Cat & Mouse, More About the House

I've failed to give an accurate picture of what went on after Mac died, in large part because I wasn't there and, because of that, I'd forgotten a lot. Sissy reminded me yesterday. But before I get into that, it's high time I gave her her due. She's the one that was left dealing with everything on a day-to-day basis for...a year? More? I returned to CA. She claims she's forgiven me, but I'm not sure. I think I better watch my back...

So, this part is accurate: We knew the Coach and his Wife wanted the property and they knew it. It was, really, a foregone conclusion. And if we'd agreed to let "their people" handle everything, agreed to a selling price that was a quarter of what it was worth, I'm certain they would've been very gracious about it all. After all, they are known for their philanthropy.

But we didn't, on either count.

I am also accurate in portraying them as money-grubbing, power-playing, self-important a@@holes who greatly misunderstood and underestimated all of us. They truly believed that being good neighbors would get them what they wanted. They also truly believed that we were ignorant country bumpkins.

They should've done their research.

Going into negotiations, Sissy had Daddy's words etched into her brain: "Don't you let them have that property for nothing. You get every penny that it's worth."

So, because we had no intention of bending over and, well, you know the rest, let the games begin! As soon as they realized we were not just going to hand over "their" property, they began an incredibly distasteful, ungracious, bullying campaign of Cat & Mouse: now we want it, now we don't. Do this, do that. Wait, we didn't mean that.

Because they wouldn't commit to anything, we were left having to move forward as if we were selling to someone else. This would not have been any big deal except, if you remember, the interior of the house had been decimated by (the) AfterMath. If we wanted to sell it, we needed to get it fixed up. So that was the choice we made.

Unfortunately, that choice meant that Sissy was the one left dealing with everything: real estate negotiations (don't think that just because we were moving ahead that the Coach had stopped playing games), insurance, selecting tile and paint and so on, contractors, taxes, and whatever else came up along the way. All on top of her regular job.

We also made the decision to have the foundation fixed.

Everything was to the tune of about $45,000. Plus the endless headaches.

Then finally, after the house was completely fixed up and looked beautiful, the Coach and his wife start acting as if maybe, maybe they did want to buy everything after all. And thus began some major Nickel & Diming and them acting as if they were paupers or something.

Do you remember that this Coach, after a long career with the university, was fired with a $6,000,000 severance package? You read that right. Yes, poor babies.

But nickel and dime he did, right down to the bitter end, when the Coach made us pay $500 for a copy of the tax assessment that he already had. There was no mistake that this was punishment for having the audacity to go toe-to-toe with him.

He not only put us through the paces, he put our Realtor through them, too. She got punished for signing on with us. It was incredibly childish behavior. A spoiled brat who wasn't getting his way.

But finally, we "won."

Of course, you've seen what they did to the house. Bricks removed, basement and carport removed, porch removed. By the time they had finished with it, it was half the house it used to be. And the last time Sissy and I saw it, it was still jacked up and sitting in the middle of a field, empty and falling even further into disrepair. Wasted. All that time, money, and effort wasted.

This is why I say our relationship with the Coach and his Wife was "complicated."