knocked some sense into me

[amw]

I'll open this entry by saying i have recovered somewhat from whatever it was that caused my blackout the other day. I spent a few days inside, not drinking, not smoking, just resting. Then i slowly restarted that stuff, and some exercise too, and yesterday i did about a 50km ride along the river so i think i'm back to normal, plus a few scrapes

Comments

[motodraconis]

I only "get away with it" because I have a trustworthy housemate who keeps the place ticking over for me (her rent covers the bills and taxes I pay...just) and a boyfriend who lives nearby who is willing to run over and fix things while I am away. In a non-covid year I am supposed to be living there for 3 months anyway, and (in a non-covid year) its only 2 hours flight away. Usually when I do return, I have to spend a part of my "holiday" time sorting shit out, last visit, it was cleaning and painting. But also... I have to submit (laughable) tax returns. I pay local taxes, (council tax) regardless which is not a small sum, but I have to prove income tax to the government each year. (The rent is so small and the bills so large I have never earned enough to be eligible to have to pay tax, but due to the extra complications of moving and getting shit set up, I've had to pay an accountant to sort it for me.) Now of course, the other housemate has moved out, and long term I need the rent of 2 housemates to cover irregular but large maintenance problems. (Replacing tiles ripped off the roof by wind, leaks and other ghastly problems.) Finding a new and decent person to replace them, in the middle of a pandemic is... a pain. I suspect I will be shedding money for some months so I need to be working in Norway to cover costs in the UK.

I am listing all this, because I can't imagine any of this appeals to you!

Yeah, I could pay an agency to look after my house for me. They'd throw out my housemate, and try and rent it out for a fortune, do the bare minimum in maintenance and I'd get very little of the extortionate rent they'd charge back in my pocket. I presume this is how rich people do it with a string of houses that can charge high rents. (The super rich buy houses and flats in London and then leave them empty and slowly falling apart.) Is it worth it (even if you could ignore the ethics of it) for a tiny condo...? A chum of mine tried to turn an inheritance to a property investment. She could only afford a small terrace in Stockport. It was (she later admitted) the worst decision she could have made. A string of horrible tenants ripped up the place repeatedly. She was practically suicidal trying to fix the shit and with the constant extra bills of fixing horrific damage. Eventually she sold it, no profit, huge losses, mental health fucked over.

With all the people helping me for now, I can cling onto my UK house, and (technically) I am supposed to be living there for a quarter of my year anyway - it's part of looking after my mother, spending large chunks of time in the UK to sort her shit out! Eventually it will be sold off to pay for my retirement since I expect to get bog all pension either from the state or privately, I'm (I think) much older than you, so retirement issues are more pressing on me. But yeah... no illusions that it isn't a stressful mini job all by itself that will tie you to a specific geographical location for years.