Fettigrew Hall - The Biography of a House

Fettigrew Hall - Chapter 14

Chapter 14

After Megan and Andrew had toured the property, there was a large list of things to do that Megan began to address. She wouldn’t actually do any improvements to the property until she owned it but she would talk to contractors and workers about the things she needed to have done. Since she had keys to the property it would be simple to tour the place again with workers and discuss projects if necessary. A big priority would be to clean out the moat and get rid of the rotting smell. She would have to ask about that type of service. Who did that type of work? She wondered. She’d ask the plumber.

She had found a place to stay at a small hotel for long term. Now that she had internet service she could be in touch with friends and family, and she could research local services. She got breakfast with her room and had made special arrangement for lunches to be made so that she could take them to the house while working. Sandwiches or salads would be fine for her. Susan and Paul, who owned The George Inn, were very nice people and willing to work with her needs as long as she needed. Talk was already starting about the eccentric American woman who planned to buy that wreck of a property known as Fettigrew Hall. Yes, she was probably nuttier than a tea cup, but she must have a lot of money. And she would need much help. Hopes were high that she would begin to hire workers and help the flagging economy in Blingham and the surrounding area.

The following week Andrew was able to sort out property issues for the house. The distant relative in Lithuania had no interest in the property and had never seen it. Having money of her own and then inheriting some after Millicent had died, she was quite willing to dispose of the property. She did not want to visit before selling and preferred to dispose of everything with as little fuss as possible. This made everything easier to arrange. Documents were faxed back and forth. A price was agreed upon based on old documents from the original will. Andrew had advised that an evaluation would be appropriate, even for a cash sale, but the owner was not concerned about possible increase in values, due to the deterioration of the house. The Lithuanian business man he had hired had told him that the owner seemed rather eccentric and probably too rich to care about this transaction. And with very little trouble Megan acquired the house.

In preparation for this day she had talked with Philip about people who might be willing to deep clean the house and gatehouse, where to find a plumber, someone to look at the old furnace, and a construction expert in old houses who could make sure that there were no collapsing floors or walls.

As soon as the sale was official, she made an appointment to meet with the construction engineer and to have Gray come too. They met at the tea shop for breakfast to discuss what they needed to do. After breakfast Megan drove to the house with Gray, and Bill Porteus followed in his truck. He wanted access to some of his tools.

Upon opening the front pedestrian door, Megan led them to the gatehouse apartment. She explained that she was hoping she could live here while working on the house.

“You go ahead upstairs,” Mr. Porteus said. “I want to look around the outside of the gatehouse first.” Megan and Gray went up the steps.

“Well, this isn’t so bad,” Gray said. “I think with some clean up and better furnishings it could be quite comfortable.”

“It doesn’t have a kitchen, but obviously there was water here for the bathroom. I hope we can fit a very small kitchen in.”

“If Mr. Porteus says everything is a go, we can call a plumber tomorrow.” Gray said. Megan noticed his use of “we.” Maybe he was already gaining some enthusiasm.

“Do you think we should ask a designer or talk to kitchen people?”

“I don’t think that is necessary. I think we could design the layout and then have electricians, plumbers, etc come in. Let’s measure this out while we are waiting for Mr. Porteus,” and with that he pulled a tape measure out of his pants pocket.