Mr. Partner

Lest you think I wish to kick Mr. Partner in the shins and spill his strawberry ice cream cone all over the ground, I don't. I actually like Mr. Partner. I have known him for about 20 years. I know I will like him better when he and I aren't involved in anything financial. Uncle Sunshine once told the the only kind of ship that doesn't float is a partnership.

Mr. Partner actually had more experience in property management than I did when this started. I relied on his advice. However, I quickly overtook him in knowledge, but that doesn't mean I don't respect him or the role he has played in our accidental business. I also realize, as a real estate agent, I am trained to play for a win-win solution. Mr. Partner is not. Some of my decisions weren't as long-term profitable as his would be. Some of his decisions would have netted us more up front, but harmed us in the long run.

Also, I am not certain Mr. Partner realizes there is a learning curve and initiation process to do business in the South. The South is a different culture. I caught on quickly (I am pleased to say). I am not sure Mr. Partner will. He may even try to go in with his Yankee ways and find out there are people more passive aggressive than him out there. I don't wish that for him. He and Mrs. Partner are really great people and I want the best for them.

One Last Cry*

I thought once the Dissolution Agreement was signed, letting go of the LLC, I would feel this joyous burst of gratitude. And though I was momentarily relieved Mr. Partner signed the Agreement, it wasn't anything like the cathartic experience I was expecting. In truth, I equate the entire process to a loved one dying a slow death. There is no true release when they pass. You have been expecting it. It is now a new normal part of your normal.

Right after my last trip to Alabama in March of 2015, I stopped stressing about Alabama. I saw my favorite home completely trashed and the dream died. There was no stopping the financial storm that was heading our way. Coupled with the idiots at the bank who called our second loan due and refused to work with us, we were out of options. The tears dried up right about then.

So, dissolving the LLC wasn't terribly emotional. I was anxious to be done, in the way a young child is anxious for Christmas. I was anxious for Mr. Partner to sign the Dissolution Agreement. That was my trigger that would signify it was over. I wanted it to be over. Though there is a transition plan in place, most of it is administrative work and I will say no to anything I don't want to do if Mr. Partner asks. I am ok with that. I will sleep at night with this decision. My help will be willingly or not at all. I am not obligated. Mr. Partner is treading lightly because he knows this too.

As part of the transition plan, I needed to tell the tenants who are not in property management Mr. Partner was taking over and he was the new landlord. The letters took three minutes to compose. As I started addressing the letter to Ms. Angie, I thought about how cold my words felt. After all, a typed letter from someone you consider a friend for the past nine years seemed heartless. Even after I signed it and shoved it in the envelope, it didn't sit right with me.

Then, I addressed Mrs. Sherwood's envelope. Mrs. Sherwood is by far the best tenant anyone could ever ask for. Plus, I really like her. Staring at her letter for some time, I picked up my pen and added a few choice sentiments. I told her how much I had enjoyed getting to know her. How she truly was the best tenant I ever had. I thanked her for our countless conversations. And, hopefully I didn't overstep, I invited her to keep in touch.

Then, I tore open Ms. Angie's envelope and wrote a few words too. It was as I was writing to Ms. Angie, mentioning her beautiful family and grandchildren, that I lost it. The dam burst. I had to reprint Ms. Angie's letter because by then it was soggy and the ink was smudged from my tears. I was going to miss Ms. Angie so much. This woman has worked herself to to the bone make sure her kids weren't street thugs. She dedicated herself to her children, dedicated her time to make sure she had a home for them. I have the utmost respect for her. And I doubt I said so the way I wanted to in my letter.

I told Bliz later how writing the tenant letters got to me. I wasn't expecting the burst of emotion. She replied, "It's because you care." And that's the truth. It has never been about the homes. It has been about the people I have met along the way.


*And speaking of the people I have met along the way, I was introduced to Brian McNight's "One Last Cry" by a former tenant and friend of McKnight's (they knew each other in Muscle Shoals, the music capital of Alabama). I heard if for the first time one day in 2006 when this tenant sent it to me. 

The Transition Plan

Just like the UK's exit from the European Union--well, maybe not exactly just like it--we too have an exit plan. A good portion of it was completed prior to dissolving. But some had to wait until we finished. All of this was laid out the Dissolution Agreement.

