Brody Brobro Brodybro

This is the inspiration for the children’s rhyme.

This poem started out with Brody and a “fearsome bug.”

When wrote this doggerel in 2018, I thought it might be a good “book” for a kids’ book. I don’t know an illustrator, though.
So, here it is:

Brody has a pretty face.

His name means, “from a muddy place.”

 

With all his friends, we have a pack,

Brody always has my back.

 

He takes really good care of me.

He tries to protect me from everything

 

Like snakes and sticks and fearsome bugs.

He knocks me down and gives me hugs.

 

When I am away, he misses me.

When I come back, he licks my face and kisses me.

 

He’s always having lots of fun.

He loves to run and run and run.

 

When he gets hot, he likes to swim.

He finds the pond and jumps right in.

 

He likes to go on long, long walks.

He tells me things. It’s like he talks.

 

He always tells me what he’s done.

“I chased the cows, and it was fun.”

If It Were Easy….

Even when you have an established relationship, just getting contractors to show up in a hot market can be a challenge.

Weather has a way of overcoming your systems. It has been one of our biggest uncontrollable expenses this year.

When squatters, vandals, or thieves break into a project, the best you can hope for is to replace a broken window or two. When you’re working to turn a neighborhood around, break-ins will happen.

The discovery of knob and tube wiring at St. John’s cost us more than 100% of our contingency to rewire the house and bring it up to code.

Brody reminds us that the first rule of investing is vigilance. Keep an eye on everything.

This post originally appeared on the Hermit Haus blog on 2016-08-20.

If it was easy everyone would do it

If it was easy everyone would be in Clover

If it was easy I'd be the first to do it

If it was easy I'd gladly go back through it

—Lynn Anderson, Ed Bruce

This year, most of our redevelopment projects have run way over schedule. Running long is a bad thing because it always involves extra costs that eat into your schedule—if nothing else, your holding costs mount up. So I wanted to take a look at the reasons why we’re taking longer to complete projects than we thought we would. I also wanted to figure out what, if anything we could do about them. Here’s some of what I found:

Contractor Work Load

The projects that have run longest have all been in hot markets. When a market is hot, it can afford more redevelopment/remodeling work than softer, cooler markets. Contractors, even those with whom you have established long-term relationships, have more work than they can handle, and they often prioritize higher paying retail jobs over maintaining a close relationship with investors, who typically negotiate lower prices than retail customers. Even if you enforce schedule penalties in your contracts, your contractors may decide paying them—or walking off a project—is better for their short-term financial picture than meeting your deadlines.

Unfortunately, the only alternative I see is simply to plan for longer projects up front. If you plan for a six month project that completes in five, you are in much better shape than if you plan for a three month project that completes in five. The net result of your projections being tighter is that you will probably do fewer projects because you have to buy them at lower prices.

Weather

I’m not going to complain about all the rain delays we’ve had this year—not after the drought and wildfires of previous years. But we’ve had plumbing inspections on the Villa Park project delayed by months and leveling St. John’s house put delayed by weeks because of standing water. So far this year, I estimate the rain delays have cost us more than $10,000.

As Charles Dudley Warner famously said, “Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.” All you can hope is that you have large enough reserves to survive the short term so you can reap the long term benefit. You also need to insure your projects with builders’ risk policies that cover any storm damage that may occur, especially if your project is in a flood zone.

Vandalism and Theft

When a redevelopment site sits vacant, unsavory people eventually notice, especially if you’re working on a property that has been vacant for a while before you start your project. We’ve encountered vandalism on the St. John’s house where people broke into the house to party and sleep it off over a holiday weekend. I also mentioned the dumpster full of engine oil there. And finally, one of our contractors had all of their tools and 30 gallons of paint stolen from the Villa Park project back in February. All of these events took time and money to repair.

The good news is that our insurance covered at least part of the costs we incurred here. Our contractor’s insurance replaced most of their tools. The jury is still out on whether the insurance will cover any of the oil disposal costs. When you encounter vandalism and theft (and you will if you’re in this business long enough), insurance can be the difference between making an losing money.

Unplanned Repairs

“You never know what you’ll find when you open a wall” is a truism in this business. Here are some of the things we’ve found in walls, in ceilings, and under floors this year:

• Knob and tube electrical wiring 
• Illegal electrical splices 
• Undisclosed WDI damage 
• Broken pipes 
• Inadequate sewer ventilation 
• Inadequate engineering

Luckily, with all of that we haven’t found mold or asbestos.

