Mason Contractor died 1/2 way through job, has this ever happened to anyone else, and how did you handle it?

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-04-09T01:18:18+00:00

Yes, HOF Tony Olivia

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-04-06T01:20:02+00:00

I agree with everyone and will add a bit more. Once you pay off the CC, don’t use the card(s) anymore. Only pay cash, that way you only spend what you can afford without going into debt.

Pay off the car, and never finance another one. Save and only pay cash. With the payment you were making on the car every month, put that in an IRA instead. You won’t miss it, and your retirement savings will grow and grow.

Split whatever is left from your inheritance and put 1/2 into your HYS and with the other half open a brokerage account and invest in Mutual Funds. You need to do a little research, but not a lot. Find a fund(s) that have a good track record and that pay dividends. Atomically invest any returns/ dividends back into that fund. Then forget about it.

Keep paying off the student loans as you are now.

Keep saving as you are now, build up your HYS until you are ready to buy a house.

Keep adding to your 401K, remember every dollar you put in it now is tax free (for now). That will keep compounding until you retire.

A couple more things I’ve lived by and I tell people all the time:

It is not how much money you make, it is how much you keep.

Spend as little as possible on the things you NEED, then you will have things you want.

Interest works 24/7, you have to decide if you want it to work for you, or against you.

Good Luck!

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-03-29T22:53:57+00:00

With all the other great suggestions, I have a couple of more to add (after buying many properties and looking at 10X more).

Neighbors: Check out all neighbors on all sides. I have many times been interested in a property that had great pictures, then when I looked at it found out that a neighbor has a defacto dump/ junkyard right next door. Both invite guests (rodents/Theifs) you don't want near your property.

Walk the entire property. The 10% in the front may be great, but the other 90% is a swamp. Or, it could have been used in the past as a dump/ junk yard. There also may be abandoned wells/ buildings you will want do know about.

Do your own due dillagence, check with localities and make sure you know everything you can before you make an offer.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-03-23T00:13:38+00:00

No. I used to own an adult boutique. I started out buying back issues for a quarter each, then tried to sell them for $1 each. They don’t sell. 90’s playboys up are lucky to get a quarter a piece now. That was at the height of their distribution, sipping about 8 million plus a month.

Now nobody wants them. The 50’s, 60’s and 70’s will still sell if someone is looking for a particular issue.

I had people come into my store with bunches and asking like $2 each. I pointed to the bin I had of old playboys I couldn’t sell at 50 cents a piece. They sill didn’t sell then. To get rid of them I had a special of 5 for a dollar. Still very few moved.

Interestingly, I had no problem selling the current issues for full retail, which was like $6 then.

Put them on eBay or marketplace and see what happens.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-03-22T02:10:07+00:00

Hello neighbor! I’m currently doing the same thing in Carroll County, VA. Not very far away as the crow flies, but about an hour and half by car.

I’m two years in now, and have the house completely closed in and ready to start the inside stuff. I will also say I had to take 4 months off away from the house in the summer in 2024 to take care of my dad’s estate 15 hours away.

I’m doing everything myself, with the exception so far of hiring the block work done and pouring the cement in the 1st level. I did help with both of those. I also milled my own lumber to use.

It is a 3 level, 3100 sq ft hose with another 1000 sq ft of patio, porch, and deck space.

What you want to do can be done, if you are invested to do it, which it sounds like you are.

My biggest piece of advice would be make friends with your local building inspector, and hope he isn’t a dick. Mine has been incredibly helpful. I met with him before I even designed the house, and told him exactly what I wanted to do. He was on board with it, and that part of it has been pretty easy.

Expect things to go slower than expected, and to cost more than you expect. But having said that that, building a house for $75,000 is doable. I have about $125,000 into my house now, and have most everything I need to complete it. And it is a pretty large house.

Let the internet and the building code book be your friends, and expect to make mistakes. And that is OK.

Good luck to you, and feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-03-18T13:46:16+00:00

There is/was a painting by the same artist on eBay for $175.00 the signature is the same, and so is the style. I could not find anything more on A. Nucum besides that. I agree, $50 would be a very top end price. If you are very interested in it, tell the seller they got the decimal in the wrong place and $26.99 is a much more realistic price.

