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21 January, 2008

How Close Is "Close"?

So, just how close is close?

Is it close enough that we could burn the mortgage? Well, yes, we could maybe do that (Assuming a mortgage even existed).

Is it close enough that you could buy a new refrigerator and stove? I'm not sure what that has to do with the mortgage, or the burning of it), but yes, we could do that. Not only could we, we did! Tomorrow, about 9:30 AM or so, our new stove and fridge will be delivered. The fridge even has an automatic ice maker. All I have to do tomorrow is cut the gas line, install a tee, clamp it and hook it up to the stove. Pretty much the same thing for the fridge and the ice maker, except it'll be for the drinking water line from the reverse osmosis filter.

How about close enough you're having a Culligan person come and hook up the water softener? Yes, but again, I'm not sure what this has to do with mortgages. But we won't worry about that right now. We are having a Culligan Man show up to connect our system. Hopefully, that'll go well.

“This whole attitude of paying off
the mortgage and owning the home
free and clear is disappearing
from the country.”
- Christopher Cruise, former mortgage broker

As I said we'd burn it if we could. We made the final payment to Franz Wiebe and Jose Camera, our builders, this afternoon. We own the property, the fence, and the house, free and clear.

But this being Belize, things work a little differently down here. There really never was a mortgage, just a series of bills that came up as certain things were done, and most of the time, those bills were incurred directly by me, for supplies, tools, bits and bobs, etc.

And, all of a sudden we find ourselves at the end of that series of bills. That's it. We own the place. Period.

But there will be a few bills yet to go. For one, we still owe Isael a last payment for the burglar bar doors (which are gorgeous) and for the front gate. He has to come sometime this week and install the second door as well as the gate. For another, we'll be getting a bill from Osman (I've always spelled it with a "z" instead of an "s") for extra electrical work he'll be doing tomorrow - the gate lights, gate motor power, and final hookup of the gate door bell.

But with those two, we're fast getting to the place of just hiring people to do something for us - like calling for the plumber, etc. So, we're done. Maybe we'll gin up a pretend mortgage, just to have something to burn.

Yeh, I like that.

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