But these things are why we always have a contingency built into every reconstruction budget. Our contingency is usually about 10-15% of the overall reconstruction budget. On houses built before 1970, we can include as much as 10% of the purchase price. So far, we have never failed to use at least 100% of our contingency on any project.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line for all of this is that redeveloping, renovating, or whatever the scope of your project is a risky business. Like farming, many of the factors that affect your economic survival are far beyond your control. You can’t even know about a lot of them when you commit to a project, but we have a duty to provide a safe home for our buyers. We place people first (above profits), and so should you. If all you want is the money, you’ll develop a reputation that will make it unattainable.

We Occasionally Get to Kick Back

I am so pleased with how good a dog Brody is turning out to be. His loyalty is beyond question. Photo by: Suna

Suna enjoys a cold, funny-flavored Shiner. I prefer beer that tastes like beer.

Brody and Harvey pretend to be so ferocious. They play like predators.

After the stresses of the last week—the floods, worrying about if any of our projects were damaged in the storms (They weren’t.), and keeping up with life in general, it’s nice to be able to take a few minutes to relax and enjoy ourselves. So that is exactly what we did.

Suna and I sat on the back porch at the ranch and enjoyed the natural beauty around us. We enjoyed each other’s company. Oh, yeah. A few adult beverages were involved in the enjoyment, too.

The dogs enjoyed being able to get out and have fun. Brody and Harvey act like human brothers. They play hard. They beat each other bloody, although they are very careful not to really hurt each other. Then they curl up for a nap together. I love watching them, and they are such good companions.

He’ll Be Watching Me

Brody watches me from the porch while Harvey plays in the grass.

Every breath you take, every move you make

I’ll be watching you.

— Sting

I wanted to post this picture to show one reason why we do what we do. These two keep me sane. Dogs are very grounded creatures. They care deeply about their pack family, but they live in the eternal present. No worries beyond right now. What a wonderful way to live.

Brody never takes his eyes off of me. In fact, Suna has a T-shirt with a cattle dog looking longingly up at you and the words to the Sting song on it.

Meanwhile, Harvey is rolling in something he loves out in the grass.

Good Company

This isn’t a very good picture, but it shows the boys in one of their favorite office activities: pretending to be cats sitting in a window.

I spend a lot of time working in my “office,” which is really a room in the garage I originally intended to use as a woodshop. Brody and Harvey keep me company even though I’m sure they’re bored. They still like hanging out with me.

Dogs and Doors

Harvey can’t believe Brody would attack my foot. Rose watches Harvey.

The garage provides enough space to stain all the doors and let them dry.
The stain on the doors matches the bookcases and trim in Suna’s office. It contrasts well with the green walls.

It’s a tug of war.

We expected more.

But with one thing and another,

We were trying to outdo each other.

—Paul McCartney

Rose and Brody have accepted Harvey. Rose is so easy going, she was never at question. I was more concerned with how the two mail adolescents would get along.

Brody, who has been with me since he was six weeks old, is comfortable enough with me to use me as chew toys—especially my socks...especially when they’re still on my feet. Harvey looks on in disbelief every time. Sometimes he looks at me as if to say, “I would never treat you like that, New Daddy.”

Doors

The painter lined up the new doors in the garage to stain. They looked almost like they were floating if you ignored the bits of wood at the top and bottom that held them together.

The garage made the perfect place to stain the doors. It had plenty of room to work, and it didn’t matter if the overspray hit the floor or the walls, not that there seemed to be that much overspray. Finally, leaving the doors open a bit provided plenty of airflow to encourage drying.

Once the stain dried, it is a perfect match for the bookcases and trim installed throughout the house. It stands out nicely against the green Suna chose for her office. It’s darker than the caucasian color of the downstairs, but it may be a bit too close of a match for the bamboo we installed upstairs. It does stand out somewhat against the chocolate color of the master bedroom and the orange of the master bath.

 

Dogs Get Ready for Yule

“Yeah. I’m a big shot real estate developer, too. Mnya!”
“I got this thing around my neck. Sigh.”

“Hey! My food is here, but the action’s over there. I’m torn.”
Suna pets Brody.

Not a lot to say today. I just wanted to share some pix of the dogs, especially since Suna dressed Brody up for Yule.

 

Villa Park Progress

Still only slow progress on the foundation.
The exterior walls are still all temporary, but we’re making progress on preparing the footing to receive the permanent ones.

