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Ernest
05-24-2010, 10:07 AM
We put our home up for sale, and we have accepted an offer. The sale is pending. It’s a nice home, but we can’t afford to stay anymore.

We have our eye on another place. The house is small, but there’s just the two of us now. There is good ground for the horses, and for a garden. It’s closer to family and to my day job in the city. After the move, I’ll have to build a run-in shed, and storage for our machinery and our horse tack, carts and sleighs. But the costs will be less for the mortgage, for energy, for taxes, for the commute.

We’ll be moving to a place a lot lower in the watershed. Who pays attention to that? I do.

On Saturday morning the sky was overcast, and it was warm. I went to Catscratch Creek to fish through a neighbor’s woods. I took a 3wt bamboo. By the time the wind started to blow it was too late to go back to the truck for the 5wt, so I made do. I caught several little trout on The Fly That Will Not Be Mentioned at the flyshop in town. Then a nice brown of about sixteen inches came from under a bank and followed the fly. He turned away without hitting it. I had several short strikes, and began to question The Fly That Will Not Be Mentioned. I traded for a Red Horse Soft Hackle tied on a size 12 Tiemco 200. I caught several more ten inch browns and some little brookies, and then one fine and fat wild brook trout of a foot in length. It’s nice to see the brook trout come back in the creek, after several years of decline. In one of the long pools I had a strike from a nice fish, and I thought I had him until he ran upstream and went around a corner. This wasn’t good. I put on a little more pressure, and the hook pulled free. The fish had straightened the hook. It’s nice to live near a creek where those things can happen any day. In the afternoon it rained and I spent the time in my fly tying room, getting organized for the move that might come next month.

I’m grieving a bit about the prospects of leaving Catscratch Creek and its tributaries Little Prickerbush Creek and Cream Creek. But I’ll still be able to fish them sometimes; it will be just over an hour by car. And it will be an hour and a half in another direction to three large spring creeks and a lot of trout.

The house we have our eye on? I’ve never thought about the streams around there. There’s Bart’s River, a brown trout stream, and Sharptooth Creek, a brook trout stream, both about fifteen minutes from the new house. And there’s Liar’s Creek, which I could ride a horse to if the farmer will let me cross his land.

It’s hard sometimes to start over. But a big part of small stream trout fishing is exploration and discovery, and I'm hoping these new creeks will keep me busy.

mems
05-24-2010, 11:24 AM
Good Luck Ernest, I am sure you will find happiness wherever you are, Don.

soupmix
05-24-2010, 01:50 PM
Good luck to you. Don't worry about the fish, you'll find them no matter where you are.

adam
05-25-2010, 09:17 AM
Ernest, I feel for you. Although we do not have a stream near home, we are being forced to either pare down in a large way, or leave. The home across the street just sold for $65,000 we bought our home three years ago for nearly three times that much. We are sick about it. We struggle hard to make the bills as we have added debt now (child care being the biggest along with growing boys and college coming up) so this is our reality too.

I do wish you all the best and it is true, you may not be able to go home but you can go fishing there...

Ernest
05-27-2010, 10:57 AM
We’ve made a couple more small steps toward the move. Things could still fall through, but things are still on track.

We have good equity in our current home, and we’ll trade that for good equity in the new one. Some Midwestern areas have been on a slide in housing values, especially in the cities. In our area, sales are slow but houses have held their value.

What I really can’t afford is the most brutal, mind numbing commute in the Midwest. Trading houses will reduce my commute by 10 hours a week and transportation and housing expenses by $300-$400 per month.

The new house will work for us. The outdoor interests need some attention. I’ve made a materials list for a horse shed and I’ll build it myself. What’s next? A pole barn for storage? Chicken coop? Greenhouse? Sauna?

There are trade-offs. I’m trading the calls of sandhill cranes, loons, geese and wild turkeys for the calls of bluebirds, ringneck pheasants, geese and wild turkeys. I’m trading heavy woods for open, rolling pastures. I’m losing my proximity to the creeks I know, and moving closer to the smartest and most engaging 15 month old first granddaughter in the whole family.

I am concerned about the things we’re leaving behind, but I look forward to the things we’re gaining. It will be a good trade.

Gerard
06-01-2010, 01:59 AM
All the best mate. Change can be good and if I listen to my wife it is always for the better. :) I wish you guys well.

Ernest
06-04-2010, 05:32 AM
The pending sale isn’t pending anymore. A whole string of contingent sales collapsed when our buyers were not able to close the sale of their old house in a neighboring town. A string of families aren't moving, and a string of real estate agents are not getting paid.

I don’t know why that deal went bad. Someone upstream crapped in the water, and all the deals downstream were polluted.

We have a theory. Our buyers were using a buffoon real estate agent for our deal and for their sale upstream. He submitted a faulty offer to us and our agent had to fix it for him, and he never got anything done right or on time. The buyers' house inspector came out five days after they could have asked us to cure any problems. The inspector asked who the buyers’ agent was. When we told him, he said, “Well, do ya think this deal will go through?” We asked why the skepticism, and he said “I’ve known Bob since he was a little kid. He has never in his whole life been able to accomplish anything on time.”

