Moving On

Escrow closed today, the sale was legally recorded, and the utility bills are now in the chocolate king’s name. The process was not entirely smooth. The whopper surprise at the last minute was the request for brand new plumbing priced at $9000. I then engaged in a spirited philosophical email exchange with realtors about risk tolerance and the pros and cons of plastic versus copper fittings. The only thing consistently okay in that house was the plumbing. Other than the toilet leaking once in a while, the pipes are fine. There were lots of other items noted on the inspection report we could have debated, however they ignored the little stuff. Heck, they’re probably remodeling most of the place anyway. But I didn’t give them a dime for plumbing, and I walked away from the offer and said goodbye – and of course they came back a day later and said “never mind.” This was an emotional decision so that their family can be in one place - they are relocating the wife’s mother to live with her sister across the street. I can imagine the discussion when the (rich) husband tried to squeeze more money out of the deal, and the wife threatened divorce. Trying to take advantage of my 91-year old father was not smart, and I feel vindicated. Plus little did they realize how well Sid knew his plumbing.

How is Dad taking it, is he celebrating? Not really, he’s kind of sad, he loved his house. He choked up when I congratulated him, so I’m laying low on the “yahoo” tone. By his request, the realtor took my father to Subway for a $5 hoagie after all the papers were notarized at the bank. After all, there’s no point in wasting money.