What was getting on my nerves by Thursday morning was the countless questions Mr. Partner had about relatively simple things. Granted, he is new at managing homes in Alabama, some of these items were more than simple. For example, Kirby is my HVAC guy (and real estate agent). Was he to write one check and put the homes in the memo line, or one check for the work done at each home? And while we were talking about Kirby, who authorized him to work on the ACs on these homes anyway? That kind of simple. (And for the record, I don't care if he writes one check or more. I doubt Kirby cares either.)

At one point I grumbled to Marty, "You know, I did this for 14 years without anyone holding my hand. I managed. Why can't this man can't handle 14 hours on his own?"

And then, as if Mr. Partner was magically standing in the doorway, eavesdropping, he called Marty, right then and there. He and Mrs. Partner had a "brilliant" idea! Why don't Mr. Partner and I go on a trip to Birmingham and I can introduce him to everyone? I didn't get a chance to practice my withering look on Marty before he replied into the phone, "What a great idea!" and then to me, he added, "When do you want to go?"

Of course, that is a loaded question, because the answer is never. I never want to go. I have been there. With very few exceptions, I have no reason to want to go back. And the idea of spending days of quality time with Mr. Partner while he relives ancient history of how we got to the moment of time we split the homes and then questions every decision I made up until when he took back over his homes, did not sit well with me (seriously, Kirby charged me  $75 for an AC fix and he questioned if I could have done better and when had been the last time I shopped around for such services?). Nor did him seeing that Marty and I inadvertently got the better homes (I swear, it was happenstance--we also have higher mortgages and less stable tenants) sound like a great use of my time. Given how selective his memory happens to be, I don't see this boding well--and I will be the one who hears about it first.

But what really got me about his phone call was that sometime early during the Prexit process this idea was bandied about. It was brought up once as an afterthought. That said, Mr. Partner could not remember anything of significance for the past two weeks, but somewhere in the recesses of his memory, he came up with the conversation where I agreed to go to Birmingham with him. His selective memory is maddening. As we left it, I conceded to go, but refused to commit to a date. I am really sure I am busy for the next few months. My selective memory may make me forget this too.

The Dissolution Agreement

Truly, all one needs to do to dissolve an LLC is fill out a form with the state of your choice--or choices in my case--pay the extortion money they charge and mail the darn thing in. It really is that simple. And, as managing partner, I have the luxury of doing such things.

Though that may be simple on the surface, there really is more to this. For one thing, and this is pretty major, there are assets to split. For another, to dissolve an LLC (and fill out the above forms) without consent of the partners causes hurt feelings and ugly lawsuits, both of which I prefer to avoid.

So, with a pat on the back from Diamond Jim, I sat down last week and wrote out a Dissolution Agreement. The agreement discussed in length who got which homes. It discussed who paid what outstanding bills. It talked about what I as (now former) managing partner was responsible to do from this point forward. The agreement was two pages long. However, there was an enormous Appendix A I also created, which had all sorts of numbers on it that were relevant to Diamond Jim, the IRS and others who may wish to see it. When I sent the Dissolution Agreement to the Arizona Attorney (you know, she simply must get a nick-name), she called me and said, "I see you write contracts for a living." High praise! She only added one clause--one I purposely omitted and hoped not to have to include.

The first part of the agreement was simple. We divided up the homes according to who held the mortgage. In all fairness, Marty and I had the better homes. We had the homes with more equity. We had the homes in better shape. It wasn't planned that Marty and I would take out loans on the better homes, it just worked out that way. That said, Mr. Partner has the better tenants. All of his tenants but one have been there homes more than six years. The one tenant who is relatively new, isn't going anywhere any time soon. Those folks have been there for about two years. The way it stands now, we owe Mr. Partner money for our equity. We had spelled this out. He acknowledged, but that didn't stop the questions about why some homes had positive equity positions and some had negative ones.

When it came to the money end of the agreement, Mr. Partner was most interested. When I made a list of outstanding bills, I simply looked at which bill went with which home. For example, Mr. Partner is now the proud owner of the home in Leeds. He can pay any bill associated with that home. Marty and I are now the not-so-proud owners of the home in Moody. Anything related to that home is on us. Additionally, Marty and I offered to pay any legal fees associated with closing this down. Our end of the accounts payable was higher. However, this is where Mr. Partner began to get confused and slightly belligerent.

First Mr. Partner was under some insane impression I was ordering/insisting/demanding he write a check to cover all of the bills. I don't know why he thought this. I sent him several e-mails all saying things along the lines of, "As we agreed when we met last Sunday and last Thursday, the bills in black will be yours, and the ones in red will be the Sunshine's." In fact, I sat down with him twice and went over the six items he was expected to pay. Some time last week he even called me, suggesting I added extra bills to his list while he was sleeping.