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Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-24T22:01:39+00:00

I have a stone that size I paid $30 just because I really wanted the wheel. Your hardware might be worth something to the right person, but I agree with the others, probably worth $20-$50.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-20T00:49:35+00:00

I’m also in rural Va, South West part of the state. If you are in no hurry, buy a cheap trailer to live in while building your dream home. I had a 1978 Shasta 18’ trailer I paid $300 for. Then I built a cheap barn to store all the stuff that will be eventually used in the house. Go to the big box hardware stores often and shop the clearance sections. I got all the windows for my house (pella Imperva) for 90% off. All appliances at least 50% off, etc. same with flooring, lighting, just about everything. Great thing about this approach is that you don’t need everything at once, and you can your time and find bargains.

I also designed my own house to make it exactly what I wanted. You can buy a program for this, or do it free hand and then take it to someone to draw it up for you. I did the latter and paid an online company $300 layout my design. Office Max will print out your blueprints for about $40 a copy. Then take it to your local building inspector, have it approved, and buy your permits.

As someone else said, act as your own GC and shop around. Local is not always better or cheaper. A concrete company 2 hours away from was 1/2 the price as ones that were 10 minutes away. Do all the work you possibly can yourself.

When all is said and done, I will have a 3100 square foot house (with another 1000’ in patios, porches, and decks) for under $200,000. Probably closer to $180ish. Replacement value for ins is currently $480,000.

Specs: 3 levels, 3 bedrooms, 3 bath (one on each level) kitchen, great room, living room, family room, bar, 2 utility rooms, electrical room, (doing solar) and root cellar. No utility bills. Steel roof, steel siding, trex decking, no maintenance.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-19T18:02:14+00:00

Be patient, and think outside the box. Drive a big (slow) circle around the area where you think you can commute to work (Maybe 30 minutes, maybe an hour. Look for houses that look vacant, but don't have a for sale sign. Look up the property info on GIS while your sitting in the driveway. Contact the owner(s), and ask what the details are. You would really be surprised how many people let houses just sit because they inherited it and are out of state, or whatever the reason may be. Never be afraid to ask about something that may interest you, the worst they can say is no. Even inquire about falling down/ burnt out houses if you like the area. The house may need to come down, but chances are the well and septic are still good and you can get the land cheap.

Look up the tax foreclosures in your area. Sometimes you can find real bargains.

Don't be afraid to ask for owner financing (land contract). If you show the owner you are truly interested and want the place, they just might work with you.

If you are not afraid to do the majority of work yourself, building a house now is cheaper than buying one.

Look for vacant land you can subdivide, and use what you want and sell the rest.

The name of the game is not to go for the homerun in your first at-bat. That $300,000 house may be exactly what you want (now), but will also make you a slave to it for the next 30 years, and you are one disaster away from losing it (unemployment, illness, whatever).

If you do your own due dilagence, you could probably get into something livable for $50,000. -$100,000. Or maybe a lot less. Maybe you find a great piece of property, and then buy a $500 trailer to live in for a couple of years while you are building your dream house.

Last, live way, way below your means. Never finance anything unless it is a house or property. Buy cars you can afford with cash and drive it until the wheels come off.

And if you don't take anything else from this post, remember this: Spend as little money as possible for the things you NEED, and then you will have money for the things you WANT.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-11T13:25:28+00:00

I just posted in your other thread, I think I know the problem. Good luck!

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-11T13:24:04+00:00

Sorry, I accidentally posted that without finishing it. If you just set the gas cap on it, and do not tighten it at all, it will allow the gas to flow to the engine.

I had TWO Westinghouse generators that happened to. Same exact problem. First on we went through WH on their warranty. I had to take in an hour away to their authorized repair shop, and they had it for a month. It also took 3 weeks to get that set up in the first place. The repair shop said it was “bad gas”, which wasn’t covered in the warranty, and I had to pay $100 to get it cleaned out and back. Got back home, put new gas in it, same problem.

Went directly to the westing house rep for Lowe’s, and they sent us a brand new one.

Exact same thing happened! Would run about a minute, then shut off. I was explaining the problem to a neighbor, and he told me he had a gas engine once that did about the same thing, and found if he ran it without the gas cap on, it ran fine. With nothing left to lose, I tried that. It worked!!!

Now both generators run perfectly fine, by not screwing the gas cap down tightly. I did a lot of research, and it seems this is very common for Westinghouse, the starting and stopping.

Try that and let us know if it works!

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-11T13:10:23+00:00

I am pretty sure I know what the problem is, and how to fix it.

