March 16 to 22! trying to get caught up!

Well, there's still lots to tell, in our on-going adventure, trying to buy a beautiful old house in Bunnik, the Netherlands. And I know, I need to import some photos! But today is Sunday and I don't have appointments in the agenda, so I hope to make good progress.

Tuesday March 17: We went to a network evening hosted by the Utrecht Ondernemers Academy (a school for people starting a business, which Paulus and I attended last year.) They had several guest speakers tell about their companies, and then a networking exercise: we divided into groups, made circles, and had 60 seconds to tell the person opposite us about ourselves before the circles rotated. At the end, we had time to search out the people who were most interesting and have longer conversations. Like speed dating. Artifical, but very efficient and effective. As long as the moderator manages it all correctly. Our moderator had a microphone with a lot of static and he kept up a sort of running commentary (in Dutch, naturally)... "okay everyone, that was the bell, time to rotate, go on, finish up your conversation, keep it simple, don't forget to listen to the other person, don't worry, you'll get more time later to talk, isn't this fun?" It was not helpful at all. I had 30 seconds to cover who I am, what I do now, and what we're hoping to do in the future, in Dutch, while shouting to be heard over the moderator and not getting distracted by his chatter. I was torn between wanting to burst into tears and wanting to throw something at the guy. At one point as he was walking by, I asked him politely if he could please talk less because he was taking away from our networking time, and he just brushed off my request with a laugh and "you'll just need to talk faster!"

So it was a small miracle that we actually came away with some good contacts. Utrecht is full of coaches and trainers (for everyone from stressed-out housewives to workers looking to change career paths to CEOs wanting to improve company performance) and they all need a place to give their workshops, etc. Several of the ones we met asked, how soon will your rooms be ready? (they aren't so fond of the spaces they use now and are looking for something better.) We had to say, hold on, we don't even know yet if we can buy the house! We also met some nice graphic arts type people and caught up with some people from our own class.

Tuesday night I called my mom to ask if she had been following my blogs and if she had any feelings about the whole project. She loves the building, of course (as a life-long member of multiple historical preservation organizations...) but the financial scale is overwhelming for her. She could help us out a bit (enough to add a bathroom and kitchen, for example) but not enough to make a down payment. She and my dad recently got the opportunity to buy the land beside and behind their house, which they've been wanting to buy since they first moved there. (I remember that move: I was 4 years old, so that's 41 years they've been trying to buy that land...) Clearly it makes sense for her to focus on her own backyard and not a property half a world away....

She asked me, why don't we consider moving to Detroit? I laughed, but she was serious. Apparently there are a lot of good housing deals in Detroit because of the housing crisis. She sent a newspaper article about it, which I got yesterday. It told about a man who bought a one-bedroom house for 1000 dollars or so. It was in terrible shape (scavengers had broken in to it and stripped it of everything of value, including all the copper plumbing) but he was going to rebuild from scratch and put in solar panels. He contacted some starving-artist type friends who bought the four neighboring houses and together they put in a community garden and are working on a power grid to connect the whole little neighborhood to alternative power. It actually does look kind of cool.

So why not move to Detroit? It is worth thinking about.

If we moved to the US and bought a small, cheap, fixer-upper house, we wouldn't have the debt involved with buying a big, expensive house here. But we would still need jobs, to pay the monthly bills and the repair costs. What jobs could we get in the US, particularly in the communities where the housing crisis is the most severe? Paulus can do handiman work, but he wouldn't be licensed or insured. I could, well, work at McDonalds I suppose. I don't imagine that people in those communities would be banging down the door for Shiatsu treatments (people are lucky if they have insurance that covers regular doctors; insurance that covers alternative treatments is almost non-existent.) Translating from Dutch to English is also probably not in high demand. B&B? Not likely. Especially in a small house that would be filled with construction dust for several years. But living in a small, green, innovating community would be good. Nice neighbors, a roof over our heads even if it needs repair, and no major debts.

Contrast: Bunnik (or a similar large house in the Randstad): With a B&B and rooms for rent, we would have enough income to pay for the building and monthly costs without having to work other jobs. If we do it right. Of course, there is a lot of debt, and there is also the risk that the business would fail and we would end up in a really terrible situation. But, we would be doing work that we love and that we are highly motivated to do well.

I guess the big difference is the work. If we were just looking for affordable housing, with a few plusses like interesting neighbors, something like Detroit would be fine. But we are looking for our Dream House, or more accurately our Dream Situation. We want to make careers for ourselves as people who create The Right Kind of Space, for patients and guests and visitors. A place that supports good health, rest, community, the arts, the environment, international friendships. As a bonus, we get to live there also. If that is our professional goal, the location and setting are of primary importance. But yes, it is a Big Dream and not all dreams come true.

Wednesday March 18: We drove to Deventer, a city about an hour east and north of Utrecht, to meet with Paulien from the bedandbreakfast.nl forum. (www.vastgoedlocatiescout.nl) She gave us a tour of her bed and breakfast (two rooms, each 95 Euro per night) and looked at our photos and drawings from the house in Bunnik. Our first question was, as a B&B owner and a real estate agent specializing in B&B's and similar properties, would she recommend trying to buy the house in Bunnik? Or would she recommend another province, another city, another type of house, another price, another time....? She answered immediately, yes. The house in Bunnik. Now. It is a great time to be entering the B&B market, the location is perfect, the house is perfect, it would definitely work. She looked more carefully at my spreadsheets and recommended that we either lower the prices on the bedrooms with shared bathrooms or try to add extra facilities. A shared toilet in the hallway is not a problem for most people, but guests really prefer to be able to shower in their own space. We'll need to make some choices about marketing to the "eco-tourist" market segment versus to the "cultural elite."

Then we talked about finances and the news was less encouraging. Paulien said that banks these days are asking for "guarantie" (security deposits) of around 40% of the mortgage amount -- we're talking roughly 800,000 Euro! Geez. If we had that kind of money lying around, it would mean that we were already well-established, well-known, super-rich people (movie stars, lawyers, bankers) and I doubt that we'd be interested in starting up an eco-B&B-plus-more and working 14 hour days 7 days a week at it. Paulien encouraged us to keep working on our business plan and spreadsheets, though, because you never know how it might pay off in the future. She was very impressed with my full binder -- no one with the idea of buying a B&B has shown up to talk with her, with so much documentation and research. And I agree, I'm going to keep working on it, because it is quite possible that the University friends of Ron's, or Jaap from Non-nobis, might have some creative ideas about how to go further.

But Paulien also said, if we finish our plan and we have people who can help with the start up costs, that renting the house from the owners might actually turn out to be a good option, for everyone involved. She has a lot of experience writing up these kinds of contracts. You need to anticipate all the possibilities (how many years? do we get the option to buy, or are we required to buy, at the end of the rental period, and for what price? do we pay extra rent above what the owners need themselves, into a pot that then becomes our downpayment, or do we pay extra rent in exchange for a lower purchase price at the end, or neither? how do we divide maintenance and renovation costs? what if we get sick or die or discover we hate living there?) We had thought about renting earlier, and had mentioned it one time to Victor and Nellie, and it remains a theoretical possibility. But we had all put it on the back burner, because of all these complicated questions. Maybe with Paulien's help it wouldn't have to be so complicated. She could work with the owner's real estate agent, Lilianne, to lay out all the risks and options.

All in all, it was a great visit. Pauline was very friendly and helpful (and clear about her costs: we can stay in touch with her and if we decide to hire her to work out something, we'll make a contract beforehand.) We will definitely use her if we end up going further, and can certainly recommend her to anyone else thinking about buying a B&B.

Wednesday afternoon, I contacted our insurance company and they were able to estimate what our insurance costs in Bunnik would be. Everything together came to around 350 Euro per month: for the building, glass windows, the contents including hi-tech installations, the garden, "rechtbijstand" (legal coverage if you have to go to court for some reason) and "bedrijfsaansprakkelijkheid" (if the business causes any damage or is responsible for some kind of trouble). Quite reasonable, I thought.

I did some surfing at www.marktplaats.nl to see what kinds of second-hand furnishings were easily available. Answer: everything! 390 listings under business goods for sale > horeca > furnishings. 35 hotel beds for 50 Euro each. Lamps and tables and linens and place settings... everything, for reasonable prices. I also discovered a website called www.oplocatie.nl. It's a national site with every imaginable location for meetings, business events, conferences and so forth. It would cost 200 Euro to be listed there, which might be worthwhile -- but at least I can use that site to find out what else is available in the area, to help us decide how to set our prices.

Thursday evening we had B&B guests here again, Gert and Inneke, and told them all about our plans. They thought it sounded great. They travel a lot in Holland for work and recreation and always stay in B&B's because they like the contact with people. Gert also does trainings in and around Bunnik, so he was able to tell us a bit about that. At the Mercure hotel, on the highway in Bunnik, their company paid 1000 Euro to use a conference room for about 20 people. That was for a day (two "dagdeel"s) and included lunch. If you subtract about 25 Euro per person for the lunch, and divide by 2, that comes to 250 Euro per dagdeel. My estimated income for a room that size in "our" house was 150 Euro per dagdeel. So, maybe I can increase that number in my spreadsheet. Plus if we offered exactly the same package, we would also make a bit of profit on the lunches. Overall, good news.

But the best news from Gert and Inneke is that they are both amateur musicians. We told them about the small house concerts we've had here on the Groenedijk. They were really excited about our idea to continue and expand that tradition in Bunnik. Gert said to stay in touch, and he will bring his saxaphone and his jazz quartet up to play for us!

On Friday, March 20, I went to sing in the evening, with a choir made up of students and teachers (and former teachers, like me) from the Christelijk Gymnasium in Utrecht. (a school where I taught English for 3 months as a substitute teacher.) I was chatting with some of the other teachers, and learned that our conductor, Marina, also conducts a choir... in Bunnik! They sing at the church across the street from "our" new house! So I went to talk to her after our performance. Yes, it is a great choir, lots of nice people, and I would be very welcome to join. It wasn't clear to me if they needed extra rehearsal or performance space, but it was good to hear that people in Bunnik like music. I feel positive about being able to attract musicians and music-lovers to "our" house.

