Seriously. Between the skylight replacement and the garage door opener repair, it was actually a few dollars MORE than the paycheck that was deposited into my account on the 30th. I am so glad to have a steady paycheck at this moment, the thought of spending it all by the 3rd of the month doesn't bother me in the slightest. If I hadn't given up the very unsteady life of commissions, I'd be freaking out bigtime. Panicking. Instead, I'm just...sighing.
Speaking of the unsteady former life of commissions, I had a former co-worker email me about possibly listing her house, and I told her I was back in development world and didn't do that anymore, but I do work with a friend who can help her. I've referred three potential customers to my friend in the last two months - nothing has come of it so far, but I will get paid if and when a deal closes. I still have an active license, I just don't have time to do the job, so I have teamed up with another agent - I'm her referral pipeline.
The appraiser came today, to see my condo - he was a sweet old guy, been doing this for many decades, came out of retirement after his wife passed away because he was bored. He was from way south of Orlando and utterly unfamiliar with my neighborhood, and I was able to give him some information - then realized hours later that I was dumb - he'd asked me if we had tennis courts and I said "No," but then realized of course we do. They are part of the master association, along with the walking/bike trails, lakes, parks, etc.
Oh well, the comps all share the same master amenities so it will all come out in the wash. He showed me what he was using for comps, and I gave him feedback on one property - a foreclosure that was such a hot mess it had to be completely gutted, and is now back on the market for $50k+ more than it sold for. (I was in it when it was listed as a foreclosure, and seriously, I wanted to go home and shower after spending 10 minutes in it -and I am no stranger to funky foreclosures.) So no, please don't use that sale as a comp for my place, which is in perfect working condition and totally liveable, and just needs (is begging for) updating. I'm not concerned about the appraised value because I'm not getting a big mortgage, just enough to do what needs to be done. I'm pretty confident that it'll appraise for what I thought it would, and that's all I need it to do.
Sorry I'm so focused on money right now, but spending one's entire paycheck on fixing house stuff IN THREE DAYS tends to draw one's attention to financial things.
And on that note, I'm very late to the party, but while fooling around looking for an iPad app for budgeting, I finally checked out Mint.com. Holy crap, it's amazing! Of course I picked a terrible time to join and link my accounts, because it's now yammering at me with warning messages about how my spending is just insane and what was that check I just wrote that was way out of line with my normal spending patterns, and on and on, but after things settle down by the end of the month, I think it will be a very useful tool. I love how it does the boring stuff for you, and even makes a budget of sorts, that you can then tweak.
And oh, yes, it's raining again.
I cleaned up for the appraiser, so this place is neat as a pin, and my weekend won't be full of boring domesticity. Now I just have to figure out how I'll fill it.
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