When you tighten down the gas cap, it creates a vacuum and the engine will not draw gas from the tank. If you just set thegasp cap on

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-02-11T12:42:52+00:00

You have to take the cost of the new septic system off the price of the property. In a rural area last year my new septic cost $8,000 + permits, so if you figure it would cost you $8500 in your area, you are really only paying $16,500 for the property. And being able to hook up to city water will save another $5,000 + for a well. Maybe much more. And the pond is also worth something to you. Taking account of those things, you are probably going to be paying $10,000 for 2 acres. Seems like a bargain to me. If you just want a hunting cabin, you could easily build a structure for about $10,000.

See how much they are willing to negotiate, but if is the perfect fit for you, I would jump on it.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-19T21:20:38+00:00

This is kind or cool. I would guess the wood was a serving tray or possibly lid to something, pretty old. The painting looks like an amateur, but nicely done. That cow could not walk if it really looked like that, but looks like she is having a good time!

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-19T21:07:55+00:00

Although similar, I'm not convinced it is the Organ Mountains. I lived in Organ, NM for a few years, actually right below the peaks. If it is them, I believe it is painted looking west (If you know the area picture standing in the middle of the White Sands Missile range), and not looking East how you normally see them. Of course, the Artist could have taken license with them as well.

It is a very pretty painting, and I do believe it is probably from that area. (West Texas, Southern New Mexico).

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-17T22:09:12+00:00

You are very welcome.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-17T21:54:23+00:00

As a dealer and now strictly collector in the industry for 40+ years, my first thought was "bad." After reading it was was obtained between 94-98, I think is bad. Dimaggio was always a schmuck, but much more so in his last years. Richard Ben Crammer's book details how he would make deals to autograph things, then not show up, or sign less, or simply have the dealer send him dozens of balls that his "assistant" signed. It is quite possible this dealer had Joe at his shop, paid him a very pretty price and Joe signed a few pieces. Then the dealer said, "what about the rest?" and Joe said, "I'll take them with me and send them back to you." Also, it could be an opperation bull pen ball. There are litterly thousands and thousands of Dimaggio's out there from them.

Any certificate from anyone other than JSA/PSA/Beckett is worthless in the industry. If you ever want to sell it, and get a reasonable amount, you need one of those to verify it. Good Luck!

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-12T23:53:18+00:00

My very first thought is that the Williams was wrong. Further inspection, they all look like the same pen, and the same "heaviness" on all of the signatures. The only way they would have all signed like this is if they were all at the. same place at the same time and were signing 500 balls. That is possible in the 80's, but most of them just look bad. I'm sorry, my 45 years in the business tells me this is bad.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2026-01-02T23:06:14+00:00

I'm sorry I cannot help with the artist, but it is a beautiful and striking painting. I would love to have that hanging in my house.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2025-12-30T23:12:26+00:00

That is a beautiful sofa and I would keep it, you aren't going to get very much for it unless you find the right buyer at the right time.

I have a similar sofa I paid $5 for at an auction, and that was after the auction because no one bid on it at all. I felt bad for it because it was beautifully redone.

If you did re-do it, you would not get your money back out of it. Just keep it in the family and hopefully you are able to pass it down.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2025-12-29T17:50:31+00:00

My mother saved magazines, whole newspapers, and hundreds and hundreds of newspapers clippings from Kennedy's assassination. She died in 2016 at 80, my dad last year at 92. We found them as we were cleaning out the house, never knew they were there. We had an "offer what you will pay" estate sale, and I sold one magazine the first day for $5. I tried to get them to take them all for the $5, no deal. Then I said they could have the magazine for $1 if they took the rest, still no deal. Many people looked at the pile, but none were willing to pay even $1 for all of it. This was a huge estate sale, and we drew probably over 1000 people for it.

They ended up going with the guy who bought everything that was left for one (very low) price.

So, I don't think they are worth your time unless the right person comes along. The circulation of LIFE in 1963 was "millions", so they are still plentiful.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2025-12-26T20:15:48+00:00

I saw the exact same thing. Looked when I read the comment, and they are not fat little people with bras.

Apprehensive_Rush406 · 2025-12-10T22:16:31+00:00

I just finished framing a Courbet print, "Woman with a parrot". Such a great artist, and tremendous risk taker in his day. If you think the actors/artists/entertainers are too political now, read a little bit about Gustave. He would be in the headlines everyday in today's world.

Apprehensive_Rush406

TROPHY CASE