Dateline Dayton — When our granddaughter Heather moved here in May, the agreement she had with her mother was that she would get her own place.

Darlene was ready for her to start looking as soon as she arrived.

I pointed out that she would have a hard time finding an apartment without first landing a job.  Heather started her new job this week.

Some time ago my son Chris wanted to find a unit with a patio. Heather was interested in taking over Chris’s condo.

We starting looking for a unit that would meet Chris’s requirements. He wanted to stay in the condo project so he could be available to help with his mom who has Alzheimer’s.

We looked at one townhouse. However, there were signs of an old water problem — stains on the ceiling and problems with the flooring.  This was an expensive issue.

I learned that a lady who lived one unit over and down from Chris’s is had died. Her brother, who owned the place, was interested in selling.  Ironically, we had looked at this unit when we purchased Chris’s unit originally, but they never got back to us.

A few weeks ago Chris told me the owner was in the unit was interested.  I immediately went over, walked through the unit and told him I would get an offer together.

The next day when I to delivered my offer, he didn’t accept it. He would entertain another offer from me.

I took a couple days this time, did research, and made John another offer, which he accepted.  Since he lives in North Carolina, he agreed to allow us to have access to the unit starting Aug. 1.

We have been working on the unit on my off-days. The lady who had lived there was a smoker. We needed to wash the walls prior to painting.

The kitchen and bathrooms didn’t require much work. They had just been redone.

At the rate we are proceeding, and with my helper, Heather, starting work this week, we should be done by the end of September. Then it will be time to start on her unit.

By the way, did I mention I do not like to paint.

Mr. Hennessey may be contacted at pmhenn@sbcglobal.net