We had gone to bed early enough so that after the threesome we still had a good nights sleep. I woke up at five refreshed and ready to get things done. Jenny, Patti and I had fruit, cereal with orange juice and wheat toast for breakfast.

In between bites I was making notes on a pad of things that needed to happen today. The majority of them depended on the outcome of the call from the realtor. Something was different this morning. I was as enthused as much as the girls were about the gym.

1 Get price for warehouse from Island Realtors.

2 Get the first estimate from Bob’s contracting for the lot cleanup and the changes in the warehouse and then hit him with the newer changes.

3 Check with QT bank to set up business presentation and pick up loan papers to fill out.

4 Make appointment with Howard, Fine and Fine attorneys to start the corporation process.

5 If 1 and 2 were a go, BUY the Building and change the electric and the utilities over.

6 Get insurance on the building.

7 Check on gas for gym heat.

8 Checking account for business with the ability to process credit cards and 6 credit cards for the company.

9 Get the landline phone turned on. There was a phone still on the wall in the building. The phone company should be able to find the line from the number on it.

10 Check on internet companies.

11 ID card access from waiting area to gym for members

Patti and I arrived at the college fifteen minutes early to a stack of paper work in our boxes. Patti buried herself in the time sheets. That was her first order of business every Monday or else no one would get a pay check on Friday.

I looked over the incident reports for the last five days. There were less than three dozen, all minor. Then I spent the next three hours going over e-mails and responding to them.

The athletic department was finally getting back to me with a list of the on the road sports events they wanted us to provide security on. It had been so long that I had thought that they had changed their minds. They did not include a list of the transportation companies involved. They wanted security on the trips starting with the first one on January 15. That was six weeks away with two weeks of vacations thrown in. I guess they thought these kinds of things were just fly by the seat of your pants. They had no concept of all that was required for good security.

At 11 Susan Wright called with the asking price for the warehouse. The Summers wanted 150 thousand and we pay the 5 thousand tax bill that was due by January first.

I asked Susan if she would tell me the normal realtor’s fees on a sale. She replied, “Eight percent.”

I said, “With the estimated cost of 20k for removing the house and getting rid of the trees along with new sod for erosion control that price and the taxes took the property out our reach. With what we wanted to do there would not be enough profit margins to survive. I then countered offer with 100k and I would pay realtor fees and taxes.”

She said, “Let me make a call and I will get back to you.”

Fifteen minutes later Bob from Bob’s Construction called. He said, “Four thousand to remove the house and haul it to the landfill. Six thousand to remove the trees, brush, stumps, lay sod on the right side of the driveway and put up the rail fence on that side that you wanted. On the left side it will take a tandem load of stone to make the drive way look consistent with the stone on the parking area. The changes you wanted built on the inside will be about five thousand. “

“We have made changes on the inside plans, increased the length and size, plus added a couple more rooms but those figures make it close enough for us to work on. If we gave you the go ahead, how soon can you start?” I asked.

“We have no work until after the first of the year. Then after that we are booked until June with big contracts. The weather cooperated and we completed December’s work in November. I hate to lay the guys off this close to Christmas. I quoted all the materials at cost and will give you a copy of all invoices. I just want to keep them busy if I can. We can start tomorrow,” he said.

“What kinds of permits are required to do the work?” I asked.

“Normally you would need a demolition permit to tear down the house and that could take months. But being it is already gutted and hidden behind the trees we will tear it down first, it’s going to be hauled away in covered demo trailers anyhow. It will be completely gone in a day,” he said. “No one has seen the thing in years so they won’t miss it. The trees will go into a wood chipper and the stumps will be hauled away in the demo trailer.”

“The excavator will dig in new water and sewer lines to the side of the building where your showers and bathrooms are going to go. All the heavy equipment will be gone in four days. I will subcontract that part of it so while that is going on my crews can be doing everything on the list. I thinking two weeks should have the most of it done,” he said. “Other than the hand rails most of the work is inside so weather won’t be a problem. You will not need any permits for anything that you do inside the building.”

