It is All About Time and Money

Bedroom number one at Charley's Hideaway

 

When I first began this project of turning my attached apartment into a short term rental I figured it would be mostly about money. Covid-19 caused the Governor to close down art studios as non-essential businesses. And so I had time on my hands. In the first few weeks last year I cancelled all my private lessons, Art Up cancelled all the fairs. Even Dog Gone park suffered as people cancelled month and longer trips that left their dogs with me.

I would have been looking into mortgage forgiveness rules if I had not just a few months before refinanced my house and taken some cash out. Cash which was suppose to be used to beautify the the outside and maybe even buy a green house. Instead it went into paying the mortgage when I fell short. I started thinking about short. I began a policy of taking dogs just for the day - Dog Bark Camp. That was a bonus idea because it seemed those trapped at home with their dogs all day were looking for relief. And so were the dogs. Still are.

And I definitely did not want a long term tenant in my apartment because there was also a rent forgiveness program and no eviction moratorium. I had for some time been considering short term rentals so with the place empty (last tenant bought a house just before this began) and time on my hands I began the remake of Charley's Hideaway. It is now listed with VRBO.

The living space

I found, upon the recommendation of a friend, a good and dependable man to pull up the carpet and eventually lay the new floor. Half I got from a friend who over bought. Russell suggested I do all the painting before he laid that down. No drop cloths. Such fun. Had never spilled a gallon of paint before. Always a first time. That was the least of my problems. Materials began to get hard to come buy and delivery even harder. Thank goodness for the local hardware store, and Amazon. And too bad neither sells and delivers washers and dryers. 

Everything took longer than expected. And then more expensive than hoped. But the big blow was how complex listing in any of the popular vacation rental sites can be. I was expecting all these one liners but some spaces are big enough for essays. And photos - one of each room? Nope. I still have space for 32 more photographs on VRBO. Do not look for me on AirBnB because they never got it that I do not live in Taos. But they were not the only website I had issues with. Lowe's Home supply disappointed me first. Then Home Depot. I tried local. But they (not the ones further away) do not deliver. I was going through major pickup withdrawal.

But in the time of Covid you just do not drop down to Santa Fe and pick up a laundry pair. And heaven forbid if you discover a mistake once Home Depot sends you an email confirmation of your on line order. No you cannot just pick up the phone and talk to anyone. Probably not even a human regardless of what button you push. BTW no press zero to talk to a representative. I was beginning to doubt they had representatives. At least not human ones.

So as I got closer to the season vacationers would actually like to check in time became the critical item. Then money because the promised stimulus check has not arrived. And Home Depot and not issued a refund for the washer and dryer delivered to Albuquerque. Then, Heaven forbid, Amazon had a billing error. At one time this week I had $5000 which was mine but I could not touch because of having to deal with Press 1 for English, 2 for Hungarian, 3 to speak to a sales representative, and 4 to be told we do not give refunds.

Have a good day. Leave a comment if you need to talk to a sympatric human about your remodeling project.