We’re sore about it, but we’re staying put for now.

On Sunday I went out to Catscratch Creek and caught about 20 trout on flymphs. Last night I called my friend Dennis and told him he’d better come up soon and get some fishing in. You never know when we might be preoccupied by another possible buyer.

Doctor
06-16-2010, 10:53 AM
Ernest,
hope things sort themselves out for you and yours.
seems 2010 is not a great year for many of us .
I have never been unemployed for more than a week or so,been on the job market for 5 months now,getting rejections and dont call us we will call yous and even worse no response from applications grinds you down a bit,dont know where I would be without suppport of Wife and son and especially some of my fishing friends who are helping keep me sane .Half expecting a job offer this weekend ,hope it pans out !

thank heavens for fishing and friendship.

Ernest
06-17-2010, 05:26 AM
Doctor,

Thanks for the note.

It's amazing to me what poor work is done by the real estate "professionals" in this area. They offer their "compassion" when things go south, but they have no skin in the game, and I have to explain that I'm not paying them for their compassion. I'm losing money because of their incompetence.

Competent real estate agents need not be offended; if they do good work, I have great respect for them. I've worked with good people in the past, and I know the difference. The people we have in this neighborhood are dreadful.

Meanwhile, the fishing has been excellent. I'm going into camp tomorrow for a few days for an annual meeting with a few old friends. The weather will be good, and the fish should be biting.

adam
06-17-2010, 08:53 AM
This weekend, we visit with the specialist in short sale on our home.

This is our reality.

2010 will be the year that we accept that our investment is actually a sinking ship and it is time to abandon.

It is scary, boxing everything to move to a rental home.

Ernest
06-17-2010, 09:48 AM
Adam,

Sorry to hear it. I haven't been in that kind of a spot, but I have friends who have walked away from their homes when the local economy and job market went bad. It's not local now; we have a national (or maybe global) problem, and now more of my friends are losing their investments and looking at some grim housing prospects.

One of our sons and his wife bought a house that was forclosed on a couple of years ago. They got a good deal on the house, but that didn't do anything for the people that had to move out.

adam
06-17-2010, 02:02 PM
It is too bad indeed but we have our health and our jobs and it is actually a relief to get on with the process.

Good luck in your situation Ernest.

Ernest
07-06-2010, 12:28 PM
I suppose I'll jinx the deal by writing about it, but our "buyers" came back and after negotiations we have a new agreement to close at the end of the July. This time I wanted to know if they were qualified buyers, and I insisted on and got a large non-refundable earnest money deposit, payable to me if they cancel the closing again.

We're looking forward to moving now. We're packing our stuff and getting back in touch with our labor force. It's high summer and the fishing is falling off, but at least I had the best of the season here in the old place.

I'll miss part of living in the woods. On Sunday a bear came into the back yard. The dog was barking from inside the house, and I was rapping on the window, but he wasn't moving along. When he turned to walk down toward the barn (horse feed, horse cookies, etc.), I went out with a plastic broom and chased him into the woods. Last seen he was galloping northwest toward the DNR land. There will be much different wildlife where we're going. We''ll be lucky to see one bear a year down there.

Ernest
07-23-2010, 01:09 PM
After lots of drama and crazy plot twists, it looks like we will be closing on these real estate transactions next week. After all this hassle, my next move after this one will be into senior citizen assisted living. I hope that's at least a few years into the future.

I'll be a lot further from Catscratch Creek now, but there are other small trout streams in the new neighborhood.

I'll be without the use of a computer and an Internet connection for about a week, and I'll be looking forward to catching up with all your posts on all the threads when I'm back online.

adam
07-23-2010, 06:25 PM
The sign is up outside our home. The business cards from the agents get placed on the counter. The mortgage company now sends acceptance to the multiple applications for assistance that they ignored months ago. They offer to extend our mortgage for several years at a lower rate. It is a classic case of too little too late.

So we count down until we move. The same money that we pay now for a mortgage on a house that is worth less than a third of the purchase price will go to renting a beautiful home in a good neighborhood. We won't be struggling to fix a old air conditioning unit or the dry rot on the trim. My home is where my wife and children are and now we will be in a much better place.

I know I will be remembering this time in my life, my kids will be too.

I'm not fixing the blame, I'm fixing the problem.

I pray that I will remember these lessons and remain humble.

Ernest, you sound like you are in a good place, I wish you all the best things in the world.

Chef
07-27-2010, 10:19 AM
In reading all of your posts it seems there is much light to be thankful for even in dark times. You all will win the game as you are seeing what life truly is. I have been fortunate thus far (knock on wood) but realize that any day I could be without a job or potentially witness my house slip away. Humility keeps me balanced.

HSA insurance is terrible in fact health insurance all together is in bad shape which could easily cripple anyone who gets sick coupled with being without a job.

I just had a cook die last week (found in his apartment by his sister) and am not sure how he went but his daily mood was very low, fighting to get his children through a divorce, no hours at work, behind in payments and seemingly his world in a downward spiral.

