Andrew Mack was planning to buy a house in a year or two, after his car was paid off. He figured he would like to live in Mira Mesa, which is closer to his work. But Mira Mesa is nearer the Pacific Ocean, and property values go up proportionally as they near the ocean. In two years he could not afford Mira Mesa. In fact, it turns out he could not afford it now.
The Mackay Family Trust trustee, me, with the approval of Trevor, Wendy and Heather, all thought it a good investment for the Trust if we bought a house in Mira Mesa that Mack could take care of for us. Mack thought it a good idea too.
We had a very trusted real estate agent in Palos Verdes, who sold our house there and helped us buy the Manhattan Beach house. I asked her if she could recommend a realtor in the San Diego area. She said John Bassler was the one, so we contacted him and he showed us everything in the areas that Mack though suitable. One was literally within walking distance of the campus where he works, and the price was right. One catch. The land it was on is owned by the University. No good.
There were five possibilities and we looked at them all. Then a sixth came on the market and were able to see it through an open house on the weekend. It was love at first sight for Mack. Only problem, there were five offers for it after only two hours!
There were only two cash offers, and ours won out because John sweetened the deal with a short escrow.
My broker at Chase thought she could do a line of credit from the trust brokerage account. Unfortunately, Robin had had our credit frozen by three different companies, being very cautious in such matters. We had difficulty buying the Porsche as a result. But he kept the locks on, and Trevor advised me to do the same after he died. When Chase realized the lock, they had to scramble to make funds available another way before the close of escrow deadline. It was a cliff hanger, with minutes to spare before we fell out of escrow! I won't go into details, but modern electronic transfer methods made it possible. Thanks to John, Lauren at Chase, the local Chase Bank, Trevor in Manhattan Beach and Mack, it all came together. Whew! Mack got the keys on Friday.
We then embarked on a new adventure. Trevor has been preparing the Manhattan Beach house for a tenant. So he had lots of 'stuff' that Mack might be able to use, and even store for family members.
He drove to La Costa Glen early one morning. We bought two train tickets on line. Then we Ubered (is that a verb?) to the Solano Beach train station, to board a train for Union Station, Los Angeles.
Our train, we soon learned, was annulled!! Was it married? No, just out of action. We waited an hour and fifteen minutes before another train finally came. We changed the ticket with a cell phone. Again, tech saved the day.
Mack knew how to take the shuttle to LAX. I'm glad, because the shuttle to LAX is not called Shuttle to LAX but, how cute, The Flyaway! Lots of signs to the Flyaway, but nothing denoting an airport shuttle.
Trev met us at Terminal 1, and took us to 3020 Highland Avenue where we admired the new paint, newly finished floors (spectacular), two newly concreted porches done by Trev and Jonathan (spectacular), new curtains, fireplace damper brought to code, numerous other details, new carpets (spectacular), on and on.
We had dinner with Jack and Marilyn and Trev and Robyn joined us at the Big Wok. Mack and I stayed in a spacious suite in the Seaview Inn, within short walking distance of 3020. We had breakfast and went to pick up the UHaul.
Trevor and Mack loaded everything they could find and when it was full to bursting we took off south, for Indio Way. Mack had no difficulty driving the thing, and the traffic was light, the day sunny. We got to his new house in record time. Then we Ubered back to La Costa Glen to pick up his car and drop me off. He recruited two friends to help him unload most of the furniture. I will go over soon and see what I can take of the stuff earmarked for Wendy and Trevor to store in my garage here.
This is why there have been no blogs for awhile.
Mack's new address is:
6731 Indio Way
San Diego, CA 92126
So exciting!!! Congratulations to you all!!!
ReplyDeleteAnd of course, love from all of us up here...