“Can you get me a price to have the floor gray epoxy painted after all the renovations are done?” I asked. “Also I need a price on gas infrared heaters since the water heaters are going to be gas or do I need to do a dual unit type heat pump for heat and AC both?”

“Sure, I assume you want a slightly non-slip finish?” he said.

“That would be great.” I replied.

That would be another thing to add to the list. Check on the commercial price of gas vs. electric. I knew that propane pricing would be more stable than electric. The news was full of stories about all the electric companies wanting rate increases. There were four hanging propane heaters along the wall, vented outside of the building, on the west side. Maybe just upgrading them to the latest most efficient unit would be the most practical thing to do and that would give us time to deal with AC later. We would have at least six months to decide.

I was still sifting through the papers on my desk when Sarah Grayson from the student union came in. She handed me an envelope and said, “These are from the toga party, enjoy.” She added a wink.

“While you are here, what is the position of the student union on armed security accompanying the sports teams on away games?” I asked.

“That is most likely a good idea with everything happening at some of the other colleges,” she said. “Is it in the planning stages?”

“Yes, the policy will be in effect for all trips after the first of the year,” I said. “Thanks for the thumb drive.” She nodded, smiled and left.

Jenny brought lunch for Patti and me, a large chefs salad with cream of crab soup. While we were eating my phone started going crazy.

Susan Wright was the first call. She said,” You are the new owner of the warehouse if you can write a check for the full amount today. That is the one hundred and eight thousand amount.”

“I will be home from work at 4:30, can you meet us there? I will give a check and you can give me the deed and a bill of sale. Do you know who the gas supplier was?” I asked. “I’ll be there. I think it was Shore Gas and Oil,” she said.

I sent Jake a text, “The building is ours, looks like the total cost with the improvements will be 150 k range. I have to pay for it at 4:30 today. I hate to ask but can you transfer that today?”

I called QT Banking and talked with Chuck Rustone to ask about a commercial loan and arrange a meeting with the loan officers to present our case for the loan.

“You can pick up the application any time. We have a commercial meeting Friday and there is an open slot at one PM for two hours,” he said.

“We will take it. We will have a complete program put together. Do you have video equipment available or should we bring our own?” I asked.

“We have it here,” he said. After some small talk we said our goodbyes.

I called Marcy and told her to go pick up the application.

I called Bob’s Construction and told him it was a go. They could start on the house tomorrow and asked him to meet us at 5 to get the latest drawings.

Chuck Rustone called back, “I have a transfer for 200 thousand, did you want that to go into your personal account or did you want something different done with it?”

“Make a certified check out to Wrights Realtors for 108 thousand and start a checking account in the name of ‘Jones Fitness and Training Center LLC’. The address will be 1000 Summers Road. Marcy can fill out everything else when she picks up the check. She is a Vice President and the treasurer,” I said. ”Please make sure she has the check when she leaves.”

I texted Marcy and told her to take the girls with her and see Chuck Rustone, they had paperwork to fill out. If Jenny and I needed to sign anything we would have to do so later. I also told her we had meetings at the warehouse starting at 4:45. She was to go to the post office and set up mail delivery, the address is 1000 Summers Road.

I called Shore Gas and Oil. There had been a 2500 gallon tank there before and they would put the same size back. The first 2500 gallons would be one dollar a gallon and then a two year contract for $1.70 a gallon. I told them to put us down to have the tank installed and filled and to contact Marcy to set up the account.

I said to Jenny, “With all that you know we have the building.”

“I sort of guessed that. I’m glad you handled all that, I would still be lost,” she said.

“Just wait until all that hits Marcy.” I said laughing.

Bob Jenkins and the Dean came in just as Jenny was leaving.

“We have an emergency request,” they said.

EDIT by Alfmeister