We need to be surrounded by light, goodness and a positive spiritual walk towards a direction that will define our being. We are all being tested, some more than others but you won't be tested more than you can take...trust me. Most of what we learn in life we have seen through the rear view mirror. What we learn from our past can direct our future and set us up for success in areas that perhaps we never looked at while we were in our comfort zone.

Each one of you will come out of this with cache and will be in the best shape that you have ever been. It won't happen tomorrow but this pain shall pass it's just around the corner at the next pool.

It's not the mountains ahead that will slow you down it's the pebbles in your shoes...

Peace, Love & Strength to all of you :sunny:

adam
07-27-2010, 09:18 PM
Works for me Chef, we will be ok. We both work hard and have our health, the boys are strong and it will get better because we are making good choices.

Ernest
07-28-2010, 01:01 PM
“Sale pending” has become “sale accomplished.” We sold the old house, bought the new one, and moved yesterday.

The last four days has been a series of minor to mid-level disasters. We’ve gotten through with help from friends and strangers.

My wife and I are running on short sleep as we’ve packed everything and carried some of our things ourselves to the new place. With all the work and low rations, I’ve lost eight pounds in three days. I’ll find them again, though.

Late yesterday we were both dizzy from lack of sleep, but the closings were done, and we had to move the horses. It was hot and humid, and the horses knew a storm was coming. That damn red horse would not go near the trailer. It took us an hour and a half to get him in. By then I’d been stepped on twice, pinned against the wall, and head-butted. After this, I might move kittens, but not 1300 pound horses. With both horses in the trailer, I started off slowly, with the truck loaded with steel fence posts, tools, and horse bedding, and the front of the trailer overloaded with horse tack and the last of our household belongings. We had more than a ton of horse in back. Did I mention that the trailer brakes had quit working?

Twenty miles into the trip we met the storm. We’re not supposed to have hurricanes here. The rain came in sheets. Lightning sparked across the sky and the thunder boomed over the road. The wind blew. Trees fell onto the road. I couldn’t see a thing, which was good, because if I’d seen the downed trees I might have been discouraged. I hoped the horses were still standing. I drove on slowly. I talked to the truck. “Nice truck. Good truck. You can do it,” I said. The truck whined and growled.

The wind and lightning lessened as we approached the new place. Home at last. The storm had blacked out the electricity. It was near nightfall. I had to go out in the rain and put up a temporary fence for a paddock.

Later, shirtless and shoeless, I was moving some things out of one of the cars when a big pickup came up the driveway. It was the neighbor from across the road, egg producer, sheep farmer, cheese maker. He had two grandkids in the cab. Neighbor. I told him I wasn’t dressed to receive company. He said he wasn’t dressed to be calling. At least he had a shirt on. He asked if we had flashlights, and I told him I’d found some. He told us to stop over when we were a little more settled. The coffee pot is on at 5:30 am, and breakfast is served at 8:30. He said if we didn’t like coffee, he had beer. The grandkids liked our dog. My wife said we’d be in touch in the future to ask if he knew who we could hire to mow our overgrown pastures. He asked if we grew up in the country, and when we said yes, he told me to come over and get his tractor and brush hog.

Later I was too tired to find our sheets and make the bed by fading flashlight beam, so I found a sleeping bag and curled up on the floor. My wife pushed some clothing off the bed and spread a sleeping bag on the mattress.

I woke up in the dark to the sound of the air conditioner working. I went into the kitchen to move some food from the coolers to the refrigerator. I ate a sandwich, and went back to sleep.

This morning it was warm but drier. The horses were still alive. We made it.

Last night I forgot to ask the sheep herder about that little brook trout stream that runs through the back side of his property. I’ll have to check in soon and ask for a beer with breakfast.

Chef
07-29-2010, 05:23 PM
Ernest, if I ever meet you I hope to be in a small local tavern in your village. I'm certain the conversations would last a life time scented with memory driven adventures.

Your "sale pending" has already risen in value...

compagnito
05-14-2011, 03:10 AM
Things are similar in England. I know you guys don't really do "irony", but over here if you walk around the City (like your Wall Street)
the restaurants, bars and pubs are all packed with cheery diners stuffing their faces, their sexy secretaries in tow.

Meanwhile ordinary folk, the hospitals, libraries, disabled folk, the meek, ernest and poor are getting the crap kicked out of them every which way.

Doctor
05-14-2011, 05:53 AM
Well
the Doctor has been back at work for a while ,not the job of my dreams however it is far better than income support or the lousy cooking job for a huge pub company that i took in desperation .
just done a 29 day straight run with no day of and long hours most days , both physically and mentally shattered ,had an afternoon float tubing on one of the midland lakes .that helped clear my head .
good to see others are going in the right direction .

adam
05-14-2011, 09:15 AM
Whoa, that's a lot of working Doc. I'm too old for that. I can't even stay at work for 8 hours, I have to go home for lunch.

But I go to work, then I go fishing...