Yeppers! And it couldn't have happened at a better time.
It should be closed by the end of July.
Sonny's situation is improving.
He's got a new job at Circus Circus.
His daughter just turned 18 too. Hopefully he can save what he was paying in child support.
My situation is improving too.
The money is good, but I won't get paid until mid July.
So for now though, we're impoverished.
But we've got riches right around the corner.
We're having a better rollar coaster ride than any amusement park could offer!
Everything is changing fast for Sonny, Becky and I.

I think I see how to use this . Jim I am scheduled to see Grady at the same Starbucks you and I went to . I got your message that you want to close the deal with Mr. Hic. (Hispanic for short) but you are not too keen on the deal itself.  I don't understand the mechanics of real estate very well but I believe that Mr. Hic is going to have to put forth some kind of money in order to secure a purchase of the condo. Oh well! I know that you do understand the mechanics and I will go ahead and sign the papers as you , according to Grady have already done. It is now eight seventeen Las vegas Time. Have a good day Jim and Becky. Squirt says Baaaarkkk! (Short for I miss you!)

I can't say I like it. It's $6,000 short of what I expected to get.
Another hispanic guy (not that I'm prejudice, but I'm getting that way), has made a squirrely offer on the condo.
He basically, wants to buy the condo with no money down.
I guess his realtor has worked these kinds of things out for these guys. It looks like they'll buy anything.
Its like this fellow crossed the Rio Grand, and got a realtor.
They probably have a squirrelly deal worked out for a loan too.
The deal isn't as good as I'd like, but, since no one has made an offer, this is probably the best thing to do.
We need to get this money working for us, instead of against us.

  Sonny,    That's great Jim! Ruth called about an hour after you and Becky took off. She was worried that you might encounter a problem or something. I told her that I would let you know that she called and that you would most likely be okay. After thityy five hours and you are still running now on nothing but caffeine and adrenalin everything must look what you'll be dreaming about for the sixteen hours. I look froward to your further comments in your blog.   All is very quiet here on the home front. Squirt seemed to know that you and Becky were taking off but he hasn't made his usual graphic expression on the living room carpet yet. I guess he can learn after all. I'm taking Jessica with me today, of all places, to the Hilton for that fantastic Star Trek experience. Because of past experience, I will avoid eating in The Quartz or whatever it was, restaraunt. I'll be looking for some more comments about eight or ten hours from now.                                                         Love Sonny

While half brain dead, and not being able to spell my name right twice in a row, we arranged our Suburban Extended Stay hotel room. Its TINY. Its a good thing we only booked it until July 9th. I'm just glad we decided to bring Walmart drawers They work great for both storage and cheap furniture.
We went to 4th Street Live today.
It was small, and no where near like anything in Vegas.
The Hard Rock Bar and Restaurant was smaller than Joes Crab Shack..
We ate at a Cajun style restaurant.
$6 a bowl for Jambalaya, Bourbon Chicken and more...and their sweet tea was beautiful.
Later, we toured the river front.
We sat on the of the riverside vernalli watching the water flow.
We didn't see any barges or boats, but it was a very peaceful view.
Moving down the way, we went to 'The Bad Side of Town'
The streets were narrow, one way streets, and the houses were very small, but they all had front porches.
Old people, kids, and all kinds of other people were sitting on their porches, playing ball, and teasing each other.
I'd say the racial lines have been erased here.
I didn't feel any fear.
Everything about Louisville seems to be quite beautiful.
Its hilly, with lots of trees, flowers and foilage.
There are lot of rivers, creeks, lakes, streams and waterfalls.
The homes range from modern to ancient. $18,000 to $2,000,000...and all are very livable.
All of the major chains are here, but the mom and pop restaurants exist everywhere.
The people don't seem to group by their race. The poor side of town consisted of all the races.
All of this is very good.

  I guess now that the condo is being sold that it will only be the house bills-Right? Your leaving at Friday will give me a little motre time to get the hang of it.

 I can handle th ebills okay but I willl need to be able to contact you if something comes up lik ewhat might be an important phone call that would have to be forwarded.

The Joint Account
Pay all the house and condo bills out of the joint account.
Let me know if we get low on checks or deposit slips so I can order some more.
Jim's Account
There shouldn't be any bills for me, except for that UMC bill. I'm not that worried about that one though.

The condo yields less around a 7.6% return if its constantly rented. Its high mainentance.

Investent	Yield	Notes
Condo	7.6%	100% Rental. High maintenance.
Treasure Bills	4.6%	Safe
Dreyfus Bond funds	5%
Heritage Group (HBOS)	15%	Last 2 Years
Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS)	19%	Last 2 Years
Tax Sheltered Municiple bonds	4%	We don't need a tax shelter.

If we'd invested in LVS 4 years ago, our capital would have doubled.
But saying that is like saying when your gambling, you should only bet when your winning.
Its a matter of timing, faith and patience. It took 20 years for the condo's value to double.
I think the trick is to find investments you can handle emotionally
The condo, is an investment you can actually use, but how you come out involves more calculations than stocks.
Also, you typically don't check out a condo's value every month.
In the 70's, I splattered some coffee on the financial section.
Everywhere a drop hit, I tracked the investment.
The coffee drops averaged out, I think, around 10% 

Just when everything was going great, I've got to ask the tenants to leave
I can't evict them. They didn't do anything wrong.
The association has been yelling at me and my tenants about the cars parked behind the row of condos.
They aren't my tenants cars.
The association has been bugging me about the tenants working on their cars in the alley.
Once again, my tenants aren't doing it.
They are the people's cars that live in 5024, not 5034 Mtn Vista.
The people in 5024 visit the people in 5034.
The association assumes they ALL live at 5034.
So the association rep (who I've know for 30 years) has been yelling at me.
He's telling me my tenants are liars, they work on cars in the alley way, and he thinks they kicked down a broken wall.
I told the rep, he shouldn't yell at me just because we're old buds, and he shouldn't make accusations he can't back up.
AND, he should calm down and consider the source of his information.
I really like my current tenants. They are decent people.
But they shouldn't have let the people in 5024 come over to their garage,
and they shouldn't have a garage sale every weekend.
That condo is just too visible.
But, alas, I have a win-win solution.
- Since the condo isn't going to appreciate much more,
- Since we're only making $9000 a year off of it
We're going to sell it and take the $130k. (if I can, I'm selling to the tenants)...haha
That's enough to pay for this place for the next 10 years.
But if not, a reliable friend told me his investment group has gotten him better than 13% interest over the last few years.
$16,900 sounds like a much better return than what we're getting on the condo.
Time to give my old bud Brian Grady a call.

Hey Sonny!! I would be ever so pleased to read one of your stories!  Youve been teasing me most infrequently with them for several years and its come to a head!  A Tomb?  With a Nemesis? Inside of it?? Please!! Just hook me with one chapter?? Ha ha , take care Sonny!

I have tried to E-Mail Aunt Tass one of my stories "The Tomb Of Nemesis". It is one of the simpler , more easy to read stories. I don't know if the E-Mail got through . I don't even know if this message will get through. This is essentially what I like to call a pioneer effort.