A ray of hope hit when I got to the property this morning and saw - 2 men out there. One was the contractor and the other is the dirt work expert - dude who operates machinery like magic. Seriously, the man is as good as they get.
However, that hope quickly faded. They were there to re-do the dirt work. I instantly saw dollar signs going off, he didn't say anything about this and I am not interested in spending ANY more money on dirt work.
After discussing it with him, however, it turns out this is part of the deal with the dirt work I have already paid for and there is no extra charge for it. Look, dealing with this guy has been pretty frustrating, but he has crews of people that know their business and I can't get away from that aspect of it.
We went into this long discussion about a park he and his co-investors recently built. I had NO idea that was his doings. It's out in the middle of nowhere and I was wondering about this property and actually went out there and looked at it not long ago. I put up an ad for it in a facebook group that has ready investors, these people have money and they buy parks from all over the country.
Yes, I'd like to take a 50k chunk of the money and say thank you very much. He is willing to part ways with it for the amount they have dumped into it, which almost a third of what the realtors have it listed for. I might as well try, I could certainly use the money right about now.
Back to the dirt work. He was going to dump gravel tomorrow, but if you read this blog at all, you know that tomorrow there is an almost 90% chance of rain. So, they are still doing the dirt work - right now actually - and he said with it leveled back out it will dry faster after it rains.
Ok. I told him I need this thing done, soon. That's all I can do, try to light a fire under his feet, but he has no control over the weather. That's in the God department, the rest of us mere mortals just have to deal with it. I'm going to start incurring costs with no incoming revenue to pay for it. I just feel kind of ridiculous that I put off the gravel, I should have done it when they were going to do it, I just wanted the electricity done first.
Hindsight is always perfect vision.
I need to get out there after they do that dirt work and block that damn driveway. Yet ANOTHER large truck had driven through there. What is with these people driving vehicles through my property? I have no trespassing signs up and I had the entrance to the new driveway lined with signs that either the wind blew down or they just drove over the top of it. It's starting to piss me off, actually. I'm going to get a bunch of the branches I cut down 2 days ago and just block the driveway with them.
I need to get that hunting camera out there, I keep forgetting to do that, I have way too much on my mind right now. I catch people driving on there and I can get their license plate number? I'll call the county sheriff. Take that to the bank.
Anyway, he pointed out one of the drainage pipes I had installed and said that is really where the gravel is going to go. I've got to go buy a 90 - 90 degree angle PVC fitting and run the pipe over to the side.
That shouldn't be too difficult and I won't have to do anything but probably have to buy another stick of pipe.
I can't do anything right now, tho. I took my vehicle into the shop and the guy was too busy to get to it right away. He drove me home in my vehicle, heard the noise and said "that's solid". Yes, hence the need to find out what's wrong and get it fixed before it turns into something - more. So I'm home - probably all day if this guy's record is any indicator. He does good work but he's very popular and hence busy.
I think I have all the ingredients for a nice, crock pot stew and fixing to go get that stuff together and get it into the crockpot. It's still early yet and the recipe says 6-7 hours on high. That puts it an hour before dinner time.
It's not like I don't have anything to do today. I've got quick books to figure out and it wants me to take photos of all my receipts so it can input it into the system. Great! I have like 50 receipts and invoices, gag.
Oh well. I knew the business end of this deal would be a challenge for me, putting it mildly.
Oh, and the contractor backed up my assessment. I can just have a 10 wheel truck out with a good driver - he said make sure he has a good driver for this - that can chain open the rear gate and dump the gravel while driving down the driveway. He also agreed I only need a couple of inches of material and said he can get 100 to 120 feet out of one truckload doing it that way.
At least I got some useful info out of him, that puts it in between 4 and 5 truckloads, a couple grand worth.
He also said that unless I can supply a pond with well water, the water table won't be enough to fill up a pond out front. Yes, I replied, there is a well by the gas company stuff. It's capped off but it's still got the casing in it and just needs to be checked by a well company and have a pump/water line installed.
I already knew it would require well water - you can't use city water, the monthly water bills would be ridiculously high. That's not really a priority but it is something I'd like done.
He said he was discussing it with his folks at work and they thought a covered party area would be a better fit out there. Yes, I said, I intend on having one - but in the back of the park, not up front. Keep it away from neighbors and away from the RV section. In fact, I am going to put up a basic fire pit with outdoor seating after I get everything else done.
We have the same ideas - he just has more money lol. I'm glad my ideas are fitting with others who are already in the business of building these parks. That is something that won't cost a lot of money and gives extra-added value for the late-nighters/partying bunch that won't negatively affect people in their RV's wanting to enjoy peace and quiet at night time. I need to go out there and measure how far away from the rv park area it is.
Ok I'm missing my vehicle.
