid nor have the papers been signed yet. I hope all will be accomplished in the beginning of next week. Since the lease is for my house for six months (November through April) furnished, I won’t need to sell my things. The lessee has also agreed to buy my Honda Accord EX so all I need to do now is to finish moving my stuff (that will fit) into the rig, get a UPS shipment of the mobility kit for the Wave 3 heater, put in a change of address with the post office and change over the utilities on the house.
I am now planning on being able to get on the road on next Thursday. I am hoping on being able to hookup with my friend John Calypso in Brownsville, Texas and then follow him down to the state of Veracruz in Mexico.
The adventure is about to begin (I hope).
Here’s hoping I will see you On the Road with Gary real soon.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Warmer
The weather has been a little warmer here in the Sierras but I'm glad that the rig is hooked up to shore power. Propane has gotten low so I'm using a electric heater in the mornings. The real estate market also seems to be warming up. My agent tells me that now is usually their busiest season. There have still been no offers on the house but there has been an increase in persons touring the house. My house was built in 1980 so some feel it is a bit dated. Also the interior seems a little too dark due to a lot of dark wood for some potential buyers. I need some one to tour the house that appreciates the mountain feel and privacy like I do. Another plus is the large (1/3 acre) corner lot in a good location with level access to the main road.
There has been some interest in the Ski Lease I am offering as a back up solution so I can get out of here and on the road. Several groups of young people who will be working at the ski resorts want the house furnished at $1,500 a month but since I am offering a lease for 6 months (November through April) with a $1000 security deposit for a total of $10,000 up front, no one has that kind of money so far. The seasonal resort workers don't have a very good reputation as tenants. A couple of people will rent a house and then invite 8 or so friends to come and stay with them. I rented the house out one winter to such a group and it ended up costing a lot of money in lost rent, repairs and attorney fees to have them evicted.
Yesterday the Wave 3 catalytic heater, water thief and wind up LED flashlight were delivered. The flashlight is neat. I hope that it is sturdy enough to last some time but it only cost about $12. I am still awaiting the delivery of the portable connection kit for the Wave 3 heater.
There has been some interest in the Ski Lease I am offering as a back up solution so I can get out of here and on the road. Several groups of young people who will be working at the ski resorts want the house furnished at $1,500 a month but since I am offering a lease for 6 months (November through April) with a $1000 security deposit for a total of $10,000 up front, no one has that kind of money so far. The seasonal resort workers don't have a very good reputation as tenants. A couple of people will rent a house and then invite 8 or so friends to come and stay with them. I rented the house out one winter to such a group and it ended up costing a lot of money in lost rent, repairs and attorney fees to have them evicted.
Yesterday the Wave 3 catalytic heater, water thief and wind up LED flashlight were delivered. The flashlight is neat. I hope that it is sturdy enough to last some time but it only cost about $12. I am still awaiting the delivery of the portable connection kit for the Wave 3 heater.
Monday, September 18, 2006
No Bites
Still no bites on the house. We lowered the price once again. My auctions on eBay did not work. I have re-listed them at a lower starting price. I feel like I am experiencing some bad luck or more likely I need to price things more realistically.
If the house doesn’t sell soon, I may have to get some roommates and stay here all winter. I’ve been counting on the proceeds from the sale of the house to finance my RV trips. If I stay, I will need to keep my things to furnish the house. If I leave anyway, I need to get rid of everything. If someone would make an offer on the house, the future would become clearer. I hate the uncertainty of it. I never thought there would be this much trouble selling the house. To cover the situation, I have listed the house for sale on the San Francisco Bay Area craigslist and also offered a six month Ski Lease for the house furnished.
Last Thursday we got a little snow. It got cold and I had to run the furnace in the rig.
I just ordered an Olympian Wave 3 catalytic propane heater and portable hook up kit to install it. It looks like the easiest place to tap into a propane line is at the stove top. I also ordered a water thief and a windup LED flashlight (needs no batteries).
I finally got the final invoice on the PV system. The total cost for the system was almost my exact estimate ($15,000). Chris decided that the system should have a battery temperature sensor for the inverter/charger so I am expecting him today to install it and pick up his check. He already installed a temperature sensor for the charge controller.
Please wish me some good luck and I hope to see you soon On the Road with Gary.
If the house doesn’t sell soon, I may have to get some roommates and stay here all winter. I’ve been counting on the proceeds from the sale of the house to finance my RV trips. If I stay, I will need to keep my things to furnish the house. If I leave anyway, I need to get rid of everything. If someone would make an offer on the house, the future would become clearer. I hate the uncertainty of it. I never thought there would be this much trouble selling the house. To cover the situation, I have listed the house for sale on the San Francisco Bay Area craigslist and also offered a six month Ski Lease for the house furnished.
Last Thursday we got a little snow. It got cold and I had to run the furnace in the rig.
I just ordered an Olympian Wave 3 catalytic propane heater and portable hook up kit to install it. It looks like the easiest place to tap into a propane line is at the stove top. I also ordered a water thief and a windup LED flashlight (needs no batteries).
I finally got the final invoice on the PV system. The total cost for the system was almost my exact estimate ($15,000). Chris decided that the system should have a battery temperature sensor for the inverter/charger so I am expecting him today to install it and pick up his check. He already installed a temperature sensor for the charge controller.
Please wish me some good luck and I hope to see you soon On the Road with Gary.
Saturday, September 09, 2006
Getting Ready - Part 9
I haven’t been doing much of interest so I haven’t updated this blog recently. I’m really getting anxious to get on the road. No offers on my house yet so we have lowered the price again. I have updated my information on eBay and I currently have five auctions going on in an effort to get rid of stuff that won’t fit in the motor home. My collection of rock and roll memorabilia will fit but I think that now is a good time to sell it since I would hate to loose it if something should happen to the rig on the road. If you are interested, please go to my web site. On the left side, there is a link to my auctions.
I also plan to sell my Honda EX, Honda snow blower and some of my furniture. I will probably hold a garage sale for a couple weekends and then give anything left away or donate it to charity. I am looking forward to getting rid of everything for the freedom of the full timer life style.
I am thinking of getting a motor scooter or small dirt bike that I can hang off the back of the rig. The main problem with this idea is the added weight. Next week I may take a drive to Reno to check out the Honda Ruckus. It would be nice to have the scooter to look for new camping spots, go to town for groceries and to scout the road ahead to make sure the rig can safely go on down the road. I need to make sure there are no low hanging branches which could damage the rig or solar panels.
The weather has generally been beautiful up here in the Sierras but the temperature is getting in to the low thirties at night. I want to get out of here before it starts to snow. I have been sleeping in the rig for at least the last week and only going in the house to use the bathroom or cook.
Here’s hoping I’ll see you on the road (real soon).
I also plan to sell my Honda EX, Honda snow blower and some of my furniture. I will probably hold a garage sale for a couple weekends and then give anything left away or donate it to charity. I am looking forward to getting rid of everything for the freedom of the full timer life style.
I am thinking of getting a motor scooter or small dirt bike that I can hang off the back of the rig. The main problem with this idea is the added weight. Next week I may take a drive to Reno to check out the Honda Ruckus. It would be nice to have the scooter to look for new camping spots, go to town for groceries and to scout the road ahead to make sure the rig can safely go on down the road. I need to make sure there are no low hanging branches which could damage the rig or solar panels.
The weather has generally been beautiful up here in the Sierras but the temperature is getting in to the low thirties at night. I want to get out of here before it starts to snow. I have been sleeping in the rig for at least the last week and only going in the house to use the bathroom or cook.
Here’s hoping I’ll see you on the road (real soon).
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