This Ole House

There are some things that sometimes seem to preoccupy us which ordinarily are somewhat less time consuming. Currently, one such thing is a rental house we have had since the early 1980's. It is about 150 years old and has survived many other old houses in Elkhart.

 It is hard to know where to begin telling about “this ole house” The saga began about a month ago when we got a morning call from the Elkhart Police that they had visited the house on an issue with their dogs. He said it was in all confusion and smelled bad and that the Code Enforcement might want to see it. They did come out in a day or so and did not even go in because of the roaches all over and on the furniture on the porch where somebody was helping the residents clear the house. They posted it for non-habitation. After that police report I gave them a letter demanding they move out and take whatever with them. But in a day or so “Code” demanded extermination and a new inspection. But with all the stuff, it could not be exterminated until stuff was removed. All 3-4 huge trailer loads. Loretta sorted through so much and much good was mixed in with mattresses, clothes and just plain trash. (We saved perhaps 20 bags of stuff for the lady of the house who is in jail, storing it across the street in a garage of ours.) Why did they hoarded so much and not pay rent? E.g. I counted about 200 tin can of food scattered in the house including two cans of peaches under the two beds!   “Code” was unsympathetic and gave us the options, perhaps their choice, whether the house should be demolished or repaired.  I told Conrad I was at my wits end and ready to give up. He said the house would be worth $20,000 if we’d fix it up. I gave him the charge. He said he fixed up about 10 houses like this and saved them from the city’s obsession to tear down all old houses.  So the plan was, to empty the house and back yard and downstairs and paint everything and tear out the carpets that were likely the cause of the smell. So that occupied our time the last 3 weeks. Yesterday Code was out again and told us all the things to fix and for us getting ready to sell it. We are so thankful for Conrad’s expertise and leadership in all this. 

Today (November 28) we are taking the day off, the first in a while. In all this, I learned how little emotional and physical strength I have for much stress. Daily after several hours on the job I would be physically and emotionally exhausted. So this is a day off, for doing homework of gathering up leaves and work on my own agenda. Thanks for wading through my story of the past month