"Who is Bliz Bookkeeping?" He asked, as if I covertly snuck this mysterious invoice into the mix.

"That would be our bookkeeper. The same one we have had for more than ten years and the same one you had lunch with last Friday," I replied.

"Ok then, carry on." Click.

Though this may seem to satisfy the common mortal's curiosity, this particular question of why we were asking him to pay all the bills came up several times.

Additionally, Mr. Partner decided he could not comprehend the bill payer system to his new bank account. Though I had set up the bills for him, he wanted to log on and do it himself. And, it had to be done right then and there. First he didn't have the password. So, I resent him the e-mail where I covered this. Then he didn't like something else. And finally, he didn't have the invoices to pay said bills. When I reminded him I handed him the insurance for Mrs. Sherwood's home at the lunch with him and Bliz, he argued I never did such thing. Finally, to give Mr. Partner the win, I offered to call our insurance agent have them re-send the policy. It was only then did he miraculously pull the invoice out of the dark, damp place I assume he had crammed it in earlier.

By Monday afternoon, I was done. I was finished with the insane questions. I was tired of the outright implications that we were somehow trying to pull the wool over his eyes. I was complete. I expected he would review the Agreement and get it back to me in the morning. Meanwhile, I had fantasies about this being out of my life by July 1. I saw stars aligning. I saw freedom. I could see the finish line. All I needed were two signatures.

Tuesday Mr. Partner contacted me about 30 times with banking questions. With invoice questions. With rental questions. Most were legitimate, however most were also repeats from Monday. At one point he actually told me the bill payer system was too complicated. However, he uses this same system to pay his home bills. I believe the bruise on my forehead is from where my palm of my right hand slammed into it a few too many times that day.

Then--and this was what put me over the edge--at one point, he wanted me to make up a spreadsheet for him, which included odd items, such as the mortgage balances and rental amounts. Though that may sound perfectly reasonable, all of this information is provided for him on a different spreadsheet he has. And, if that wasn't enough it was also in the big Appendix A that was attached to the Dissolution Agreement. But no, this new spreadsheet needed to be formatted with a certain font and using particular colors to show the migration patterns of the spotted waxwing. I obliged and only stuck in his properties. After all, he wasn't getting mine, so why would it matter. And frankly, I thought that's all he wanted.

Nope, that wasn't good enough. he wanted the homes Marty and I were taking too. Instead of arguing the needlessness of this futile exercise (they wouldn't be his in two days and this information was everywhere else), I just added the info. Then, when I thought all of this was resolved, he threw another curve ball. The home that went to foreclosure last year and WE NO LONGER OWN, well he wanted that loan information and equity value too.

At this point, I was grumbling curses that would make a drunken sailor blush. I started to remind him this is no longer our property so this was pointless, but stopped. You know what? If putting a bunch of gobbledygook on an Excel spreadsheet would get him to sign the damn Agreement, I could do three minutes of work. By the way, there are no loans for this company any more, but don't tell Mr. Partner. I provided, "loan numbers."

Wednesday morning, crazed with stress over the fact he had such a significant case of selective amnesia from the past several days, I took action. I filled out the Arizona Secretary of State's form, got a cashier's check and mailed it in. It was done. Woot. However, though the LLC was now legally dissolved, Mr. Partner still had not given me back a signed Dissolution Agreement. So, legal or not, it wasn't really finished.

By Wednesday night, I had sent him an e-mail, reminding him not to pay any of his mortgages until we severed. Because that might look "funny" to the IRS. And all of this passive-aggressive crap over the past few days was reinforcing why I so much wanted to be done with this LLC.

I finally did get the signed Dissolution Agreement. It is now in my safe. I also sent a copy (signed by all parties) back to Mr. and Mrs. Partner and the Arizona Attorney. Though I would like to tell you this is over, it isn't. There is still the transition plan.

Done

So, today is July 1. 2016 to be exact. And, that happens to mean that our LLC with Mr. Partner is now dissolved. However, it wasn't as simple as the sentence above happens to make it sound.

To summarize... never mind. The last twenty-three days cannot be summarized.

