Friday, December 12, 2008

So far, so good

We have all of our insurance ducks in a row and I've given the go-ahead for our renters to get into our Thorntown house and do whatever wallpapering and painting they deem necessary.

No, I'm not giving them complete carte blanc on colors. They chose a specific color palette that works with the age and style of the house. And yes, they are paying for materials and labor since it's their choice to make these changes.

One of the last puzzle pieces fell into place this afternoon when I signed us up for home warranty protection with Home Security of America. For about $500 a year, we get coverage for all of the appliances and systems in the house, including the plumbing and hot tub. If anything breaks, the tenants call an 800 number and HSA sends a technician out pronto to fix it. That's a whole lot cheaper and (I hope) more reliable than paying a property manager to take care of problems. My in-laws live about 10 blocks north of the house, but we've imposed on them far too much already and I'm pleased to have a solution that doesn't burden them further.

The renters will most likely start work in the house this weekend. We're going up in a week or so for Christmas and plan to move some or all of the bookcases out of the attic and bring as much back with us as possible. The rest we'll stash at the in-laws' place.

It's comforting to know we're out from under the burden of that second house payment, but I refuse to relax completely because things have a way of going sideways on you.

No comments: