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Anyway, my whole timetable was just thrown into chaos today because I got a bill from my doctor for over $900. I'm on Medicare and I thought once you paid your yearly deductible, that was it. So I have to call Medicare tomorrow and see what's up. If I have to pay it, that will really push back my timeline for mowing the lot and getting water on it. Always something.
If you do not have a Supplemental Plan with your Medicare, you are responsible for 20% of the Medicare-approved amount of any charges billed by doctors, physical therapists, etc. Maybe that 20% is where your $900 bill came from. Yikes. That is a lot of money for someone in your situation.
Thank you all for the encouragement. My mother isn't even as supportive.
OK, the bill has been taken care of! Medicare left some spaces in my name so my name didn't match the doctor's office records and everything was rejected. Turns out it was all fixed by the time I called. So I don't owe any money to Medicare. And I think my heart is back to normal now.
I should clarify what I meant by staying under the radar. I don't want to look as if I am hiding anything. Among other things, the person who maintains the water system told me he checks the lots every couple of months to make sure squatters haven't set up on them. Camo will only arouse suspicions and make someone look closer.
So what I'm trying to do is look as though I have a perfectly normal garage (and shed) on the lot and that no one is really staying there overnight or permanently. I plan to have the port-a-potty walled off inside the garage. I did say I was going to start a garden and I might really work on my dollhouses and plant some landscaping (with my back, I can already see that one tree will take me all day), so being on the lot during the day shouldn't be a big deal. It's that I just want to avoid people thinking I'm living there full time until I can get a home set up.
I've hit the first roadblock. So far closing was supposed to be yesterday - I went in the Thursday before to hand in my paperwork and the seller has yet to send his. He really, really doesn't want to let go of that property. LOL
Ylisa7, I'm afraid I'm a little too close to civilization to be digging an outhouse. At one point, the nearby city was having hysterics because they were afraid the septic systems were leaching into the Hood Canal. If there had been more money, they would have extended sewer all through the area. I can only see what would happen if they found out I had an outhouse on the property. Especially as my property abuts another acre with a $200,000 house on it.
This neighbor could be a problem. A 1 1/3 acre lot just isn't that large of a hideaway . Of course they'll notice the activity on your lot. I know my neighbors would all be calling he county if they saw someone living in a shack with a porta potty. And their houses aren't that expensive. That could open a huge can of worms before you're ready.
If I get a garage/shed combo, I can wall off a space for the port-a-potty inside and have a second set of garage doors to get at it, so the company can easily replace it. That will hide the port-a-potty. During the day, I can be on the lot all I want and if anyone comes around, all they'll see is the garage. At night, I'll have my car in the garage and even if anyone came around then, which I doubt they will, they won't see anything. If that ever happens though, I can always say I'm using my telescope to do star gazing, which I have a perfect right to do on my lot. I really do have a telescope and I do plan to stargaze while I'm up there.
That's the neighbor's house in the pic. The cleared space to the right of them is another lot for sale. My lot is the lot immediately north of that lot (mine is the second cleared area there) and although it looks like it's catty corner to the neighbor's house, the back of their lot actually abuts the back of mine. You can see there's lots of trees around the cleared area in my lot as it's just been cleared in the center and the brush in between those trees is very thick. Once I drive in, I won't be seen either from the road, the neighbor's house, or from anyone entering the lots that are on either side of me.
Besides, I noticed in the minute meetings for the road maintenance association that there was already someone living on his lot in his tent. Once he got a port-a-potty, the health department didn't care if he was up there and neither did the association.
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