My first thought in the morning is always you – Unknown.
Once we finished talking to the gentleman, we were taken to the office where a couple of girls were working on their computers. We said Hey to them and they pointed out that fresh coffee was just made for us.
We poured some coffee in our paper cups and started walking towards the library, and then the gym. There were some folks looking for some books and there were also some folks busy exercising on bikes and treadmills. We went to the back of the building an open-air facility where we saw a huge deck with a huge pool with some folks and a nice hot tub. We said Hey to them. They all knew Judy. She was very chatty with them. Lynda and I were looking at each other, not saying anything but observing everything.
Once Judy stopped chatting with the folks in the pool, she asked us if we had any questions. Lynda asked what’s the mechanism in place to organize social activities.
She said it is an excellent question, Lynda. She asked if she could call her Lynda. Lynda said that’s my name.
She continued – It is based on volunteers. Even though there are 360 plus retired homeowners on this park only a limited number of the folks come out to the club to do exercise/swim or participate in any social activity. Some of them have their own swim pools depending upon what kind of house they own. And some of them still working either part time or full time in casinos as we need people to work here in the casinos.
She said in any case, the volunteer owners elect the president who becomes responsible for organizing and managing the group to schedule outings, breakfasts, and any other interesting activities. As a matter of fact, they take turn to make breakfasts on Sundays, and 50 to 60 people show up.
The management contributes some money every month to meet those expenses.
She said perhaps my boss already told you this: To own the property at a manufactured home on this or any other parks, one of you must be 56 years old. No, I said I don’t remember Cliff mentioning that. I continued – I will let Lynda live with me as she’s just a kid, but I am a big boy, I turned 56 a couple of months back. Judy said that’s the question we always must ask first.
She said another important thing you need to know is that when you buy a manufactured home on any park you will have to pay property tax to the City. I said I thought that was given. She said some people who build or purchase a manufactured home they think they were not required, and I just wanted to make sure that you understand it. I asked what’s next?
She said I will take you around to show how the whole park is maintained before I take you to show the house you wanted to see. We went along with that idea, and we were total impressed with the setup of the park and the way they were maintaining each street – Clean and nice. We were totally impressed. Judy told us that she forgot to mention to us that they also have an Architecture Committee at this park which is responsible for deciding where the new homes can or cannot be installed. Additionally, they also need to approve the colour of your house if you decided to repaint it. I said it only makes sense to us.
Suddenly, she stopped the car and turned towards Lynda and asked what kind of location of house she likes? Lynda said we lived in 12 different houses during the last 25 years, and my preference always was to find a house at the corner, facing south as I believe that will almost guarantee more sunshine, but it didn’t work for us all the time. Judy said you lived in 12 different houses in 25 years? Lynda said it wasn’t my doing but somebody else was responsible for that.
I wasn’t looking at either of them but staring out in the space.
Judy said, Lynda I don’t know how to tell you this. I always ask the same question about their preferred directions for their new house but very few times it matched 100 percent. However, the house you are going to see is a 100 percent match to your desired locations. Right there, she pointed out to a house across from where we were parked. See Lynda, it’s located at the corner and faces south. Lynda was totally mesmerized. It took a couple of seconds before she spoke again. She said it could be just coincident. Judy said maybe but at the same time it could be meant to be. Lynda didn’t know what to say. Judy started driving towards the pointed house and she parked the car on the driveway of a huge double garage, next to a huge shade designed for parking a RV.
I said WOW! And we all got out of the car. Judy said I will show you the backyard first, just follow me. We ended up in a huge backyard, facing north, across from a huge kitchen. She said there are 35 trees in the backyard, covering a reasonably huge area and the whole backyard is covered with iron fencing to protect the garden. I was blown out of water. Fascinated with the backyard and trees. She said to Lynda let’s go in. Lynda looked at me as I was stopping her from going anywhere. Lynda said he’s coming, too.
When we entered the kitchen, Lynda saw the quality of appliances and their matching furniture, she said they have a nice taste. Judy said wait until you see their dining room. She continued by saying this house is less than four years old. The husband had died recently, and their daughter wanted her mother to live with her and kids. Otherwise, she was very happy here.