A lot of difficult decisions went into what Marty and I have done. It started easily enough with a visit to an attorney. I had set up the appointment some time in May, and purposely set it for when Marty would be on vacation--which happened to be the first week of June. Our goal at the time was to buy an hour of advice on the direction of our accidental business.

The advice we got was a lot more complicated. It was inevitable and of no shock to anyone. The Accidental Business must shut down. As Mr. Partner had known we were going to see the attorney, he waited in delusional anticipation that Marty and I would come to our senses and agree to go a different direction. But alas. We aren't. And frankly, Mr. Partner wasn't surprised. And if truth be told, in the long run it is best for the Partners and the Sunshines.

All of the early ins and outs came out via lunch a few Sunday's ago. Sadly, Marty was feeling under the weather and asked to beg off. But oh  no! There was no way I was going in alone. I already gave birth. I have done my hard job. So, he came and drooled in the corner sat quietly while I covered everything and gave Mr. and Mrs. Partner the gist of our situation.

Since then, I met with Diamond Jim several times: and may I say, what an incredible friend to stop everything he was doing to help me. He spent a good deal of a few weekends (while I dealt with the sickness Marty gave me, though he didn't come with me to meet Diamond Jim) answering questions, advising me and helping me draft documents that contained a lot of numbers.

Mr. and Mrs. Partner also met me at the attorney's office some time in there to ask any and all questions, which they did. The answers didn't change, but at least it gave all of us a better understanding of the situation.

For the Prexit, I was using a notebook I bought in Louisiana earlier this month. It was full of checklists, notes and to-dos. Most of them were completed prior to the Dissolution Agreement. A few that weren't were added to the Dissolution Agreement.  And mind you, the Dissolution Agreement doesn't end everything. There is also a Transition Plan, which is in place. Sadly the Transition Plan also requires my cooperation.

At first, we wanted to make this happen by the end of July. But as I started rolling, I managed to get Legal Owl to write up new deeds. I had little free time for this, but as any busy person will tell you, the most productive people are the ones with the least time. Getting this done was actually so important to me that I did not watch baseball for an entire week, as I still had my other "real" job to do while taking on this project.

Somewhere last week, I realized everything was in place already to sever the ties. All that needed to be done was write the contract. In that case, why wait a month until the end of July? All we were doing was putting off the inevitable. So, with that said, we changed our date to June 30.

As I write this, I am thinking back to what a week this has been. The above makes this sound like it was a walk in the park with a bunch of meetings. As Bliz can attest, it wasn't. But that is for the next blog.

Retiring My Wand

Though I am certain he doesn't mean it the way it is landing, Mr. Partner is for some reason getting cold feet about the dissolution. I mean it is happening whether or not he likes it, but he has recently dug in and reacted in the most maddening manner. His excuses are worse than a toddler who does not want to go to sleep and is looking for another reason to stay awake.

However, in all fairness to Mr. Partner, I am very anxious for this to be done. It is something I have wanted for years. There is a certain element of freedom that comes with ending this particular season of our lives. I am done with the entire partnership thing. The sooner the better. It isn't anything against Mr. Partner, et. al., it is me. All me. I am ready to move on.

Probably partially because of my frenzy to finish this in the next few days and partially because I feel like any trained monkey with administrative and people skills could do what I am doing, I am frustrated at Mr. Partner's cold feet.

Today, Mr. Partner gave Marty and I a litany of reasons why this is happening "too fast." First he mentioned he "didn't know how" to use the bill payer on the bank's online program. Easily countered. I set everything up already for him. Then it was he didn't have the mortgage account numbers. I am pleased to say I didn't send out a slew of swear words when he threw this at me. I just reminded him I know Bliz has given him this information once in the past three weeks. I have given it to him three times. There were all sorts of other lame (LAME) excuses too, all boiling down to "I don't like change."

That's when it hit me. Mr. Partner just realized there is no Magic Alabama Fairy. Because, after all, for the last 14 years he knows the Magic Alabama Fairy has taken care of everything. Poof! The bills are paid. Poof! Repairs are made. Poof! Tenant negotiations are done. In his eyes, it has just been that that simple.

If it were truly that simple of course, there would be no accidental business blog. The truth is, just like everything, this was all work. Lots of work. And now he will need to be responsible for said work. He will need to handle bills (sorta--he's got an online bank ap and Bliz), he will have to make nice with strangers who will reply with "Bless your heart..."--which he will quickly realize is not a compliment. He will have to decipher Ms. Angie's thick southern drawl, which is worse when she is upset--and that's the only time she calls. Mr. Partner is about to discover Leeds Alabama is the bigot capitol of the world (though I have mentioned this a few times to him). It is also the most backwards, redneck place I have ever been. Hollywood's central casting would have a field day with the stereotypes they would find at Boo's Key Shop, which uses Augie's Bar for a storefront.

