The Hot Tub Bandit

I usually use this space and postage to bring you news about the mortgage world that is timely, interesting and valuable. But you are probably as inundated as I am with the news of the current state of the industry. I’ve been in this business long enough to know that the economy has its ups and its downs but at the end of the day real estate has always been a great investment.

Nope, I don’t want to talk about the mortgage business. I want to talk about my brush with the hot tub bandit. I’ll try to make it worth your while and hopefully add some value to your life.

Several years ago, my wife and I bought a cabin on Hood Canal as a second home. We thought it would be a great place to relax, do a little fishing, scuba diving, and watch the seals fight for a space on the swim raft. It’s where you’ll find me when I’m not calculating DTI’s, LTV’s or PMI.

The cabin had been a foreclosure and was in terrible shape. But it was built in the 1930’s and had tons of charm. My wife and I set to work restoring it, and it turned out great.

Then a couple of years later, the neighbor next door decided to sell his two cabins. One of them was a 1930’s cottage that was originally part of our property. It was a miniature twin of our main cabin and it just seemed right to keep them together. So, feeling a bit like a cabin-junkie, we bought them too. And they, too, were in terrible condition.

Our plan was to turn them into vacation rentals, and we set to work renovating. We gutted the interiors, re-shingled the sides, put on new metal roofs, electrical, flooring, bathrooms, windows, you name it. We even put in a nice hot tub in the yard between the two new cabins.

My wife and I did most of the remodeling ourselves but the project was dragging on and it needed to get finished. So I hired-out some work, including a fair amount of plumbing. Being pressed for time, and to be honest, burned out, I hired the first plumber to come along. He seemed like a nice enough guy and he told me that his rates were the lowest on the canal. He wasn’t very busy and was able to start the next week. Ah, I could relax a little because I hired a professional! Maybe I would even take a soak in the hot tub!

But every weekend, I’d head out to the cabin, get ready to jump in the tub to soak away the week but the water would be low and cloudy. I couldn’t keep the water clean! I had a mystery on my hands.

As the father of two boys, I’m pretty good at catching people in the act, so I set up a surveillance camera…one of those motion-activated units. And I got some memorable footage of, you guessed it, our plumber! Apparently, he felt entitled to have a nice soak after a hard day on the job. He also liked to help himself to all the oysters he could haul off our beach, and also to my supply of wine and three of my wife’s recently purchased camellias! Needless to say, the plumber is off the job. It turns out I got soaked after all!

I learned a classic lesson; always check references, and it’s not always the best move to hire someone who isn’t very busy, or who promises you the best price. After all, your home is one of the largest investments you may own.

So in closing, at this busy time of the year (well most of us are busy) I want to remind you to BE THE PLUMBER!! Take a moment to enjoy your surroundings, take in the view, sample some good food, good wine and take time to smell the camellias!

Here’s to a busy and prosperous 2008!

(By the way, if you are ever looking for a relaxing beach front cabin to rent, come on over, I promise the hot tub will be sparkling! )

Visit www.hoodcanalvacations.com