The site looks good—from a distance. When you get up close, you see what a mess it is.
Brody doesn’t like being in the back. He’d rather ride in my lap, but that’s not happening.

Work continues on the Villa Park foundation. The piers are mostly done, and the exterior footings are down. That means we were able to set the building down.

It’s a relief not to have the building floating in the sky—even if we don’t have the “real walls” in place.

 

Progress on a Number of Fronts

Rose is almost playing with Brody. Persistence pays off, just like in business.

The TV is up in our living room. Never mind that we’re still using lawn furniture.

We’re making progress on our marketing. Russell set up a website at hermithaus.com. We’re figuring out how to set up our credibility pack—the publication that tells all about Hermit Haus Redevelopment and why you should want to do business with us—in different pages. It will also have a new blog so we can talk about ourselves as nauseum there.

Ranch House Update

Brody will miss the mortar sand pile when it’s gone. We’ll see how these outdoor ceiling fans work out. We may never even need to turn them on.

Suna chose red glass subway tiles for the kitchen backsplash. Every now and then, there’s a matt tile mixed in with the glossy tiles for effect. There isn’t a lot of contrast between the bookshelves and the floors. They will look better once they are filled.

We’re getting close to done. All that’s left of the rock work on the exterior is the front porch columns. The rest of the house is done. Just in time for it to start cooling off a bit. Poor Raul.

Somehow, I let Suna talk me into installing ceiling fans on the front and back porches, despite the constant breeze. She said something like, “There will be calm days,” and I relented. So we have two fans on the front porch and four in back.

Inside, the backsplashes are going up. Suna picked out a red subway tile for the kitchen and a limestone with red glass highlights for the butler’s pantry/storm room and laundry room.

The cabinet maker also delivered the bookcases for the master suite and Suna’s office. They are stained almost exactly the same color as the floors upstairs, so not a lot of contrast there.

Upstairs also has a cabinet for the fancy coffee maker. Between the couch, the dining set, the bed, and now the coffee maker, I may never have to leave the master suite again.

 

A New Hope

Brody was incredulous when I told him he would have to stay at Braesgate with Elizabeth for a few days. The view from our hotel room wasn’t very impressive. The view from the event hotel parking lot was much better.

In the service of “keeping Austin weird,” they have erected these guitar statues all over downtown. Carol and Russell agree that we should work closely together in a new business. Brody was glad we got home safely.

Be true to your school now

And let your colors fly

—Brian Wilson and Mike Love

Suna and I spent the weekend in Austin attending a Fortunebuilders “training” session. Although they presented more information about flipping, which they prefer to call “redeveloping,” that we could possibly assimilate, the three days were primarily devoted to marketing further training and the back-end systems they have developed to support their own redevelopment business, CT Homes.

Carol and Russell also attended, and we sat together for much of the weekend. Russell couldn’t get off work for the Friday session, but he was there for both Saturday and Sunday.

We had lunch together almost every day, but Suna and I were on our own for dinner, when we didn’t run into someone else attending the event. Since I hate to drive in traffic, we stayed at a hotel in walking distance of the event. The weather was perfect and walking to the event (and meals) gave us some much needed exercise. It didn’t take long to develop “conference butt” as we were stuck in uncomfortable chairs for hours on end.

In the end, the four of us decided to formalize our relationship by forming a new redevelopment company, Hermit Haus Redevelopment. The name was Carol’s idea based on the fact that I am so much a hermit. We also decided to sign up for the full package of Fortunebuilder training, including joining their “Inner Circle,” which is supposed to grant us better access to the big dogs. We’ll see….

The main thing I’m looking forward to is learning how to systematize everything. I’ve worked myself into a full-time job as a real estate investor. Hopefully, the systems will enable me to offload some of what has been eating all my time. But honestly, I’ve always been better at developing systems than following them.

 

Doggy Progress

“Look, Daddy! I’m hiding. You can’t see me.” [Okay, so not all the cabinet doors are on yet.]

Rose wants “that puppy” to leave her alone, but he’s persistent.

Rose is getting more accepting of Brody. When he first arrived, she acted as if she were terrified of him. This is strange because she adopted Stella as one of her own puppies and loved her accordingly. Suna thinks the trauma of being involved in Stella’s tragedy affected Rose deeply.

