Month: December 2022

It seems like pressure just follows me around like a lost puppy. Really. Everything I do has some type of pressure that never allows me to rest. Sleep…forget about it. Keeping up with customers, sales, and finances at the store. Trying to stay ahead of my health situations and those that continue to ail me. Following the constant travails of my boys and their careers and now navigating the purchase of this new home. Does anything ever go smoothly! Eric, our realtor, was negotiating on our behalf this crazy assessment that we had no idea about on our new home. It pushed back our settlement almost two weeks as the problem required coordination between the attorneys, the executor in New York and the parties down here. The seller would escrow the funds needed to repair and fund the assessment. Everyone agreed on the terms and the deal was done. It was ours.

Lori proceeded to live down at LBI and Joe and I in a Homewood Suite for two months until we finished the settlement and worked on the house, remodeling almost the whole place in two months. It turned out beautifully. After September, Joe took off for Mentor, Ohio for his FHL season leaving us as empty nesters ready to thrive in our 55 and over community. We were like babies in the development. Lol. It was quiet. At eight pm you could hear a pin drop. Heaven. This would begin a new chapter in our lives. A chapter that would begin with a clean bill of health for the time being. Sure the side effects of Tasigna reminded me of the daily dose of chemotherapy I needed to administer to myself. A minor inconvenience when it comes to living, loving, and continuing my life for as long as the treatment does its job. We’ll worry about the next time when the next time comes. Now, Lori and I will settle into the quiet hamlet we’ve chosen and keep working our way towards retirement. Hopefully, things go smoothly. Looks like clear sailing.

Next Up: Covid

Lori and I had attended an open house for the home we liked in a 55 and over community. It was on a Sunday afternoon one week after we signed the agreement of sale for our current home. The realtor that was representing the sellers, an estate situation, gave Lor the grand tour while I did my own thing. Essentially, a complete home inspection. I listened as other, older couples, wandered about discussing the amount of work the house needed while the renovation calculations ran through my head. I loved this place. I met back up with Lori at the front door, thanked the realtor, took her card, and exited for the car. When we closed the doors, I said to Lor…” We’re putting in an offer tomorrow morning.” I explained about how nice we could renovate the space and how I believed that this was our spot. Thankfully, she agreed. After some quick negotiations and a great price drop, the agreement of sale would be ready in a few days.

Meanwhile, my next appointment with Dr. Luger was this week. Another trip down to U of P hospital for what was to be a major assessment of the current situation at hand. I had been taking the new drug Tasigna now for eight months. Dr. Luger had reduced the heavy dosages in half by now. The side effects were lessening and we would review the recent PCR results to see if the current dosage was maintaining my remission. Dr. Luger was happy to announce that my PCR test showed a full remission! How wonderful is that! Her assessment was that Tasigna, a much stronger alternative to Gleevec, was making a huge impact against my Leukemia…. Reversing the relapse and allowing me to breathe again. Hallelujah! Maintaining the current protocol would be her position. Barring any issues or worsening side effects, we would meet again for a new round of bloodwork after the New year. Exciting news that I couldn’t wait to tell to Lor and my family.

Now, the word “Assessment” has potentially several meanings. You can “assess” a situation that arises to make a decision on how to handle it. You can “assess” a property or person with a monetary amount for a variety of reasons. A penalty may be “assessed” in a sporting event, etc, etc. Lori and I were having a great week. Wonderful news about my health, Nick had passed his PA Real Estate exam, Joe signed a contract with the Mentor Icebreakers in the FHL and our agreement of sale on the new house was ready for our signatures. Everything was falling into place. Finally! Nick’s friend Eric Fineberg was representing us on the purchase of our new home. We met him at the office of the sellers rep in Doylestown to sign our agreement and complete the first leg of our new journey. Quick and easy, everything went smooth as silk. We took a celebratory ride to the new place and sat for a few minutes in front of the house taking in the moment. It was quite emotional I have to say. We wouldn’t be able to reenter the property until settlement day since we waived an inspection. Then we met “Butch”.

