The hunt for mothballs

The title search all came back clean and we were able to close on schedule. That was fast! 2 1/2 weeks from contract signing until closing over Christmas and New Years. Merry Christmas to us! Closing happened remotely – all paperwork on our end was signed digitally. The seller had to have the deed signed and notarized with two witnesses. The seller was out of state so the deed signing was performed by overnight mail.

Closing happened on a Friday so I loaded up the van the night before to head straight to the property after work. Oceana already had clients on the books for the weekend so she wasn’t able to join me for this trip.

Nobody’s home. I hope.

I arrived after dark but fortunately I had already transferred the electric to my name and a few lights were on outside and throughout the house. The seller had been out of state for the past month so I wasn’t quite sure what I was about to walk into. I could see where someone had previously let themselves into the home by cutting the screen in the sleeping bedroom so I was hoping not to find any squatters. After confirming nobody was in the house and shop, I relaxed a little and started to assess the situation. While looking around, I found some good reading material.

So. Many. Mothballs.

The house smelled of mothballs. I opened all of the windows and doors to air out the place. I’ve worked in finishing shops dealing with harsh chemicals and I have a high tolerance for chemical smells, but, this was bad enough it made me sick. I went on a search and destroy mission for mothballs and I was able to find just shy of 100. Those things were hidden everywhere.

Campervan

We converted our Ram Promaster into a campervan so I was fortunate not to have to sleep in the house that smelled of mothballs. Since the electrical service was hooked up, I was able to plug in and fire up the A/C (yes, A/C in January) and cool off the van to get a good nights sleep. Nothing like campervanning in your own driveway!

Priorities

First up – changing the locks out on the doors of the house and shop. Eventually we’ll put one of those high tech wifi deadbolts on the house for when we’re going to do the rental thing, but for now, new locks will suffice. Secondly, the sleeping bedroom needed secured. There were 3 large screen openings which were great for ventilation but not so great for securing a property. I was either going to get plywood to board up the openings or get windows if they had the right size. Fortunately there’s a Home Depot a few miles away and they had 3 windows in stock that fit. I added a bit of new framing and some flashing and installed the windows.

Good weekend

I got a bunch of stuff cleared out of the house and stuck in the carport. I also took a machete to some of the overgrowth by the lake so I could see the lake from the front porch again. Finally, I put together some shopping lists and to-do lists to be prepared for when we come up next weekend.

The northwest corner of the house.

The back of the house.

The front of the house after trimming the banyan tree on the right.

The metal roof on the front porch

The driveway between the shop and house

Stuff in the shop

Stuff in the shop

The north side of the house

The north side of the house

The northwest corner through the banyan tree

The southeast corner of the house

The shop.

A double valley on the roof.

The entrance to Lake Byrd Blvd is lined with trees.

The front yard with leaves cleaned up

Looking at the live oak and the lake

Pulled the toilet. Roots in the plumbing system.

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