Backstory

Stella and Rose were playing. Stella’s collar got caught on Rose’s jaw. Stella panicked and flipped in an effort to get away, turning the collar into a tourniquet around her neck. She suffocated before Suna could get her free.

We have since learned that this type of death is not uncommon in the blue heeler community. Hence I will not let a dog wear a collar again. Halters are much safer.

Progress of a Kind

But while she still won’t play with Brody, Rose at least acknowledges him now. That’s progress of a kind.

 

Ranch House Update

Suna couldn’t wait to show me this racoon print in the mud. They do love water, and we do live in the country. “This strange creature has engulfed Daddy’s foot. Must. Get. It. Off.”

The cabinet doors really dress up the kitchen—that and cleaning it. Now all we need is glass for the center doors. Raul continues to make progress rocking the house. While everyone else was working, I moved dirt around. We have a lot of dirt.

This house isn’t indicative of my wealth. This house is my wealth.

—Danny Thomas [and me]

We continue making slow progress on the ranch house. Ruben continues his contractory behaviors of not showing up when he says he’s going to, but he does eventually show up.

I’m beginning to think that paying as we go on this house was a mistake. It makes mid-steam changes too easy. It also makes tracking time and expenditures to the original budget difficult, if not nearly impossible.

I know what Danny Thomas felt like when he talked on The Tonight Show about a fancy house he had built. He said, “This house isn’t indicative of my wealth. This house is my wealth.” The ranch house is quickly consuming resources to the point where that’s a true statement.

The cabinet doors are now all in. Ruben has been tying up loose ends and touch ups. Raul continues working on the rock. We’ve cleaned up a lot of the construction debris. We put all of the excess drywall where I will haul in a few loads of road base to make the driveway circular—it’s gypsum, after all. And finally, I’ve been moving dirt around to level the yard and ease the slope off the back porch.

 

Muscles Where?

What is it about dogs and tissues. I’ve never seen a dog who isn’t fascinated by reducing paper to a thousand small pieces.

Raul has to pick up each rock between two and four times. We bought 192 tons for the house.

Despite the August heat, Raul has been working very hard to skin the first floor in rock. First, he moves a selection of rocks into his work area. Then he picks them out, one by one, until he finds the right one for the spot, shaping it as needed by beating it with a mason’s hammer. Finally, he mortars the spot and places the rock. Next rock.

That means he’s going to pick up up to 192 tons of rock at least twice. Much of it, he’ll pick up four times as he lifts it up to the scaffolding he stands on to get to the top of the wall.

Raul is the only worker our neighbor Ralph respects. Ralph watch him work for a half hour or so. Then he said in his inimical Australian way, “That man must have muscles in his shit.”

 

It’s Freakin’ Hot

The grass is turning crunchy and brown. Photo by: Suna

Brody is learning how to negotiate the stairs. Photo by: Suna

She patrols that fence of his

To a Latin drum

And the hissing of summer lawns

—John Guerin and Joni Mitchell

It’s freakin’ hot outside—more than 100^°F. The grass has turned its summer brown. When we go for walks, we experience the crunching of summer lawns.

With it being this hot, of course it’s time to start some really difficult outside work. The sand and mortar mix have been delivered, so Raul can start putting the stone on the side of the house. It’s really getting close to being finished.

But we’re enjoying the porch now that we’ve cleaned it up. Suna says even with the heat, the front porch is fairly comfortable. In the late afternoon, we can sit on the front porch and enjoy the shade and the breeze. I’m glad we had the eaves insulted. That helps keep the heat off of us.

 

Brody Report

Brody found a new house.

“Daddy, there’s a ball under there.”

Brody has a new cuteness. He like to crawl under things. He’s also become very popular on Suna’s Facebook page.

 

Peachtree Update

Check out how much better the front of the house looks. The kitchen looks much better with the trash removed.

The updated stove looks good. The fireplace looks really good.

Suna, Brody, and I did a semifinal walkthrough at Peachtree today. I’m really pleased. It’s about time to put it on the market.

The kitchen looks clean and modern with the dishwasher, new cabinets, and the new sink positioned so you can look at the side of the neighbor’s house while doing dishes.

We also went for that modern look when we refaced the fireplace in the living room. The living room in the center of the house is and opens to the dining area. I believe it will make a really comfortable space to relax in.

But the best part may be the spa-like bathroom. We used a large format tile in a vertical orientation. We also put in a recessed area to put shampoo and the like.

 

The bathroom may be my favorite room in the house.