“I think there’s something you need to know…a tree fell through the building last night,” says my tenant at my front door.
“What? Uh…ok, well I think my insurance covers temporary lodging,” I say groggily as I rub the sleep out of my eyes.
“I’m not worried about me, I’m worried about the building,” he says as he steps aside to give me a better look.
I peer over my tenant’s shoulder and try to assess the damage before I have to break the news to The Guy. He’s gonna be pissed.
I’ll let the photos speak for themselves.
Tree Damage January 2022
Yeah.
Suffice it to say the damage was substantial.
The Guy started pacing back and forth, throwing his head in his hands and frantically trying to figure out how he’d rebuild everything. He’d just put new roofs on all our buildings in 2017 so just the idea of doing it again made his joints ache.
“Don’t worry, we have insurance,” I reassured him.
Unfortunately, all our long-term tenants left because no one wants to live in a building that might light on fire if the electricity is turned on or have to endure loud construction. So at that point, we decided to convert all the cabins into vacation rentals.
For the past 15 months, we’ve been fighting that insurance every step of the rebuilding process. Just last month, we fired the contractor for putting moldy insulation back into the attic, putting up cedar shakes in a crooked line, repainting parts of the building with the wrong shade and other unacceptable mistakes. He’d show up to work for 2 hours once a week and then leave, so the whole situation was driving us nuts.
We had no idea we could cash out and do it ourselves. No one gives you these kinds of tips in the Manual of Life – so tens of thousands of lost dollars later, we ended up back at square one having to do it ourselves.
It was looking like such a hot mess for awhile that someone local emailed me asking if I was looking to sell because I might be overwhelmed.
Well, we hung in there and it feels like the longest, biggest project we’ve ever undertaken. But here we are, getting ready for a soft open in less than 2 weeks!
We took all those lemons that life gave us and decided to make some blueberry margaritas. Well, at least I did. I think The Guy is going to ferment them in whiskey barrels until they taste like something he can tolerate.
Starting May 4th until our Grand Opening on Memorial Day weekend (May 26), our rates will be 30% off. If you have the time and means, please come stay with us and enjoy the relaxing area. We’d love your feedback on areas that could use improvement.
The discount is automatic so make your reservations now!
I cannot wait to see the new place with blueberry margaritas in hand!!