Our friends Anne and Robert, from www.pianoguitar.com, say they can probably get us a grand piano to babysit. They have a friend in Amsterdam who is storing 4 grand pianos in his house, for free, on the condition that he is allowed to play them and use them for house concerts. But this friend is going to move, and those 4 people will have to find new homes for their pianos. If we could take care of one of these, that would be so great! We would keep it in the large downstairs hall, which has floor heating under tile and opens onto the terrace. We already imagine using that room for receptions and dinners and small concerts and performances. (My Yamaha electric piano could live in the upstairs hall, where we imagine quieter activities will happen, like workshops, wedding ceremonies and meditation classes.)

Saturday, March 21: After work, I drove to Houten to visit a B&B that was having an "open door." That B&B is called Centraal Groen and is run by a super-friendly woman named Laura. I thought, I'm not going to pretend that I'm a local looking for a place for family members to stay. I told her our plans, and she reacted just the way I had hoped: very positively. It turns out she is a member of Terecht Anders, as well as the B&B website we already use, and she is very happy to work cooperatively with other B&B's in the area. In fact, a good friend of hers has a B&B in a neighboring town and had her own business cards there on a table. Awesome. I am so happy to be finding people everywhere who see us as potential friends rather than potential competitors. Certainly we can all help each other out -- there is enough business for everyone.

After visiting Houten, I drove back to Bunnik and explored some of the residential areas and the back road up to Zeist. I was amazed... I followed the road out of Bunnik going north, and after a few minutes there was a speed limit sign, saying to slow down because I was entering... Zeist? No it couldn't be, I thought, it is too soon, I just left Bunnik. There must be some other little town between Bunnik and Zeist. But yes, it was Zeist. The road from Bunnik is called Koelaan (cow lane) and winds through beautiful farmland. It enters Zeist on the south side at the Zeist Castle, with its lovely mote and park and tree-lined avenues. It was something out of a fairy tale almost. I tried to imagine what we'd say to international guests: "Well, you could rent a canoe today and go visit the old fort at Rhijnauwen, or the tea house at Amelisweerd, or Fort Vechten. Or you could go by bicycle to the castle in Zeist and explore their charming city center. A little further away in the other direction are Odijk and Werkhoven, two typical small Dutch towns, and beyond that is Wijk bij Duurstede, with its old church and windmill...." It is so idealic.

My last stop on Saturday was the moestuin (vegetable garden) at Maarschalkerweerd, near the stadium and canoe rental business in Utrecht. (www.moestuinutrecht.nl) Pieter, the manager, wasn't there, but I talked with the woman running the shop. I told her I used to be a volunteer there, back when there were basically just the two greenhouses, a couple of run-down trailers, and a breakroom with toilets. It has really changed in five years! Now there's a children's play area, a petting zoo, bee house, herb garden, carpentry workshop, picnic area and terrace and tea room and area to buy vegetables and fruit and other organic food. It is really nicely done, with large windows and attractive wooden furniture and a great ambiance (with flowers and newspapers on the tables...) The older of the two greenhouses, with grape vines and kiwi plants, is now in use as a meeting room for businesses and parties, especially children's birthday parties. I know Pieter had to work very hard to get the whole project off the ground, and he needed lots of sponsors and volunteers. I hope he will have some tips for us, and maybe ideas how we can work together.

I just looked at the map again with Paulus, and it turns out that the Kromme Rijn continues on, past the Moestuin and the canoe rental place, into the heart of Utrecht, and in particular right to the Ledig Erf, a cafe/bar run by Eddie, an old friend of Paulus'. Paulus had just gone by Eddie's to take measurements and stuff for some work that needs to be done there. Business is booming at the Ledig Erf -- roughly double what it was last year. Eddie has been wondering what he might do to next -- he doesn't really have a kitchen, and his terrace is already full, so he's been thinking about offering picnic baskets for customers, who could take them to the park area next to the river... I joked with Paulus, we should set up something with Eddie and the Veldkeuken and the Moestuin and the canoe place... cooperate with food and marketing... set up a tour... people stay at our place, have breakfast, get in their canoes with a map and a picnic basket, stop for coffee at the Pannenkoeken huis at Rhijnauwen, then tea at the Veldkeuken, then coffee at the moestuin, then a beer at Ledig Erf, then return their canoes and go home, or come back to us for another night.... I said it as a joke, because I don't really think of the crowd at the Ledig Erf as being the same sort of people who like canoeing and organic food -- but who knows? The sandwiches and foccacia and stuffed pita breads from the Veldkeuken are so delicious, I'm sure Eddie could sell them to his clients, and even people from our eco/organic market segment probably like a beer now and then, and we're all connected by the Kromme Rijn, so why not try?

Whew! Caught up! Now for some pictures!