Butch lived on the corner of our street and just happened to be walking his dog as we pulled up the block. He looked to be in his late seventies, greeting us with a big smile and wave. Butch congratulated us on our purchase and after we exchanged pleasantries, said “Did you know about the assessment?” What? Tell us more. Apparently, there were issues with every home. Water was infiltrating the stucco exteriors causing rot to destroy the wood sheathing and studs in the front of the homes. Each home would be assessed $28,000 that the homeowner would have to pay for the renovation and repair. We had no clue! The sellers disclosure or realtor made no mention of this predicament. We were screwed! My wife began to cry. I was infuriated! We thanked Butch for the heads up. He felt so bad. My next call was right to Eric. Buddy…you need to handle this shit. This was wrong!

Next Up: The Pressure

Sobering. A pretty good assessment of your state of mind after a relapse with cancer. This time, being my third and now passing the one year mark, the effect on my psyche was pretty profound. I was having success with my new drug therapy. My blood counts were again, slowly, returning to a manageable level. My PCR results were coming closer to that coveted “Zero” four log reduction I desperately yearned for. A serious discussion was needed with my boys and Lor. Nick had just returned from Los Angeles to begin his career in real estate and Joe home from Cleveland after his season. We sat down to have our talk about what had transpired in the past year, my relapse and the future. Of course, their response was “Why didn’t you tell us”? They were big boys. Maybe I should have let them know sooner but being away and doing their jobs, I didn’t want to worry or distract them. At least now, the situation was way better and there was a proverbial light at the end of this tunnel. They had lots of questions that deserved to be answered and were obviously worried about me very much. We reviewed the situation both from the beginning, through the tough times and the current state of affairs. I fielded the medical questions like a pro and after they were satisfied with my explanations, we moved on to the new direction that I was thinking of…Moving – Downsizing, from our Doylestown home. The reality now was that if something were to happen to me, I needed to make sure that Lori was comfortable and taken care of. That she could handle her expenses and be secure.

Nick was never moving back into our home and Joe was transient between teams and cities throughout the country most of the year wherever his skates hit the ice. I was very worried about my future. Psyche says… consolidate, reduce, contract and make life easier. Both financially and work wise around the house. Lose the snowblower, the shovels, the rakes, the trimmers and the wheelbarrow. Reduce my financial commitments, reduce the amount of work needed to keep up the big house. Plan for a future that could inevitably have me in a war. A war that finally takes me down. That leaves Lori all alone with big bills, a big house, chores galore, and a major debacle. Our beautiful home on Country Club Drive was going up for sale. A decision made mostly on my part as a massive knee jerk reaction to the trauma of relapse. Nick would, without having his RE license yet, list the home through a friend, and we would sell it together. A family project! We spent a few weeks painting cleaning and prepping for our first open house. How exciting! Nick put up the MLS listing and we scheduled our first open house…July 4th Weekend! A little more primping and touch up right before the morning of….and here we go! Nick handled it like a pro. About eight families came through and at the end of the day we had an agreement of sale. Wow!

Now, I had no idea about Real estate contracts and writing agreements of sale. Nick and I powered through it with our friend Roman and the buyers. The one issue was that they needed a contingency to be able to sell their mothers home. We accepted their offer with our own contingency that other offers without contingencies may supercede the original offer allowing them five days to close or lose the house. Fortunately for us, another full price offer with a three week closing and no contingencies, unfortunately for them , came in the next day. The house was sold. Two days on the market, highest price ever in our development. Nick would guide me through settlement. Lori and I immediatly went on the hunt for our new home. The prize was a beautiful townhouse style palace in an over 55 community. It needed a total makeover, my specialty, and we got the price down substantially. Nick had his own place and Joe was still with us. With a three week settlement for Country Club, and an end of August settlement on Lamplighter Village, plus renovations, Joe and I would need to bunk together in a Homewood Suites hotel for a month while Lor went down to the shore. It would all work out…I hope!

Next Up: The Assessment.