Stymied

My friend Liz in Boston sent me a link of great interest. I could be on t.v. Seems the Learning Channel is starting a new program based on fixing up run-down houses and flipping them. They're looking for projects to feature. They specifically asked for an "ugly duckling" house that can be "designed" to appeal to buyers. Do I ever have the place for them! I'll even venture that it's the ugliest house in Villas, N.J. I sent off my application by Express Mail this afternoon.

Meanwhile, the cottage in Villas is like a trainwreck. I've torn it apart, down to the studs, and now it's not going back together quite as easily as I imagined. I can't seem to get a reliable electrician to come through with a bid, even though I've met with two. The heating and cooling guy I gave a deposit to is from Pennsylvania, and the New Jersey building authorities are running him through a gauntlet of permit and license hell, so he can't install the new HVAC systems. Without those, I can't remove the funky gas heater in the middle of the floor so I can get rid of the gas that leaks and stinks up the house. It didn't help that during a recent cold snap the gas ran out for some mysterious reason and the pipes froze and the water heater burst and flooded the utility room. I'm taking it all in stride.

Meanwhile the renovation bank account dwindles as costs mount, and progress is hard to see. I think the very best thing that could happen would be for me be chosen for the t.v. program and to have the whole fiasco nationally televised. I could be the guy who makes all the mistakes and whose house doesn't "flip" but he does.