Post #2

The Background Story

We currently own a triplex that we purchased a few years back. The previous owner had rented the units out for nearly 15 years with nearly no maintenance or improvements. We moved into the two apartment unit upstairs and rent the two 1-bedroom apartments on the main floor. Over the past few years, we performed minor renovations for big impact in order to improve the condition of the triplex. Minor renovations would include paint, new kitchen countertops/sinks, new flooring, new low-flow toilets, new showers, tiling, etc. We did everything ourselves (with the help of his parents) and managed to avoid having to hire contractors.

I (the wife) decided to return to school for more education and a career change. Unfortunately, this means that I would have to move out of town. My husband decided that he would like to keep busy in my absence, so the idea of purchasing a new property to work on started forming.

This time, the idea is to improve the property to a higher scale. We would still look for deals and sales, but would not compromise (too much) on fixtures, floorings, or anything else. The first step was to find a property that required improvement. We hooked up with a real estate agent and gave specific instructions, including a price range and our purpose.

We knew that it was probable that we’d up purchasing in one of the older, rougher neighbourhoods. This was fine with us since the specific neighbourhood we were thinking of was experiencing some renewal with older people passing away and younger professionals coming in to rejuvenate outdated properties. The proximity to downtown and the main district of the city adds value to many of these properties.

I’ll admit—the first dozen houses that we viewed were very discouraging.

We feared that we set our expectations too high and our price point too low. We saw houses that were basically tear-downs. We saw tiny houses at the top of our price range that we would never consider buying. Conversely, many properties that we were extremely interested in were purchased before we could even view them.

After a few weeks of intensive searching, we came across two potential properties. The first property was an immaculate, little one and a half story ‘mamere’ or ‘gramma’ house in a neighbour that was in the already in the midst of renewal. The second property was a duplex in a neighbourhood with mere stirrings of rejuvenation.

After careful consideration and second viewings, it was decided to put an offer into the duplex property for several reasons:

• Duplexes (income properties in general) better retain value against swings in real estate
• Potential income while renovating
• Proximity to our current triplex for reduced travel time during renovations
• Proximity to our current triplex for unit showings, as we would eventually move into the duplex

We’ll post a full set of photos in the next blog!

Duplex Project

Welcome to our new purchase.

*Flowers were added by us, picture was taken after we started.

From the original listing on MLS, this property is zoned R2-3 (residential with the allowance of up to 3 units) and approximately 1100 square feet. The property has two floors plus a basement. The description of the property also included suspicious terms like “Handyman Special” and “Plenty of potential!” Fortunately, these were the properties that we were seeking out—diamonds in the rough, if you will. This property was priced low, due to the condition of the house and garage, but also because it was being sold under Power of Attorney.

Property Details
• Duplex
• 1100 sq ft
• Rental Income is listed as ‘potential’
• Age is listed as “Old”
• Has an older detached double garage
• Bedrooms 2+1
• Bathrooms 1+1
Heating: Forced Air, Natural Gas
Water, Sewer: Municipal
Other services: electricity, telephone, cable, bus service, natural gas
Rental Equipment: Water heater (gas), gas furnace, air conditioner
Flooring: Carpet, hardwood, linoleum/vinyl
Exterior: Siding
Foundation: Concrete perimeter
Features: Deck, Central Air, Sauna, Schools nearby, close to public transit
Roof: Asphalt Shingle

Floor //Room Size
MAIN
Kitchen // 12 x 12
Living Room// 15 x 11
Bedroom // 10 x 10
Bedroom // 9.5 x 9
Bathroom// 5 x 4
UPPER
Kitchen // 14.5 x 13
Living Room// 13 x 12
Bedroom// 9.5 x 9
Bathroom// 5 x 7
BASEMENT
Sauna // ??
Laundry // ??
2 extra rooms// ??

Hops

To follow up to a previous post regarding "Sagwick's" a beer company I had started with a friend, that is still in the works. Maybe no longer with the intent of going commercial, but still to explore and understand brewing on a deeper level. To date we have brewed three batches (including a cider which did not carbonate). To make the experience more enjoyable I decided I should try growing some of the ingredients. The easiest to grow are hops. They are a very hardy viny plant that grow in more extreme climates (including Sudbury). They are perennial and require little maintenance. Their only requirement is space, a lot of space. They climb to about 20' in a single growing season. I set up a trellis of sorts along my neighbours garage. Although it didn't reach 20' (more like 10') it got the job done. Now, the hops are used as an aroma and flavour/bittering agent for beer (depending on when they are added to the brew). The earlier in the process they are added (in the boil), the more bitterness they will give off. The later in the process they are added (in fermentation [called dry hopping]), the more they will contribute to the aroma. Like I said, the hops themselves are really easy to grow and I would definitely recommend to anyone. The plant itself is nice enough for decoration alone. The most difficult part was actually getting a hold of the plants I wanted. After the famous hops shortage of 2008, more and more brewers are growing their own hops, and the supply chain has yet to compensate. I leave you with a picture of my first years harvest. Apparently a good harvest is rare in the first year and the plants usually begin to yield after the second or third (similar to asparagus).