Not only is there no Magic Alabama Fairy, but there are a lot of steps I cannot teach him. I learned them through trial and error. I learned them through Carolsue's tutelage. I learned them through stumbling on the right (and wrong) people here and there who made my life easy or difficult. I cannot teach Mr. Partner how to get the plumber on the phone and move my home to the top of the day's list. I cannot teach Mr. Partner how to find the right electrician, garage door repairman or process server. I know all of these people, but at one time I didn't. I learned. He will learn too. He has to. The Magic Alabama Fairy is retiring (hopefully) around June 30.

Prexit

Just like the people of the UK who are now saying they, "had no idea what they were voting for/against" the Friendly Divorce is kind of taking that turn. Not on my end. I know exactly what I am voting for.

You see, Mr. Partner did not realize there would be money and rules involved. That was a bit of a shock to him. Yesterday, I sent him a list of outstanding bills and his first comment was (and WHY this was the first thing to got through his head, I will never know) when were Marty and I going to reimburse him for the outstanding bills--outstanding bills that haven't been paid by him, or anyone for that matter. That's why they are "outstanding." Nowhere in the e-mail did I say he was paying them or responsible at all for them. Nowhere.

Since then, I have sent him two more renditions of the outstanding bills. I have also sent him my proposed split, which actually goes along the lines of the Sunshines pay what they owe for "their" homes and the Partners take on the liabilities for the properties they are getting. Additionally, as this was the Sunshine's decision, we will cover attorney fees, dissolution costs and 2016 accounting fees. It is a rock-star of a deal for Mr. Partner. However, he has been eerily silent, which probably means something isn't sitting right. I know him. Somewhere he sees this as him getting the shaft. You know, because that is the kind of person I have proved myself to be for the past 14 years.

In addition to that, I am now cc'ing Mr. Partner on every e-mail I send out, sharing with him the decisions I made. I am not sure Mr. Partner realized how many decisions I make on a regular basis on his behalf. Then again, perhaps if I consulted with him on every decision I made for the past 14 years, we wouldn't have a gazillion homes and this entire prexit wouldn't be happening (or, it could have happened sooner).

One of Mr. Partner's big concerns from the get-go was that he wanted my help transitioning everything for next few months, as he doesn't have the relationships established over there. I know the tenants (and I don't see Ms. Angie and Mr. Partner being fast friends). I have the credibility. Though I was willing to a few weeks ago, it suddenly became clear to me during a conversation yesterday that he was not planning on paying me for my assistance. So, he may be in for a rude awakening (and he darn well better be nice to Ms. Angie!).

Our goal is to get this done prior to June 30. As I recall, in the UK, they have a two year transition plan. We are looking at a 5 day prexit.

Breathing

Legal Owl sent me an e-mail today saying, "Breathe" and then she put a smiley face next to it. I wanted to write her and ask if she just billed me $200, but decided if I did, she would probably reply and charge me an additional $200. So instead, I just took her advice.

Crinkling Numbers is Much Nicer

I have spent the last few days crunching numbers and looking at comps and all sorts of things that just make my head swim into five different directions. I don't like spreadsheets. I don't like crunching numbers. I am more of a crinkling numbers kind of girl.

Part of what I was tasked in doing was figuring out what each one of our gazillion properties are worth. I do this kind of thing for a living and I have a thumb in the wind of what the value in of the Alabama homes might be under the right circumstances. However, my best guess isn't scientific enough to satisfy even the kindest of critics.

So, I ran comps on a gazillion homes using a super-secret computer program that is only available to real estate professionals. I also ran comps on a gazillion homes with Zillow--the world's most inaccurate comparable home program. Kirby, bless him, looked at my numbers and ran comps through Birmingham's MLS. And by the way, may I just say, it looks like my numbers and Kirby's were pretty darn close most of the time, thankyouverymuch. Much to nobody's surprise, Zillow's numbers were all over the place.

Then, because I had lots of free time today, I took the three sets of numbers, averaged them and took off a few dollars here and there for deferred maintenance on any of the homes that have such things. For example, one property needs a roof and an AC unit. That's about a $10,000 subtraction. Also, if Zillow was unrealistic, I automatically just yanked it out of the analysis. The lawyer can figure this out later.