While those ladies were still in the kitchen and moving to the dining room, I decided to see the rest of the house. It wasn’t a huge place but well decorated. They had green carpet throughout the house on the top of it they also had green drapes to match which made house look darker. Nevertheless, the total configuration of the house appeared to be very modern and functional. For instance, there was a small but nice reception area to welcome the visitors as soon as they entered the house. There were three doors – right to the dining room, left to the bedrooms, and straight to the kitchen.
Going to bedrooms, we had to go through a small family room which was designed to use a personal computer in the corner and a TV. It could have been used to receive a couple of visitors. The door in the family room led to a spare bedroom. Following the family room, there was another door to an area where a huge round hot tub with a capacity of four people. There was a door which led to a huge master bedroom with the washroom and shower. Furthermore, outside of the main entrance, there was space both sides to park flowers pots. I never ever dreamed about living in a house like this. I waited for Lynda to finish her tour before I say anything. When Lynda came out, Judy didn’t even ask me if I liked the house. She said she will wait for us in her Limousine.
Lynda appeared to be very happy which was scary for me because I didn’t think she knew what I was thinking about the house which could be upsetting for her. I asked her if she liked the house. She said can say that I like it, and it could be another dream house, but I do have some reservations. I said I clearly understand your concerns and I will try not to upset you consciously. She said I always knew that otherwise I wouldn’t spend my life with you, silly boy. Lynda asked me how I felt about the house. I had to be totally honest with her, and I remember saying to her that I was blown out of water – completely outshined, and overwhelmed with the house and the atmosphere of the park. I understand your hesitation, specifically for Adam and I share those values, too. I feel like it’s something I cannot just dismiss without giving proper consideration. Lynda said let’s get going as she’s waiting for us in the Limousine.
As soon as we got into the Limousine, I said Judy, you have been a wonderful help. You have patience as well as skills to help clients understand the situation and we appreciated your help a lot. She said thanks for saying but it’s my job to make you feel comfortable and I take pleasure in doing so. When we got back, the owner was waiting for us with fresh coffee and cookies.
I said to him what I don’t understand is – why are your wasting your time with us? We are not a big fish, and we may not be interested in buying anything from you. He looked at Lynda and asked her if I always behave like this with everybody else all the time? She said not really. Most of the time he’s not even impressed with any status or gives a dime to money but what’s true is that he meant everything he says. He said thanks for your help Lynda. He continued, Always I have people coming to see me and they sit right there where you both are siting, but they never stopped bull shitting me. I can smell them from a distance, and I know how to deal with them, too. I have been in this business for a couple of decades, and I learned a lot. Perhaps the most important thing that I have learned was to gauge people. He said, you both are different and please don’t let anybody tell you otherwise.
He asked Lynda if she liked the house. Lynda said she liked the house a lot. Cliff said so what’s stopping you from having the house, Lynda. Lynda said it is indeed an interesting question as from time-to-time Mir has been reminding me that we can’t always have everything that we like. An excellent advice but where can we go from here? Lynda said it’s entirely up to Mir; I trust him with everything I have. He said are you real? I said so far so good, but we do need to talk about the house which we both like it very much.
Cliff asked if I was ready to make an offer? I told him that before I make an offer, I wanted him to know that it is not necessarily based on any market assessment or smart angle to profit ourselves. It is impulsive and purely based on our affordability without any room for dickering. I explicitly stated the figure, asking him not to be offended. I further explained to Cliff that we were not buying the house for investment. I may consider taking an early retirement and live here full time to spend my remaining life with my beautiful wife. Cliff said WOW! I never heard anybody speaking to me like that before. He continued while I appreciate your sincere offer, I am afraid that it’s way below my expectations and I am not authorized to accept that kind of offer. I said I am sorry, too. I hope I didn’t upset you with my offer. He said not at all, Mir. You have stated your position as a smart negotiator, and I respect that. However, I am wondering why you didn’t try real estates as your career instead of computers. I remember saying to Cliff that he was giving me more credit than I deserved. Cliff turned around and asked Lynda if she agreed to the offer? She said she didn’t even know that he was going to make an offer. She continued, all he asked me was did I like the house. He said I like you both. You are smart and successful. Perhaps the only thing I can do is to present your offer to the owner and let her decide but please don’t hold your breath. Lynda said that indeed is more than enough for us. I grabbed one of my business cards from my wallet and gave it to Cliff, asking him to use my cell to let me know as we were planning to leave for Phoenix tomorrow around noon.
