I honor our life together by focusing on the joy we shared. (Unknown).
We were tired from driving almost 2,500 miles from Ottawa which took 36 hours’ drive to get to Las Vegas. We slept well and as soon as I woke up, I made coffee for us and brought and served it in bed which Lynda liked.
We were told that as the entertainment capital of the world, there were an incredible number of things to do and places to see in Las Vegas.
Last night we didn’t see too many things on the strip simply because we were tired but today wanted to see few more things including Caesar’s Palace, New York New York roller coaster. We were also planning to go late in the evening to the Bellagio fountain show which was a major attraction on the strip.
We decided to have breakfast and play machines for a while before we so to see the downtown of Las Vegas.
The downtown area of Las Vegas in 1997, centered around Fremont Street, offered a stark contrast to the flashy, rapidly modernizing Las Vegas Strip. It was more like an old-school, gritty, and nostalgic evoking the classic image of Vegas from the Rat Pack era.
We didn’t think that we had time to visit the Hoover Dam.
- The Hoover Dam was an engineering wonder because of the fascinating process it took to create it. The Hoover Dam is free to walk around, but you can take guided tours of the dam and power plant for a fee.
Our second day in Las Vegas went very well. Lynda seemed to be relaxed and enjoying but she did ask me if we will be going to Phoenix soon.
I told her that maybe another day or two as we don’t have any plan and nobody was waiting for us in Phoenix.
She said Las Vegas was interesting as she always thought it was a sin city.
The next day we didn’t rush to get up. We took our time to go down for breakfast and came back to our room. She had bought several things, and she was getting them organized in the bedroom while I was trying to watch the TV.
As soon as I turned the TV on, I saw somebody was talking about manufacturing homes. I had never heard that term before. I got interested and turned the volume little high so that Lynda can also listen.
She said what the heck is manufacturing houses and she came back in the living room and sat next to me to watch the show. The guy was saying there are millions of Americans live in manufactured homes all over Southern states. Several Southern are known for regular sunshine. Arizona, Florida, and Texas are often cited as particularly sunny states, especially during the winter months. Other Southern states with significant sunshine include Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina. He continued saying that sunlight is particularly prominent in the southern part of Nevada, near Las Vegas, which receives 3,817 annual hours of sunshine on average and very seldom rains.
When he started showing all kind of different designs and styles of manufactured homes, Lynda and I were fascinated and wanted to continue to watch but we heard a nock on the door. The next thing we knew that the girl came to clean our room.
Lynda said let’s get out of here so that she can do her job.
When we came down in the hotel, I remembering saying to Lynda that why don’t we go and bug some of those real estate guys for a couple of hours to find out about manufactured homes.
She said sounds good.
We didn’t have to drive too far to see a real estate office where we stopped.
The real estate guy was very friendly and he said his name was Cliff and he asked our names. He wanted to know where we were from. As soon as we said we are Canadians, he looked at Lynda and said you’re English, aren’t you Lynda.
Lynda said she used to be but not anymore.
One thing we noticed during our short period in Las Vegas that everybody seemed to be nice and friendly.
Cliff said there are a lot of Canadians live here in Las Vegas. Perhaps most of them are Snowbirds but he knew some who live there permanently.
He asked us if we will be interested living in fulltime or just few months in the winter?
We said we got the family in Canada and we can only think of being away every year for a short period of time.
He asked what’s our interest.
I said we are interested in manufactured homes.
He said you came to the right place.
He asked me if I ever lived in the States?
I said only for a short period of time in the sixties.
He said do you remember your Social Security number?
I just repeated my Social Security number which I had memorized when I was living in the states.
He said let me get you some coffee as well as some catalogues so that you can browse them while I spend a couple of minutes doing something else.
I said we are not in any rush and would appreciate a cup of coffee.
He asked if we take anything in our coffee and then brough two cups of coffee for us.
We started browsing the listings with beautiful pictures of the properties in different parts of Las Vegas. Everything looked all bright and beautiful. Lynda was kept pointing out to me some of those properties and their locations.