Yahtzee

Ahhh yes, Yahtzee. A classic 5 dice game anyone can pick up. The fact that it's so easy to learn and the short play time make it very enjoyable. Even though the game is a combination of luck, probability and skill there are definitely many employable strategies. Anyway, I have Yahtzee on my phone, so I have played it quite a bit lately. Generally I would only play it at family gathering and get-togethers, but now I have a chance to enjoy it almost anytime I like. Which includes, but is not limited to, while I'm driving to work, taking a shower, climbing a ladder and sleeping.

Now that I've surpassed the 200 game mark I've been doing a bit more research into maximum possible scores. I figured I would share with you my best scores with X number of Yahtzees.

0 Yahtzee
282/301

1 Yahtzee
335/351

2 Yahtzees
421/457

3 Yahtzees
511/562

4 Yahtzees
572/666

This is an open challenge. Beat any of my scores and I will mail you a free Stage 3-1 (www.stage3-1.net) CD. Sagle out.

It's back on

Now that I'm all done with school, settled down at work I'm getting back to it at home as well. That means time to start working on the AT1 again. If you've forgotten this is where we left off.




Things should start progressing very quickly. I put new tire tubes on order at Royal Distributing, and finally decided to do something about the forks. I'm just using the ones from the spare parts AT2. They are a bit pitted, but a wet sanded them smooth and the seals aren't leaking. Hopefully this weekend I can have the front and rear tire on. After that it's just a matter of hooking up all the lights and brakes. I might be able to have it on the road by the end of June.

Sagwick

So a lot has been going on. Graduates (yay) with honours, went on vacation to Florida/Jamaica/Grand Cayman and made it home in one piece. Got the bike to my house, certified, insured and on the road.

Alas, something greater than I ever imagined is in the works. A good friend of mine, Kevin Beswick and I have joined forces to create possibly the best (maybe worst) beer of all time. I present to you, Sagwick! (yes, it's both our last names combined). Here is a quick logo idea I sketched out on paint.


A lot of things are still up in the air. The logo is not finalized, obviously. Slogans are undecided. As of now we are gathering supplies. We have most of the hardware (carboys, bottle capper, bottles, bubbler caps etc), but we need to do some more research into what kinds of beer we will be making and the ingredients we will require. Stay tuned!

GS500F

I picked up something I'll be able to insure and ride around this summer. It's a Suzuki GS 500F, a 2008. Almost new, barely any mileage and a great price. Couldn't pass it up. Once I get home I'll have to get it certified and insured, then the fun begins. Here's a picture of my old man wheeling it into the garage.

Live by The Cube, die by The Cube

The Rubik's Cube! One of my good friends had learned how to solve it about a year ago and offered to show me. I recently took him up on his offer and brought one of his cubes back to school with me. I'm still getting comfortable with the algorithms, but my best solve time so far is 3:07. I had a good run going today, around 2:20, but messed it up right at the end. I use www.cubetimer.com to time.



The hardest part about using the real Rubik's Cube is that you must have it lined up perfectly to spin it. It makes it hard to solve it fast. I just ordered a speed cube which seem to have slightly more lenient tolerances, making it easier to spin. I'm thinking once it comes in I'll definitely be able to break the 2 minute barrier.

Cleaning up the workspace..

As part of my birthday gift, I was very insistent on getting new tools boxes. I played the angle that I would finally be able to clean up the basement, since I would have space to put everything. When my birthday came, much to my delight, I received new tool boxes. I had to hold up my end of the bargain. I only took one before picture, but you get the idea of how messy it was. I wish I had taken more.


As you can see, much more space. Should help me be more productive working on the bikes.








I moved the bike I'm working on closer to the bench and the others into the corner. I spent three days cleaning up, around 14 hours in total. Yeah, that's what I do instead of studying. :)

Watches

I've been wearing watches for a few years now. More recently I've started a collection of sorts. I've got a few cheap ones and a few not so cheap ones. This is the majority of the collection and I'm pretty happy with it for now. My three favorite watches are below. A Lucien Piccard, Croton and Fossil.