On our way to hotel, Lynda didn’t even like to talk about it. What all she said was, if you thought that was the right figure we can afford, you did the right thing. She also said now we don’t have to worry about how we would deal with Adam, etc. However, I did like the house immensely. On that note, we wrapped it up.
I didn’t sleep well that night. In the middle of the night, I woke up, went into the living room and sat down in the dark, closing my eyes, not knowing what I was thinking. Just after a few minutes I felt a warm body next to me. I asked her what the heck she was doing up. She said she was missing a warm body next to her. She asked me what was bothering me? I remember saying, I don’t know. She asked if I would like to live here in Las Vegas instead of going to Phoenix and exploring the possibilities. I said yes, I would like to do that but I don’t like to disappoint you as you were more interested in Phoenix. She said indeed I did but that was before we came to Vegas. She also said she wouldn’t mind living in Vegas at all, but the question is – Why are we discussing the possibilities of living anywhere else while we got everything in Ottawa. We worked very hard to have what we got in Ottawa including our son, our friends, and our business. I said, I cannot answer your question. It all started out when we wanted to go out and bug those guys in the real estate office but when we got to the manufactured homes park, we saw how everything looked so beautiful, the clubhouse with all the facilities, and perhaps most importantly the house. It took my breath away. It doesn’t matter how hard we work; there is no way in the world we ever be able to afford a house like that in Ottawa. Moreover, you saw the smile on the faces of the folks we met in the clubhouse? That was the reflection of what kind of life they are leading on that park.
Lynda said I am also thoroughly impressed with the house and the atmosphere of the park but kept thinking about Adam. I said you don’t think I am also concerned about Adam? She said I know you are but you’re a man. I said what does it mean? She said nothing except that men have a different way of expressing that concern. All the sudden I got up and said let’s go down and have something to eat. She said are you crazy? It’s 2:00 in the morning. I said aren’t you forgetting something?
She said like what? We are in Vegas and Vegas never sleeps.
When we got down, we were shocked to see just like during the day, everybody was on the machines and gambling tables testing their fortunes. There was more than one restaurant in the lobby, and we picked one close to the elevators. Once we sat down, coffee was served right away. I ordered pancakes and Lynda order eggs before we started talking again. Lynda asked me what I thought about the possible reaction to my offer for buying the house? I said I am not hopeful. Partly because the time I came up with the figure, I was also struggling about leaving everything behind and partly because I was concerned about the rate of exchange (The rate was 65 percent) which also it means that if we bought a house for $100, 000 here, we will have to pay $166,000 in Canadians. Lynda said if we decided to live here, we can always extend our stay here and look for more reasonable house or alternatively we can go back to Cliff and upgrade our offer. I got two issues with the statement that you just made:
- Why do you think it should be my decision whether to live here or not. Aren’t you going to live with me?
- You can call it my pride but I don’t feel comfortable with the idea of upgrading our offer after all that BS that I fed to Cliff about affordability, etc.
Lynda said I want you to stop beating up yourself as I believe that you didn’t do anything wrong by making the offer that you thought was the best you can do. She continued – we came on a vacation to relax and enjoy but it seems as we cannot stay away from mischief. I asked Lynda if she believes in faith? She said indeed I do believe in faith and in the doctrines of our religion which is purely based on faith. I said then you should also believe that there is always a reason for the things happen to us. She said we had this discussion more than once. What are you getting on. I said my whole life is based on faith as I never seemed to have any control over things which have been happening to me. Consequently, I really believe that it was my faith which brought me to Canada from Chicago only to meet you. She said it is a bit stretch but I will go along with that. I said I strongly believe that it’s our faith that brought us here for a reason and that reason could be to thinking about living here in Vegas.
