As i mentioned, I bought a house with a partially finished basement apartment two months before the sudden retirement. Luckily, my severance package and social security combined were enough to finish the apartment and furnish it. That occupied a lot of the first year. The basic stuff-plumbing in the bathroom, some electrical and partitions were done. One area had been carpeted and an exterior door installed. It even had a parking pad with it's own driveway-not a finished driveway but a driveway. Finding a contractor that I could afford and that actually knew what he was doing was adventure #1. I had the block walls covered with sheetrock so it looked less like a basement. The area closest to the exit door was just over 9" lower than the floor in the back of that same section-much too high for a stepdown. I had the floor raised by 5 inches so there was still division between kitchen and living room. One of my former co-workers was remodeling his kitchen and emailed to see if i wanted the old cabinets. I got even luckier when another friend told me about a Mexican crew that had done some work for him and the rest of the construction was a breeze. It took a little longer than I had figured on-they worked me in as a side job but they got it done and it looks very nice and comfortable.
In the meantime, my old house was now a rental This economy is not conducive to selling real estate. My first tenant was a single mom with 2 teenaged daughters. Mom worked 2 jobs to keep them going. In 5 months time, she added another daughter, 2 young granddaughters and a son that showed up every now and then. Seven people in a 2 bedroom house with only one bathroom! Then she lost her part-time job and her house of cards fell apart. She did let me know that she could no longer afford the house and all of her family. #2 tenant was a newly married couple in their 20's-a teacher and an IT manager. They had just passed their first anniversary when they moved in with one dog and 3 cats. Soon after they got a second dog. They signed a 2 yr lease. They had requested the 2 yr lease. Just after their second anniversary, they let me know they were divoring and would be moving out. Here we go looking for #3 tenant. The apartment was finished and rented on a short term basis to a single mother moving from Mississippi.
By now I had discovered that, with the projects done, my main entertainment was the tenants-not necessarily good entertainment, but entertainment.
That's when the depression that has plagued me for most of my life began to rear its head again.
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