Hilary knew she was playing a waiting game. Evan would contact the developer and a new price would be offered. In the meantime she and Mavis had the viewings of Camden Corners to assess and the next meeting of the women to prepare for and that involved bringing them into the picture about the possible house purchase and what the financial contribution of each member of the group might be.
To do this adequately, she sat down with Mavis to prepare a list of costings for additional changes to the Niagara house, if they managed to buy it at a reasonable price, of course.
There was also one other matter she needed to discuss with Mavis and Eve, but she postponed that one until the financial topic had been explored.
“Let’s see what we would need. It can be a comprehensive list at first. We can establish priorities later and I think we should ask Eve for her opinion on the list.”
Mavis had been thinking about the Niagara house ever since their visit and she was prepared with a few ideas which she wrote down on Hilary’s notepad.
New paint in entrance, stairway and dining room.
Removal of panelling in dining room?
Possible change of carpeting in entrance and stairs?
Convert back stairs into elevator.
Rugs to cover white carpeting in lounge.
“Oh, you have been busy, Mavis. I like your ideas for the interior. I was also thinking of exterior requirements.”
Employ gardener.
Snow removal contractor.
Check on condition of garages.
Check condition of driveway.
Talk to neighbours.
“This looks quite comprehensive. Which is the most costly?”
“The elevator is bound to be in the tens of thousands of dollars, but the fact there is a space for it is a bonus although the cost of removing the stairs first of all will add to it.”
They gazed at the list and tried to estimate the costs.
“I can do a bit of painting.”
“Vilma has offered to advise us on design elements.”
“Perhaps the former gardener can be employed again.”
“We have our own furniture and furnishings to use.”
There was a silence for a minute then Hilary started to write again.
WiFi?
Security?
Nearest stores, hospital, fire department?
City Taxes?
Hydro and/or gas bills?
The two women looked at each other with the same thought in their minds. This was a very big house and a very big project. If a good bargain could not be found, it would never work.
Reality was setting in.
“Mavis, before we go any further, would you ask Eve to come in?” I have something important to tell both of you.”
Eve was in the kitchen placing a tray of muffins in the oven. She came at once and sat beside Hilary in the upstairs office.
“I apologize for not informing you about this before now but I was waiting for some further information from the police.”
“What?”
Eve’s face quickly lost the flush from the oven heat. She immediately suspected what was to come next.
Hilary got right to the point.
“I asked the police to investigate footprints I found in the snow leading around to the back of our house here.”
“When did this happen?” Eve sounded alarmed and shaky.
Hilary turned toward her and took her hand. “It was several days ago, Eve, but I delayed telling you until I had something definite for you both. I can assure you I have been keeping an eye on the house in the evenings and watching for more footprints. The lack of fresh snow has made it difficult to track new prints but I am pretty sure he has not been around here again.”
“By ‘he’, I presume you mean Eve’s husband?”
“Correct.”
“Has that been confirmed?”
“Well, not completely. The security camera showed a hooded man in dark clothes. The same man has been seen lurking in the neighbourhood and I saw him myself once, which is why I initiated a report with the police.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as Hilary’s listeners absorbed the impact of this announcement.
Surprisingly, it was Eve who recovered first.
“We can’t be certain it was Howard. It could be someone casing the place for a break-in.”
“Not reassuring, Eve!”
“Right. But we shouldn’t jump to conclusions. In any case we will be out of here before too long and he won’t know where we are going.”
Hilary was pleased to hear Eve had developed some confidence. Knowing there were two others around and the police had been informed, had obviously given her courage.
She made a mental note to request no ‘For Sale’ or ‘Sold’ signs on the exterior. Howard, (and she, at least, was sure the interloper was Howard Dobrinski), should have no clues to follow. She would also ask Sergeant Derek Price to report on the patrol car findings and ask if those patrols might be continued until they left the district.
All of this made the coming group meeting more urgent. Decisions had to be made soon.
The most urgent decision was about the Niagara house. Hilary lost no time in describing the property with the addition of the photographs. She tried to keep the doubts out of her voice but it was Mavis whose comments made the most impact on the assembled women.
“It has to be considered as a unique opportunity. We can all go there and decide afterwards what to do. As you have seen, some renovation is needed but nothing we can’t afford providing we get the best possible price. Frankly, ladies, I can’t see us finding a place of this size in our price bracket anywhere else in London and area.”
“Well, it certainly looks interesting. I can take Jannice and Honor to see it as soon as you can set up another appointment with Evan. He definitely seems worth watching from his photo here!”
Vilma’s comments brought laughter to the subject and Mavis went off at once to contact Evan, knowing that Hilary was all set to talk about finances as the next important step in the process.
The evening before the meeting they had a counsel of war regarding expenses. Apart from the money each could raise from their house sales or other sources, there was the question of funding the necessary changes to the Niagara property. The paint costs would be minimal and some of that work they might be able to do by themselves, but major stuff such as replacing the back stairs with an elevator were unknown until a structural engineer surveyed the proposed location.
“I think we have to boost each person’s contribution to allow for additional expenses.”
Mavis had obviously given this much thought. She continued in the same vein.
“We also have to think long term. We must consider city taxes, the possible costs of a mortgage if that is the choice we make. There will also be repairs and changes that we can’t know about until we take ownership.”
“I see what you mean. We need a contingency fund set aside from our initial contribution and earning sufficient income to be viable when we really need the money.”
There was a pause while each did mental calculations.
“Is it going to be too much for some of us?”
Hilary got out her notepad and wrote down the names.
Mavis: secure and in bank
Hilary: unknown until house sells
Vilma: secure
Eve: secure and in bank
Jannice: unknown until house sells
Honor: unknown
Two sets of eyes scanned the list.
“Not terribly certain, is it?”
“No. Too many unknowns. We need to ask Honor what her situation is. We need an electrician and an engineer to do a home inspection and most of all we need Evan to give us a good price.”
“Wait one minute, Hilary. You are talking as if the other three will approve of the Niagara house. We don’t know that yet.”
“Of course, you are right, Mavis. Let’s use the Niagara house as a test case. We’ll see what the other three say about it and we could set a guide price for a contribution based on the price of the house and see what kind of a reaction we get. If someone can’t meet the price it will show us what to do next.”
“Do you mean we would eject a candidate at this point?”
“I know it sounds harsh. I would not want to do that but someone might decide she couldn’t proceed and voluntarily withdraw.”
“I must say, I hope that is not the case. I feel we six have bonded quite nicely. But I do see the advantage in a trial run, as it were. What figure were you thinking of?”
Hilary pursed her lips and made some calculations on the page.
“One hundred forty thousand dollars each would be realistic. If Niagara does not turn out to be the house we need, we can always scale down and keep looking. We need extra time for two house sales to be completed in any case.”
Mavis nodded in support. In the back of her mind she still worried about getting Eve away from the area to a new location as quickly as possible.
When Hilary announced the provisional contribution sum, Mavis watched to see the reactions among the group.
Vilma reached over to Jannice and patted her hand reassuringly, with a smile that said, ‘We’ll be OK’.
Honor looked down at her folded hands and then up at Hilary with what Mavis interpreted as a look of decision.
Eve looked anxiously from one face to another. In her heart she saw them all safely living together at the Niagara house and she feared that dream might not come to pass.
Hilary waited for another moment for a negative reaction and when none appeared she sighed in satisfaction.
Mavis jumped in with the good news. “Evan says we can go to view the house again tomorrow if that suits everyone.”
Expressions of delight circulated around the room and Eve went off to refill the tea cups. Vilma volunteered to be the driver and a time for the viewing appointment was discussed.