With the return of the sun and the wind having diminished overnight, I would say we had yet another beautiful day in North Iowa. A bit more chilly than what we’re used to, but for sure it’s better than what we could be experiencing this time of year. One of my old clients caught me on the street and said, “I’m concerned about the farmers and their crops since we haven’t had a frost yet.” I said, “There not having yet been a frost isn’t affecting their harvests.” Too many people don’t realize that whether we have frost or not, it’s the number of growing hours of daylight and the over-night temperatures that cause many plants to stop growing and die. They have their own blueprints of life cycles they follow year after year.
Since I’ve been working with a young first-time buyer these past weeks and showing a great number of lower priced homes in Mason City, I can certainly say there’s been some real eye openers for me with the inferior qualities and conditions of those homes. I’ve shaken my head more than once while walking out of some of them and thinking, “That house wants to return to the earth but someone must have decided to keep it alive for some cruel purpose.” More than once I’ve said, “If I had to come home to something like this, I simply wouldn’t come home.” Yes, nearly every home has the possibility of being brought back to life, but one must start with the basic problems and work from there. I’ve seen homes so terrible that I wouldn’t even allow dogs or cats to live in them, but if there be people who have the ability to see “re-skinned” floor plans in their minds which actually flow well and look good, have lots of extra cash to burn, and above all, the time and talent to scrape away all the bad and create something new, then I fully give my blessing. For some reason in these times, we are finding more of these novice blue light special wanna be flippers who cut every corner they can find with their quick money making projects. I remember a very long time ago my having taken on a project house that was in shambles when I started and upon completion in a 9 month period, it was sold as soon as it hit the market with not even one call back regarding something I did. That home has sold several times since I transferred title and each time it sells, it’s for more. The real challenging litmus test for me, is to create something that is not only appealing to the general buying public, but most of all, a home that will endure and grow in value. Speaking to a colleague today about my sometimes having to remain silent with buyers and sellers who think they know what’s best for them, I’ve realized I must as they think me to be a bit of home wizard, of which I certainly am not. Whenever I find people not wanting to listen to what I have to say because they believe they know better, I clam up and just follow along as their quiet order taker. Having been in some of the junkiest of homes of late, I’m beginning to understand the concept of Realtor abuse.
With no hidden agenda in mind, This week I decided it’s my time to give a little back to our City. If anyone should’ve walked into my office early this morning they would’ve encountered about 75+ multi-colored pumpkins. I gave the bulk away today, but I found I have around 25 left, so if any of you want a pumpkin, just stop by the office while they last and get one. The photo above is what my office looked like. They’re quite unique.