All of this is just an estimate of value--you know that comps always are, right? But it gives everyone a basic picture of what the values are going to be and who will end up with the best end of the deal when the Sunshines and the Partners part ways. So far, it looks like it will be the lawyers.

The sweetest part of the last two days was the call I got late this afternoon from Diamond Jim. He offered to let me come to his office and I could work on everything there while he provided me moral support. It wouldn't have made the process go faster and I do my darnedest not to swear in front of him. So, I passed.

The next two big projects on my list are to make sure the mortgagees are paid out of the right bank accounts this next month and get an accounting of what bills are left that need to be paid. But, that can wait until tomorrow.

The Friendly Divorce

Mr. and Mrs. Partner and I sat at our Arizona attorney's office today discussing how to dissolve our LLC. It was surreally peaceful, as we all told the attorney we loved each other and then joined hands to a rousing chorus of Kumbayha.

Ok, we really didn't sing.

This LLC Divorce process is not done. But at least now we have a game plan in place. After today's meeting, I went home and tried to figure out what our gazillion properties are worth. Diamond Jim and the lawyers want to know. Our target deadline for the LLC Divorce is June 30, but realistically July 31. Though, to be fair, we don't have to wait until the end of any specific month to make this happen.

Oh yes, I should probably mention. There is no real "divorce." Marty and I are married; so are the Partners. It is just the LLC we are divorcing. Marty didn't come to the meeting today because he was at work and the meeting with the attorney was in North Phoenix. But I digress...

So far, I have tasked Legal Owl, Diamond Jim and Kirby with a variety of tasks. Waiting for everyone else to do their jobs is maddening. And, as I say this, I just envisioned Bliz snorting Starbucks through her nose, because I vaguely remember I probably owe her a few items to make this happen too.

Speaking of Bliz, my next meeting is Friday with her. Mr. Partner is coming along, which is too bad because I would rather just hang out with her than talk business.

Divorcing an LLC is not as easy as one would think. I actually have three pages of checklists and notes, all with deadlines coming up soon--especially if we want to pay our mortgages. On top of all this, there is still the every day Accidental Business stuff to handle. There is also my regular job, household duties and Mom duties (Buckaroo is in the second of his two golf camp this week. Seriously? Two golf camps?! Who could possibly like golf this much??).

Normally I am not this organized about things I hate doing--and crunching numbers and schmoozing lawyers is never high on my list (unless you happen to be the attorney who happens to be one of my three readers--I like you.). But right now, it is necessary.

Last week my stress level was at an all-time high, as I tried maneuvering through this chaos. On Thursday, I actually wrote a letter to tenants and then realized Friday I sent them the wrong information so I had to send out a second letter. This week, however, with our LLC Divorce action plan in place, I am a lot more peaceful. Part of this I credit to Mr. and Mrs. Partner who have broken their backs and offered us lots of love and support, which is pretty great especially because Marty and I did not give them a lot of choice in the matter. That alone has made a huge difference. Hopefully it was stay this amiable.

Or, He Could Have Just Called At a Reasonable Time

As a rule, my phone is off between the hours of 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Those aren't business hours and I don't have a reason to take calls during those hours anyway. These personal boundaries were set months ago, and it has been a sanity saver. This way, I won't get the the, "Mrs. Landlord, my sprinklers didn't go off last night and my grass might turn yellow," calls at 6 a.m. I just wished I had figured out how to do this much sooner in life.

We have an issue at Mrs. Sherwood Forest's home. It is kinda ugly and there were rumors it would require insurance. So, we called the insurance company and sent an adjuster out there. Of course, the adjuster was on Southern Time, and didn't bother to contact me at a reasonable schedule. Then he couldn't "remember what he did with Mrs. Sherwood's phone number" and called me back four days later to ask for it again. Meanwhile, Mrs. Sherwood was strumming her fingers impatiently, wishing her home would be fixed.

This past week, Mr. Adjuster called me on Monday at 6 a.m. He left a message, ordering me to call him right away. I called him back at a reasonable and mutually win-win business hour and got voice mail. In my message, I also pointed out there is a two hour time difference and it would be best to call me after 10 a.m. his time.

