Lawyers and Accountants and Engineers, oh my!
Dawn’s mother agreed to put the property in joint tenancy with Dawn, so today we met with our lawyer to review an “operating agreement” to draw the proverbial white line down the middle of the farm.
We also met with our accountant. It seems every time we talk to our lawyer, we have to run over to the accountant to see if we can still use the tax credits. (If we can’t, this whole project changes dramatically, and the B&B goes away.) So now the the rent is out, the lease is out, the subdivision is out; Dawn is on the deed; we’re running the B&B as a corporation and restoring the house as a personal expense–are we okay? Yes, we are.
Finally, we met with our engineer, who came in on his vacation to review the status with us. After a lengthy (and expensive) survey, he conclusively showed that:
1) We are above the “100-year flood” mark. (The county road, on the other hand, is not.)
2) We have sufficient parking for seven cars. (On 120 acres, this seemed like a no-brainer.)
3) It is safe to exit the driveway provided we put up a “no left turn” sign and paint big white arrows, just like you see on the highway. No, seriously, I’m not kidding here, we have to do that. Most ridiculous thing I’ve ever seen. A small B&B on a rural road, and we have to paint arrows that can be seen by passing airplanes.
But you know what? Painting those arrows is cheap; arguing with the county is not. Guess which option we’re taking?