He came back and said I got the good news.
We said what good news?
He said, I was on the computer and did some quick digging only to find out that you indeed have a valid social security number which allows you to own a property in the states without having to pay extra taxes or anything like other Canadians pay.
I said that’s great.
He said the other thing is that you have been away almost 25 years from the states, but you did invest in the states in the early 1990s in Florida when you bought some kind of property, but I don’t have any details.
He continued, even though you didn’t have any property or investment while you lived in Chicago, you had a good credit rating.
I said it was nice to know.
He asked Lynda if she liked any property?
She said she liked a lot of them.
He said show the best property you liked.
Lynda pointed out one beautiful property surrounded by beautiful flowers.
He said, Lynda, you got a good eye.
Lynda appeared to be pleased with that comment.
He said that property you are looking at is a manufactured home which is located on a topnotch manufactured homes park called Mountain View.
I said please just explain to me those manufactured homes.
He said the manufactured homes are cheaper alternative to those expensive traditional houses. Manufactured homes can be just as permeant as onsite builds. Nor do you have to sacrifice space or functionality when you live in a manufactured home.
I said WOW!
He continued by saying it also makes a huge difference depending upon where those manufactured homes are located. In this case, the house or home Lynda liked, is one of the top manufactured homes parks which is reasonably new and designed to meet the requirements of most of the owners.
He said Mountain View is a 55+ retirement community located in Henderson. Nestled in the scenic Green Valley area, this community offers residents a peaceful and engaging lifestyle. Mountain View provides a variety of amenities designed for comfort and recreation:
- A well-stocked library;
- Horseshoe pits;
- A spacious game room;
- A swimming pool and hot tub;
- Billiard facilities;
- A fully equipped fitness center; and
- A large clubhouse for social gatherings.
Furthermore, he continued. It’s situated in the Green Valley area of Henderson, Mountain View is conveniently located near shopping centers, restaurants, and healthcare facilities. The community is also close to Mountain View Park, which offers amenities such as ball fields, basketball and tennis courts, picnic areas, and playgrounds.
We were totally overwhelmed with the information, and we realized that he was indeed a good salesperson.
I said to him it’s getting to be too much for me to process the magnitude of the information you’re feeding us.
He said let me ask you this, how much money do you think you can afford to put as a down payment.
I looked at Lynda and she said don’t ask me. This was your idea.
I said we already have a home in Canada, and it is our 12th home, and she just finished decorating it and guess what? I am almost bankrupt.
He said, Mir, I also have one of them with expensive taste in my home.
Lynda said you two smart-asses are talking about me.
We all laughed.
He said let me ask again – How much money you think you can afford to put as a down payment?
I said, not much, may be only $20,000.
He said, Mir, can I ask you a question?
He said what do you do for a living?
I said nothing much – A little bit of this and a little bit of that.
Mir, I owned this business. I am not stupid. Do you expect me to believe that you only do this and that?
Lynda jumped into the conversation and said – he owns a small computer consulting company in Ottawa.
Computer consulting, WOW!
I said I was educated here in the United States in the 1960’ which worked out for me in Canada.
He said, now I know what kind of class of people I am dealing with.
I said where can we go from here.
He said, if Lynda’s interested, I could get somebody to take you folks to show you the house Lynda kept looking at.
I said, I am offended, why did you just addressed Lynda, totally excluding me from the conversation, in the offer to take us to show the property.
Mir, I have been in this business long enough to know that when it comes to buying a house, we men are pushed in the background.
Lynda said boys, just stop overanalyzing “wives”.
She continues, Cliff, tell us the asking price for the house. Mir and I will go and have lunch and discuss the house and if we decided to proceed with, we would come back around 2:00 PM to go to Mountainview to view the property.
He said can I offer to buy you lunch?
Lynda said we don’t like to be persuaded.
Cliff said the asking price of the house and we left his office.
