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In response to Mike's inquiry in the thread "Is this one worth $25K?"

How'd I wind up on Haller Airpark? You'll be sorry you asked, Mike. It's a long story, but I'll try to keep it short. I was simply MEANT to live here. Fate! (But I don't believe in fate!)That's the only way I can explain everything that had to happen to put me here. The time was early 1999, before the housing boom and souring home values. We were only just back on our feet financially, after a long fight to lower our debts and increase our spendable income. The girls were grown and married, and the son was finally starting college on grants and loans (he wouldn't let us pay for it, but would still live at home). I had my PPL, but had given up flying for sailing and bought a small boat.

Day one: I'd been a visitor to Haller since the 80's, and it was often one of our stops on those Saturday afternoon drives, even though I'd given up flying (it was still in my blood). Building lots or homes for sale were very rare here. But one day, there was a "for sale" sign in front of this house and hangar, 1 acre, 3br, 2 bath, With 50'x50' hangar and 36'x18' inground pool, about mid field. I won't even buy chewing gum on impulse, but I was on the phone with the realtor before I got the van stopped. I don't know what possesed me, and I'm sure the wife thought I'd had a stroke. I was told an offer had just been made on the house, but it hadn't been delivered to the seller yet, who would be back in town on Monday. I asked what had been offered, and was told the other couple offered the full $140,000 asking price. I don't know why I asked, but I asked if there were any contingencies on the sale, and was told that the other couple had to sell their home before they could close. I advised that I might want to make an offer too, and left my name and number, with instructions to call me before the other offer was delivered. They agreed.

Day two: Reality check! It was insane! I was already making a mortgage payment on another house, and knew I probably couldn't sell it any faster than the other couple could sell theirs. I had no money saved, and no airplane. What was I thinking?

The wife amazed me. She said we should go for it. We'd never get another chance! Alright, let's do some research. Heck, I didn't have time for research! I started compiling numbers, trying to gain a financial edge for some kind of an offer. I didn't have a down payment, but I did have good equity in the first home. I still had my VA benefits that I could use to finance the new home without a down payment, and at a reasonable rate. I had my 401K, but loans on that were time consuming. My current house could rent for twice the mortgage payment, and I'd actually increase my spendable income slightly in the deal. My credit was good! I could do this! I'd have to match the offer, but I could close as soon as the VA mortgage was approved. My advantage was an earlier closing.

Day three: On Monday morning I called the realtor to set up a viewing and make an offer. HORRORS! An associate was already enroute to the seller with the other offer. The realtor didn't call me first, because they "..didn't think you were serious". I advised them that I was VERY serious, and that they had better advise the seller that there would likely be a better offer, and not to sign yet. They agreed, appoligized profusely, and set up an immediate viewing of the property. We were on site with another associate within the hour. It was more than we expected, so we went to the realtors office and made the formal offer for full price, contingent only on approval of the VA mortgage. We would close as soon as it could be arranged. Naturally, the seller accepted our offer.

But... that's not yet the end of the story!

About day fourteen or so: A VA appraisal uses slightly different guidelines than a normal appraisal. They could not appraise the hangar as a hangar, and only appraised the house. $125,000 was the most they could guarantee for the whole property (based on the house value alone). Having no down payment, we were forced to revise our offer downward to $125K and immediate close. I was sure it would be rejected and we would lose the house.

The seller accepted! She wanted out NOW, her plans were already too delayed, and she feared the other offer would drag on for too long and could fall through. She was willing to accept the $15K loss for an early close.

We went to closing on about day 27, and started moving in that afternoon!

I bought my first plane within the year! Heaven!

Postscript: I just realized. I paid only $14,500 for my 150K. So, I bought the house and hangar, and my airplane, for $500 less than the original $140,000 offer. I basically got the hangar (and it's equity) for free! The rental property (good tenants) pays for itself and part of this one. I was forced to retire 5 years earlier than planned, and could never afford to buy this property now. If it hadn't happened then, it never would have. We live here for about the same cost as we would pay if we still lived in the old house. The wife was right! Sometimes you have to take a chance.

Not luck, not fate. Good deeds are sometimes rewarded rather than punished.

Good thing you didn't come to this forum and asked for opinions. We would've talked you out of it.

That is a good one, Hung!!

Thank you for the thoughtful recounting. Some times, good things happen to good people.

I, and I am sure, many others in the Club wish we had just happened to drive by Haller Airpark in 1999. Since we didn't, we're glad you did. You keep the dream alive for the rest of us.

Mike.

Thanks, guys! I like to think I've lived a good life. Both properties have more than doubled in market value, and the equity in two houses and the 401K has pretty much assured our future, as long as we continue to live within our means. We don't have many extra's living on a government pension, but we're where we want to be, and we got here sooner than we ever imagined (I turned 50 our first year here, and retired in may 2005 at age 55).

The wife does want to be near her aging parents in Kentucky, but so far she has been able to visit often enough to keep everyone happy. (At one point, I thought I was going to have to sell, some of you will remember!) I told her it's incentive to finish the plane.

Yeah, Hung, if someone had asked ME, I'd have said it's risky, and it was. The Old house sat empty for a year during remodeling, so I was making two mortgage payments on my blue collar income on overtime, plus buying materials and remodeling on weekends and evenings, and things got really tight for awhile! I didn't expect to retire early, and things tightened up again after that. That's one of the reasons why I have unfinished projects in the hangar. But, things are starting to loosen up again, and if I can stay healthy enough long enough, I should start getting some things done again.