Tuesday he called me at 6:30 my time, leaving me a message that it was urgent to talk with me and to call him back. And, because my phone is on do not disturb, I didn't get the message until later in the day. What did I do? I called him back, left another message saying that unfortunately, there is a two hour time difference, and it would be beneficial for both of us if he could call me after 10 a.m. his time and I was anxious to get moving on this particular issue, as the tenant has waited long enough.

Wednesday he called me at 6:17 a.m., and left me a message, yada, yada, yada. I returned his call yada, yada, yada... and said, "I will expect your return call on Thursday morning at 10:05 your time. I will be waiting by the phone so we can get this resolved."

Today, at 8:01 a.m. Mr. Adjuster called me. He wanted to let me know the insurance company had denied my claim. "You could have left that in a voice mail earlier in the week." I replied. His retort was that I should have answered my phone earlier in the week.

Breaking Up The Band

We met with Mr. and Mrs. Partner today who said a lot of really great things. They thanked me for everything I have done for the past 14 years. They acknowledged I have "kept things together" and managed juggled all things Alabama. They realized I have built relationships over there that they hadn't. And I even heard, "You've done good." Which was worth a lot to my sorry ego.

These well earned (and very late--but extremely grateful) kudos was courtesy of the fact Marty and I made the monumental decision to break up this LLC. And, like all monumental decisions, our lunch today will the first of several conversations the Partners and the Sunshines will be having. There will be other meetings too. In fact, because Bliz will be coming to town next week just in time for her, er... 20++ high school reunion (I have yet to commit to going), she will be having lunch with us too. She has never met Mr. Partner--who looks like a Hell's Angel's biker or a big scary teddy bear when he is showing me pictures of his grand kids.

There are lots of next steps that are happening now. For example, today I have written a boat-load of e-mails that require other people to work on our behalf (Sorry Bliz). Mr. Partner and I are also meeting on Wednesday to talk to the bank about opening a new account for him. As an added bonus, I am meeting with Diamond Jim later in the week to crunch tax numbers. And I have sent a note to Legal Owl giving her the news and a few tasks.

Now in the event you think: 1) these Alabama homes won't need to be managed or 2) this blog is going away, nope. Right now it is just our business structure is changing. By the way, this was Mr. Partner's single biggest issue too: would he have to handle all this on his own? And to be honest, how I wished I could have said, "Yes. Yes you do." But alas. That isn't part of our current changes.

There are more changes to come. Some good, some bad, some inevitable. But today was step one.

Idiocy

So last month I paid off the ridiculous loan for an HVAC that our partner Jack insisted we take out. And today I got a utility bill with a significant credit because they didn't apply it to the loan. They applied it to an imaginary electric bill we (don't) have.

When I called their "customer service" person, she started scolding me, telling me this was somehow my fault because I didn't tell them I was paying off the loan. Not true, I called last month and told them I was paying it off and asked for the payoff amount.

She then told me I owed an additional $2.31 because the loan now "wasn't paid off in time." I told her I wasn't paying it. I didn't cause this issue. They did. They can fix it.

Apparently, according to the charming representative, I am now going to be sued, and lien will be added to the property and my cat will be taken away and sold as a slave in Mongolia. She also chided me for sending an electronic payment, which in her opinion started the whole mess to begin with. When I pointed out I have been sending electronic payments all along, she was stumped and started lecturing me again. At which point, I hung up on her.

A New Season

We have a lot of changes going on here at the old Accidental Business. Some of them will eventually be positive. Hopefully. As far as the business goes, there will be more blogs coming in the future. However, Mr. Partner needs to be filled in before all'y'all. We also need to discuss a few things with Bliz and  Legal Owl as well.

These changes are part of larger and more complex shift in our lives. For one thing, much to my consternation, I am not homeschooling next year. Of all the aspects that are changing in our family, I think this one is hitting me the hardest--though the kids are ok with it. For now. I think. Marty is also possibly looking at involuntary job changes. I am just looking at involuntary jobs, so there is a lot to digest.

I keep thinking, one year from now what will life look like. I can't even fathom. Hopefully it will be bright and sunny and the rain will be behind us.

A Special Shout-Out To One of My Three Readers

Congrats!!!! I am so happy for you two. May this be the next phase in your beautiful lives.

--S

History Punnys and Funnys

I will be back in town next week. For now, this is all I've got. Did I mention, I like history?










Ok, last one.

Yea, I'm A History Geek

I happen to be driving somewhere through the Southwest as you read this. I am on my way to see some special people in a different state. So, you are stuck with this silliness. See you next week.