The Re-employment Chronicles.
Due to the necessity of a move for career I find myself living in a city 1,000 miles from the one my wife and family live in, 16 hours by car from the home we are working to sell. Needing to sell before we can buy, I found myself essentially homeless in a new and very chilly city.
Now in my experience I’ve encountered at least two distinct types of real estate agent. The first is happy to show and sell you houses all day long, that’s what they do . . . and that’s all they do. But the other type, they listen to your situation and offer solutions . . . sometimes ordinary — where to get a decent haircut or find a clean, safe laundromat — and sometimes extraordinary. . .
And so there’s Lori, my Realtor extraordinaire. She will certainly one day sell us our new house but in the meantime what to do with me? Her solution… park me in a vacant listing. I cover utilities, keep it tidy and bug out for showings, in lieu of rent. Now that’s pretty Extraordinary.
And that’s how I became what I am today . . . a Squatter.
So as I write today I sit in a vacant house, a $400,000 vacant house — gourmet kitchen, Jacuzzi tub, deer wandering in the backyard, ooh la la and la di dah. Big, empty, quiet . . . very quiet but nice enough all the same. Some might even say it’s a Squatter’s Paradise.
I sure hope I don’t have to do this for much longer.