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