Speaking of which, I had an ultrasound done today trying to get some problems diagnosed. They said "It's a boy!"

I've got a bit of an airpark story too.

My wife and I were married in 1990. We both had good jobs and immediately started looking for a house. We were looking for a rural setting on 1 acre or more of land. We looked at a lot of prospects but never found anything we really liked until we ran across the house we now own, unfortunately, it was under contract. Not only that, there were 5 backup offers.

Since it was in an airpark, I started looking at other properties in the airpark, none panned out. We looked into buying a lot and building, but wasn't feasible either at our stage in life. Then the deal fell through on our house. The back ups had all expired too. Our realtor worked in the same office as the listing agent on the house and found out about the deal's collapse as soon as it happened and was immediately on the phone to us. We checked the house and made an offer that afternoon. Since we had the credit but not quite the savings, our deal was contingent on the seller paying as much of the closing costs as was allowed. They went for it.

We had to get a 95% loan, which was tough at the time but that was easy compared to negotiating with the sellers over items that didn't pass inspection. Everything was corrected to the inspectors' satisfaction and we closed.

We haven't considered moving since. I love having my plane nearby and the tighter knit community that a shared interest in aviation fosters. We'll probably be here until old age or fate forces us out. If we ever decide we want a different house, we'll flatten this one first and build it on the same lot.

We've had our tough times too. We both had problems with repetitive stress injuries at our jobs. My wife is on long term disability from them. I got out by taking a different job at lower pay but the skills learned at that job allowed me to move on and up in my career.

Living at an airpark helped me to get my license, one of my neighbors was my first instructor and I still use him for BFRs, etc. I found my 150 by stumbling upon it when he mentioned he saw it for sale at Greeley.

It just goes to show that you have to be in the right place at the right time, and you can't give up on the dream! I looked up Parkland Estates, David. It looks to be a lot bigger than Haller with about twice the number of homes, and much nicer homes, too. Outside my price range, especially now. But, I like Haller because it is small. It very much has that rural village feel to it, sometimes too rural, when the deer are crossing the turf runway. Do you still have 100/130 there? I noticed you have mogas, too! We don't have either, and probably never will.

Guys like us is why others don't live on airparks... we ain't gonna sell until we have to!

Wow, Carl, that is a great story. How many of us have to pinch ourselves when we wake up to make sure where we are isn't a dream?

I think I will bore everyone with mine ....

This is somewhat abridged ... there were other events, but this communicates the "gist".

The start is a business failure thanks to the combined factors of a little piece of legislation called "The Growth Management Act" and a business that was woefully under capitalized.

Stage two was a "friend" who offered me a good job and then proceeded to screw me over on the first day on the job. "Gee, Reg, we just can't start you at the salary we discussed".

With business debts and a job that was paying at least $12,000 a year less than what we needed, we had to sell our home and move into a little 1,000 sf rental (after living seven weeks in a borrowed travel trailer parked in a friend's backyard to save up "first, last and deposit").

I hung in with the "friend" for a year. We paid off most of our business debts, but a bout of pancreatitis for my wife, and the fact that I could NOT get the IRS off my back, was making finances way more than "tight".

The first ray of hope was the offer of a business opportunity. Having recently failed I was pretty shy, but I didn't have too many other options, so I jumped. With start-up capital from a partner and a desk in the corner of his office, I took over Northwest Water Systems with three sampling contracts and one billing contract. Total revenues about $1,200 a month.

What turned out to be the second ray of hope was actually total madness on our part. We were presented the opportunity to make an offer on a house my wife had fallen in love with four years previously. I couldn't make anything like an offer the owner (a friend) was asking, and, with the IRS hanging over my head like a thunder cloud, I couldn't close in the foreseeable future. I told the owner, my friend, the reality, and he asked me to offer what I could, so I did. I told him it would NOT break my heart if he told me to take a hike. I knew the value of the house and I valued his friendship above the house. But he accepted our offer and we moved into a house we never dreamed of living in.

In 2000, thanks to the IRS (I will not discuss them in polite company), we had no choice but to file bankrupcty. And I got my first flight in the 185 I have often referred to here. I was bankrupt, I was living in a house I had no idea how I was going to close on (madness!), I was president of a struggling company, though, by this time we had about 30 systems under management and the design/compliance work was rolling in (and I was no longer needing to make shareholder loans from my partner, though I occasionally had to hold my paycheck). And I was SERIOUSLY hooked on aviation.

Since then, things have just been getting better and better. Despite the bankrupcty, I was able to close on a VA loan for the house (I need to post a picture) and the company has steadily grown and turned profitable. I ran into a flight instructor who offered to train me at the rates he paid for his training ($8 an hour) and got to spend a lot time at the controls of a 185, for free. I did have to pay rental on the airplanes in which I trained, but growing profitability covered that expense.

Then I ran into someone who wanted to partner in an airplane and made me a partnership offer I could manage.

Now, I manage a company that earned $750,000 in revenue last year, live in a house I never DREAMED I could afford, have my PPL, and own half of a very cute little 150, and, except for the mortgage on the house, have practically no debt. Seven years ago I was wondering how I could keep any kind of roof over our heads and food on the table.

I would like to claim that this is all because of my brilliance. But it is not. Sure, I have worked hard, but brilliant I am not. I am not sure how it all came together, but there are days it seems a little unreal.

Reg

Wow, is seems like everyone in aviation (or at least on this forum can write a best-selling autobiography that will make women cry.

But I am glad that you still accept younger guys with boring life story into your company