# Man, Did I Ever Step In It This Time **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 8, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122 "2011-05-08T03:08:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hal\_Briston](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a9a28c/32.png) [@Hal\_Briston](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hal_Briston)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/1 "2011-05-08T03:08:01Z")
The precursor: My wife and I are divorcing. Yes, sucks, ok, moving on now. The original plan was that I was going to stay where we are and my wife was going to move. However, the way things have fallen together, that doesn’t make as much sense now. The quick version is that while she can’t come close to affording this place on her own, her sister _finally_ left the d-bag who she’s been with the past several years (what would have been a quick fling ended up with her pregnant, and they tried to make a family of it even though there was no way this guy was going to go the distance). So now I’m moving out and my SIL and nephew are moving in. The only question was, to where was I moving? Rental prices here ain’t exactly cheap, and while if there were nothing else involved I could afford a good place without a problem, I still want to make sure my wife can comfortably keep a roof over her head since my daughter is going to be living there half the time. So, I looked around and realized since I was going to be giving my wife a few hundred each month, I could either find a small house for rent and be pretty much strapped for cash all the time, or I could keep some spending money in my pocket by living in a one-bedroom apartment just on the better side of “craphole” (and sleeping in the living room, since I’d definitely want The Littlest Briston to have her own room). Well, I’m telling this to my brother the other day, and he says he’ll make a few calls. “What the hell”, I think…can’t hurt, since the guy knows _everybody_ in this town and everyone loves him. Yesterday I get the call from him – an old friend’s mother dies, leaving him the house. He doesn’t need the place, but the market sucks right now so he doesn’t want to sell. I looked at it today – it’s perfect – three bedrooms, beautiful kitchen, a nice backyard, big garage, great neighborhood and a huge playground a hundred yards away. Looking around, I was bummed – it was _too_ perfect…it had to be way out of my price range. But, what the hell, I ask the guy what he wants each month. “Well, since you’re Dave’s brother, for you…how about…”. How about less than I’d pay each month for sleeping in the living room just on the better side of “craphole”. I believe how much of a weight this has lifted. Brother 'o mine, I love you man… tl;dr version: Nepotism rocks. ---
**Author:** ![Chef\_Troy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/85f322/32.png) [@Chef\_Troy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chef_Troy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/2 "2011-05-08T03:15:22Z")
Wow, from the thread title I assumed your life just got WORSE. Good on ya, cobber. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/3 "2011-05-08T03:17:47Z")
Nice to hear that’s working out for you. You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get a break when it’s really needed. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/4 "2011-05-08T03:26:17Z")
Great! My sister had a similar case. She’d been living with my other sister, but NEEDED a place of her own - and had NO means to afford one. One of the guys she was in AA with had lost his mother and had his mother’s little tiny home. She was there a few years and it was a good arrangement for both of them - the house didn’t sit empty, and she is a good renter. ---
**Author:** ![Surly\_Chick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Surly\_Chick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Surly_Chick)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/5 "2011-05-08T03:28:07Z")
Sorry about the divorce but glad you have a place to live! ---
**Author:** ![Zulema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/db5fbb/32.png) [@Zulema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zulema)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/6 "2011-05-08T04:41:21Z")
Score! Maybe it’s haunted. Double Score!! ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/7 "2011-05-08T04:57:41Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Wow, from the thread title I assumed your life just got WORSE. Seconded. I think of stepping in manure of some type. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/8 "2011-05-08T05:42:48Z")
This is Hal. Sheep Manure is not a bad thing… ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/9 "2011-05-08T05:58:02Z")
Sorry about the divorce; glad to hear about the excellent house. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/10 "2011-05-08T12:15:13Z")
I too thought you had done something wrong. Good luck with it all. I don’t want to be a downer, but it is so convenient. Could it be possible your brother is looking after you? In the sense he is kicking in a bit of money on the side to the owner but you are not to know? ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/11 "2011-05-08T12:55:07Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Wow, from the thread title I assumed your life just got WORSE. > > Good on ya, cobber. Me too! Good luck in your new digs! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Vorlon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d07c76/32.png) [@The\_Vorlon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Vorlon)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/12 "2011-05-08T16:13:45Z")
Is there room for the sheep? ---
**Author:** ![gwendee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/35a633/32.png) [@gwendee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gwendee)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/13 "2011-05-08T16:19:29Z")
This gives me hope just when I was starting to run out of it. Best wishes going forward. ---
**Author:** ![Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ce7236/32.png) [@Mona\_Lisa\_Simpson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mona_Lisa_Simpson)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/14 "2011-05-08T20:03:56Z")
Sorry that your marriage is ending and your life and the life of the littlest Briston are being disrupted, but I am happy you found such a good place to live, with a playground too! Cheers and good luck. PS I say embrace the sheep thing and decorate your kitchen in a country kitsch thing with lots of farm animals. I have a cock (rooster you pervs!) collection in my kitchen. The jokes never get old, they get punnier. ---
**Author:** ![Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Marconi\_N.Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marconi_N.Cheese)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/15 "2011-05-08T21:03:25Z")
> [@Zulema](#): > > Score! > > Maybe it’s haunted. Double Score!! That’s exactly what I thought, it’s haunted. I’ve seen enough episodes of “The Haunted” and “My Ghost Story” to know. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/16 "2011-05-08T21:55:36Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Nice to hear that’s working out for you. You can’t always get what you want, but sometimes you get a break when it’s really needed. I have no nepo for tism to work for me, but **Hal** I am really happy that things did work out for you in such a positive manner. ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/17 "2011-05-09T01:15:59Z")
Hal, you live the most … charmed (?) life. I mean, you have the greatest stories from your adventures, and your kid stories are cool. (I don’t have kids) Sorry to hear about your marriage, but damn! You really got lucky on the house! What are the chances of that? I was gonna get real worried about you for a sec. Congrats! ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 6:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/18 "2011-05-09T06:44:32Z")
I guess all of the below goes without saying (hey, Hal’s a smart guy right?) but I’ll just offer up the advice anyway 1. Make this as painless as possible for the landlord - if he keeps getting a nice little cheque in the mail each month with no worries there is little incentive to ever sell the house 2. While you’re doing that prepare for the day when your landlord just suddenly announces he wants to sell, or he needs to kick you out for a “family member” that needs a house 3. Keep the house in tip top shape - again my reasoning is that I’d much rather get lower rent from someone taking care of the house than higher rent with hassles. ---
**Author:** ![Farmer\_Jane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Farmer\_Jane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Farmer_Jane)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 8:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/19 "2011-05-09T08:43:54Z")
Don’t forget to have her refi that mortgage. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122/20 "2011-05-09T12:38:32Z")
> [@Chef\_Troy](#): > > Wow, from the thread title I assumed your life just got WORSE. > > Good on ya, cobber. Fourthed, or fifthffthfed. Glad you’re gettin’ a break! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/man-did-i-ever-step-in-it-this-time/581122.md?page=2)