Page 33 of Threads of Kindness
“I figured I’d need a new roof,” Anita said.
“If that’s mold,” Gordon said, “it’ll have to be remediated, and the plaster repaired.” He pointed to another area of the ceiling. “There’s an opening that I’d guess conceals access to the attic.”
“I’ll bet that’s where the mice or rats are,” Anita said.
As if on cue, scratching greeted her words as rodents ran from one end of the attic to the other.
“Eek,” Anita said. “I’m not going up there.”
“You won’t have to,” Tim said. “But the roofers will need to get in there. If you make an offer, we’ll include an inspection contingency in our contract. The building inspector will evaluate it.”
“Good,” Anita said. “Should we hire the inspector now? I want an estimate of the cost to make this space usable before I make an offer.”
“The building inspection comes after you open escrow,” Tim replied. “Before we make an offer, though, you should hire someone knowledgeable about old buildings, and the cost of repairs in our area, to go through this place. I suggest Sam Torres,” Tim said. “He’s a licensed general contractor and has experience restoring older buildings.”
“He’s who I would ask,” Anita said.
“I talked to Sam and Jeff at the Christmas potluck,” Tim said. “They said they’d learned tons about restoration doing the Olsson House. They were kidding each other about finding another project. I think they’d both jump at the chance to work on this with you.”
Anita looked at Gordon. “What do you think?”
“I’ve been extremely impressed by Sam’s work at Rosemont. He’d bemychoice,” Gordon replied. “We still don’t know the extent of what this building needs to make it habitable,” he said. “The bones are good. There appears to be plenty of space for your museum. We haven’t been able to see enough of the floors to determine if they can be refinished or if you’ll need to replace them. Those wooden display cases are lovely, and would fit right in to your museum once they’re restored. There are a lot of positives about this space,” he said. “The key is going to be buying it for the right price. You need to make sure you have a generous budget for repairs. Sam can probably do most of the work, and he’ll know who to hire for the things he can’t. He also knows the going rates for labor and materials in this area. I’d hire him before putting together an offer.”
Anita made a full turn around the room. “This space will beautifully showcase my sewing machine collection. I want to own this building and bring new life into it.”
“Sounds good,” Tim said.
The herd of rodents in the ceiling made another thundering pass to the other side of the room.
Anita crossed her arms over her chest and hugged herself. “Yuck.”
“Let’s get out of here and call Sam,” Tim said.
They retraced their steps to the first floor.
“What’s behind this door under the stairs?” Gordon asked.
“That’s a basement,” Tim said. “All these old buildings have them. I didn’t look down there.” He stopped walking. “Would you like to take a peek?”
“Let’s save that for Jeff and Sam,” Anita said. “I want to go through the space again after the exterminators have finished and the detritus has been hauled away.”
They stepped out the front door into the cold sunshine and ripped off their masks in unison.
Tim held out his hand. “Here. I’ll take those. We don’t want to reuse them.” He walked to a nearby trash barrel and deposited them.
Anita looked up at Gordon. “What do you think? Am I being foolish in wanting this location? Is my heart getting the better of my head?”
Gordon put his hands on each of her forearms. “What does your gut tell you?”
“That my museum belongs here.” She glanced over her shoulder at the door to the former Candy Alley. “This is where it’s meant to be.”
“Then I think you should pursue it,” he said. “Get input from Sam and Jeff and negotiate a good price. Everything we’ve seen can be fixed. It’s only a matter of money. Your offer can reflect the cost of repairs.”
Her shoulders straightened, and she stood a little taller, like a flower after a spring rain.
“Who knows?” Gordon said. “Hidden treasures may lurk inside.”
“Just like Maggie and John suggested,” Anita said. She turned to Tim. “Let’s call Sam and get the wheels in motion. The sooner I own the building, the sooner he and Jeff will have their next project.”
