A Smudge at Mudge

I have mixed blessings - we own three homes. Each is very different, but all are in very lovely, unique, and quite enviable locations. We're very lucky to have been able to sequentially create these abodes: first a downtown Victoria condo for living and working, followed by a waterfront cottage getaway on a small Gulf Island, and now a sunny little condo in a quaint Mexican beach town for escaping from rainy west coast winters. Each of these is both a dream-come-true and a living nightmare.

Apart from the initial and ongoing expenses of furnishing, equipping, cleaning/maintaining, and paying taxes on three residences, stuff always goes wrong, always. We have triple the homeowner headaches. I no longer envy people with multiple real estate holdings (unless they are super duper rich).

Our steel and concrete highrise condo developed water penetration problems which resulted in a horrendous 18 month and $8 million "remediation" project (our share of the cost was a whopping $120,000.00 for our 2 bedroom unit). Completion of remediation was in sight when a severe windstorm totally collapsed 9 storeys of steel scaffolding from our side of the building (thankfully, no one was hurt). But, no sooner are things put back together inside and out, when we experience a freak sewer back-up (into just our unit) which flooded and destroyed most of our kitchen and all our hardwood flooring throughout. This happened while we were in Mexico. We are now in the process of totally moving out of our home for up to 3 months while they fix everything. Thank heaven for good insurance coverage is all I can say.

Our second home, the waterfront cottage, came about when my husband started going squirrelly living in our urban condo (we downsized in 2001 from a large suburban home with huge back deck and in-ground pool).

We had owned the raw land on Mudge Island (near Gabriola Island) for about 11 years, but hadn't had the money or time to do anything with it. John got to work as only he can and found a beautiful little arts-and-crafts-style house to have barged onto the island (Nickel Bros. house movers are amazing).

Since 2002, this little place has been undergoing constant transformation - it started out at 600 square feet with a verandah, but now we've reached our ideal 1,800 square feet and have a 360 degree wrap-around deck. All this has made our two neighbours incredibly unhappy. They are both bitter, divorced guys with places next door that can only be described as seasonal shacks. They have screamed in our faces (eyes bulging and spittle flying) that we are "tree killers", "destroyers of privacy" and have accused us of "bringing the city" to their island. One of them also allowed his kid to point a .22 in our direction.

The two of them are only here inhabiting their one and two room hillbilly shacks for 4 to 6 weeks per year at the most, yet resent and begrudge us our architecturally attractive cottage with electricity. Funny to note that, after we spent thousands of dollars bringing electricity down to this neck of the woods (putting in power poles so the lines could be run), one of these ornery neighbours has since hooked up to the power line we put in, for a mere fee to BC Hydro of $350.00. Ingrate.

The new 1,200 square foot addition is only at the lock-up stage as it's when we reached this point that the 2008 global financial economic meltdown hit and my consulting business fell off drastically.

Early on in our Mudge sojourn we were vandalized once, and then broken into and robbed; we immediately installed an expensive state-of-the-art security system and haven't had any crime problems since.

Since Mudge Island doesn't have ferry service, you can only get here by private boat. We come and go from the city of Nanaimo on our 18 ft. power boat. Not too long ago, hitting a submerged log cost us $5,000.00 in engine repairs.

And don't get me started on the hot tub - it constantly breaks down. Fixing it involves unhooking/disengaging it all from under the deck, and hauling the heavy pump/motor off the island and down to Victoria. It was working fine back in December when we drained and winterized it in anticipation of leaving for Mexico. When we tried to get it up and working this weekend, no go. Go figure.

And, last but not least - the Mexican condo. I've ranted on a bit in a previous post about how gringos are over-charged and taken advantage of by the Mexicans. And, once you've started over-paying and over-tipping, there is no going back. On the flight home last week, I was chagrined to compare notes with other Canadian snowbirds who are paying about $3.00 an hour for their maid service; we are paying about $10.00 per hour. This in an area where the daily minimum wage is $15.00 - for an 8 hour day. Now, I do not think anyone should have to work for that little pay, but that's about $2.00 per hour and we're paying $10.00. I wouldn't mind nearly so much if I could be sure they were showing up regularly and doing the work. But they can't be relied on for this when we are there, so I can only imagine what it's like in the 8 months of off-season when no owners are around!

Last but not least, there are the joys of conflicting visions and expectations among the 6 condo owners - barely any of whom agree on anything. We're all frustrated because this is meant to be a haven of relaxation - our "place in the sun." But, the reality is we have to develop and agree on budgets, staffing, maintenance, short and long term capital plans and improvements, and none of this is easy.

I'm resorting to the smudge method of clearing and cleaning some of the bad energy that seems to be stuck swirling around us. I have my big oyster shell, an eagle feather, and a mix of dried sage and rosemary which I will burn and wave the cleansing smoke around with my feather. I've smudged before and it seemed to work. Fingers crossed for this time. Too bad there is no "fast acting" smudge. Now, where's the lighter...

Todo bien.