She said I agree with you in a way but we must discuss how we are going to deal with Adam.
I remember saying that while Adam is only 23 years old, he is very smart and perhaps more importantly he got our DNA. Furthermore, he had been working with me for a while, and he totally understands our business. I realized that there were numerous advantages for Adam to work with me and learn the business, but the biggest disadvantage was that if I were there, our clients always would like to deal with me. Lynda said funny that you are saying something once Adam complained about. I said what did he say? He said almost all the clients feel so comfortable with dad because he had proven to them again and again and they always call for him. But dad also had taught me a few things, and I can help them, too. I asked what was her reaction. She said the only thing remember saying Adam that your time will come. I said I rest my case. What? I said what all I am trying to say is that my absence from the business will help Adam to create his own profile with our clients. Furthermore, I am going to be there for him to continue to support on the phone and if necessary, I am prepared to go to Ottawa whenever he needs me. Please believe me when I say that your son is much smarter than me. He takes after you. What all he needed is an opportunity to prove himself.
She said are you trying to turn me on by saying that Adam takes after me. I don’t have any degrees as you two do. I said degrees are not necessarily everything in the business. You need to have street smarts to go with the degrees hand in hand which Adam has and that he gets from you and your family. Think about your dad who had no degrees, but he had street smarts to run the business that he had developed, and he was indeed a successful businessman.
She said I think I know what you’re trying to say, and I don’t have any problem with your logic but what are we going to do with the house?
I said Adam can have the house, too. He can continue to live in the house with his girlfriend or wife without having to worry about buying a house. It will be relatively easy for him to start family. He wouldn’t have to go through what we had gone through to own a property. Lynda said you’re a very generous dad. I said not really.
She asked why did I say that? I remember saying – Aren’t you forgetting something? She said what?
I said – When my partnership with Mark Bows was being dissolved, Adam was working with us only for less than a year. Adam knew that Mark was doing this because he feared Adam and his smarts. One day Adam came to me and said, dad you don’t have to do this because of me. I can always find something else. I said to him that you’re more important to me than anything else in this world. I also said, I have enough energy left in me and we can work together to build a new company, and he liked that idea. I said to Lynda, I cannot ever forget that who helped me to get the company going – you and Adam. You both are responsible for any success in the business we ever had. She said you are giving us more credit than is necessary or we deserve.
Don’t you remember, Mark and I had divided our office furniture that we had bought for the company, and some of that furniture we brought home and put it in the basement to make it our home office. Adam helped me a great deal when I was making marketing calls and you never stopped serving us drinks and appetizers all day along.
I said I remember once the Systems House people asked us to make a presentation to their people in their office in downtown of Ottawa. They wanted their employees to learn about BPR, and they knew that we had been successful in getting a couple of important contracts to do BPR. Unfortunately, we had no laptop as laptop those days costed almost $10,000 and we didn’t have that kind of money. So, I asked what were we going to do, Adam.
I remember Adam saying, we will carry our PC (Personal Computer with heavy monitor and Central Processing Unit). In any case, when we got to their office in downtown, we didn’t find any parking space nearby. We ended up parking our car a few blocks away. Adam carried the heaviest monitor, and I carried the CPU and when we got to their office, one of the guys asked what happened to your laptop, Mir? I looked into his eyes and lied – It was something wrong with it this morning. Lynda said as far I was concerned, it was nice to have both my boys right in my basement where I could keep an eye on them. I said the point I am trying to make is that we are giving Adam the company that he helped us build. She said what about the house? I said it goes with the business. She said how about all those things that we carried from city to city and paid movers a fortune? I said we should leave everything as it is with Adam. She said at this stage, all this is just a talk as we are not even sure if we will stay in Vegas. I said I agreed with you, let’s go back to our room and try to grab some sleep.
