What the HELL has she been doing?
She don't call, she don't write and she sho as hell ain't been bloggin'! Did she up and move and not tell nobody?
Relax...
Forgive me, peeps, for I have been MIA. I've barely written a thing in a couple weeks (and my stats are suffering for it). Wanna know why? Ok, kiddies, pull up a chair and Mama WG will do some show and tell...
See this?
This, comrades, is a house that I will be closing on in 5 days. Yep, 5 days.
Wait one ding dang sec, there! Wudn't she 'posed to move to LA?
Well, see, here's the thing... those people in LA... they think a WHOLE LOT of their real estate. So much more than we do in the South. 800sq foot for $1650 a month is NOT anyone's idea of Southern hospitality, although it seems that it IS LA's idea of "hospitality". So, I'm going to be spending something close to $3300.00 before I move in for a place to park the furniture and lay my head at night? YIKES! Additional monies for a security deposit, and MORE money (this time, non-refundable) for my darling Sophie... and (how the hell do I get the bug-eyed I'm shocked simile to show here?) they want to charge an additional PER MONTH pet rent? Holey moley, you LA folks are sho proud of your apartments! THEN, there's the 3K to move my furniture across the nation, and THEN there's the flying out there to LOOK at the above mentioned "apartments", and the flying back to collect my puppy Sophie, (Yeah, so what if she's 9? She'll always be MY puppy.. just like you'll always be yo Momma's "baby"... she don't care if you ARE 50!) only to fly both of us BACK out there, and then buying a vehicle upon arrival since we all know that "Walking in in LA" is a great song, but, really, not that much fun or practical!
BIG BUCKS, which, frankly, I don't feel like spending. Oh, I can cover it, but THEN what? Job? Hmmm, well, yes, I do have a very portable job but you know, it would take a few months (at the very least) to get a good buzz going about my remodeling skills. I'm not foolish enough to think that my screenwriting will be paying the bills from day one... so let's see... roughly 8-9K to make the MOVE and then... only a (VERY) thin cushion afterwards? Nah, see, I don't think so.
So? Did WG give up on the idea of screenwriting and moving out to LA to meet, greet and conquer?
Nah...
Just thought I'd buy a coupla houses that are in dire need of re-habbing, fix them and sell them (after they've gotten the special sprinkling of fairy dust only I can give them), saving my profits so that I CAN move out there and have a FAT cushion to park my behind on.
The picture above is of the house that my best friend and I have found (painstakingly searching for it was mostly MY job since he wouldn't know a good deal if it bit him... yet. I'll learn him.) Here's a few pictures of the inside of the house... consider these "before"s and I'll post "after"s when we are ready to sell the thing.
The back of the house... needs LOTS of help. When next you see it, it'll have french doors and a new deck. The tree is going bye-bye.
From the inside, looking out. This needs some cleaning, some paint and refinishing of the hardwoods.
Yeah, I know... not pretty! Don't worry, it will be.So, for the next coupla months... you know where to find me. For the most part, I'll be MIA from blogging. Somehow, with the workload staring at me, I doubt I'll have much time to show up here. I'll try to post every few days, but no promises! No, I'm not abandoning blogging or screenwriting, just making a practical choice.
Stay tuned for "before" pictures of the bathroom (Run! Really! It's scary in there!)
posted by writergurl @ 6/06/2006 01:37:00 AM
9 comments
9 Comments:
Can fully appreciate your choice WG. I hope your fairy dust finds no problems and all the work is done quickly.
That house does look like it has potential. Can't wait to see the after shots.
cheers
Dave
You're doing it the right way. I've been in LA for eight years and I'm still in shock at how high rents have gotten. I moved out with $4k in '98 and considered that a good cushion. And it was. Rents were cheap compared to now, and jobs were not hard to find, thanks to our once-thriving Clintonian economy. A fat bankroll is required for moving out now.
Even moving while already here is painful--me and the girlfriend want to find a two bedroom, but good luck finding anything below $2000 in a decent neighborhood. Buying is not even an option.
You've got a good eye for potential. You can do lots with that place, especially the wide-open front window.
Dave, thanks. I, too, am hoping that it goes well. Thanks for the well wishes.
Shawn, dude, talk about sticker shock... I tried, and tried to find a half way decent apartment, in a decent neighborhood and it was horrid. I tried Craigslist, as well as the newspaper as well as some on-line apartment services... holy batman! The only thinga I found remotely accpetable were gone when I called. Semi decent places go FAST. In fact, the 1650 I quoted was a referral from a friend of mine. YIKES! So, here I sit, in the Deep south hoping to make enough money so that I don't get desperate for money after a month of two of moving.
I'll let you guys see the pics of the after as soon as it's done!
Well, hurry back! You can get started advertising your remodeling services before you move out -- just make yourself a little webpage and brochure with all the before and after pix, add in a little bit of language regarding the work you know how to do and start sending out letters to real estate agents, contractors (for subcontracts), and get your handi-gal hat out and go pass out cards at hardware shops. And look hot in your toolbelt. Think Gina Gershon in BOUND.... You can do it. I believe in you! (Do I sound like your mom?) :-)
FD, ummmm, thanks for the encouragement... Mom... ;)
Seriously, I will do that but with a possible 50K profit margin (calculated as my sales price - cost to buy + cost to hold + repairs), I may have to do another one of these before I can move out there. I'm not really going anywhere... just channelling the creative energies into a venture that I know (from past experience) will net me some serious money... which is what I'll need if I'm gonna live in LA in(at the lower end of) the style to which I've become accustom.
sounds to me like you're doing everything right.
including your righteous diatribe over on my site, i must say, so let's just hope that your point is well taken (and that the rest is silence on that particular front).
whew!
nice-lookin' homes-to-be, at any rate...
OK, I was worried about you! It is expensive to be here. I lived in SF for a year though which is 10x worse, so now LA seems cheap to me. How funny, right?
I wish I knew how to do what you do. Then my house (in L.A.) might look like it's worth the ridiculous amount it was recently appraised at.
Let me know when you're coming...I could be your first customer.
FD, yeah, I know SF is ridiculous. I have friends who just moved there... 900K for LESS house than they had here.
*shakes head and wonders*
Chesher, if you like the "after" pictures, feel free to drop me a note, my email is in my "profile". I would LOVE to have a client when I get there.
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