While on the phone late this morning with one of my out of State customers, I dramatically interjected by exclaiming, “We’re having the very first delightful day of Spring in North Iowa, because the sun is shining, everything’s turning green, and the birds are singing.” He likely thought me daft for saying such a thing on the 15th day of May. How quickly everyone has forgotten how wicked the month of April was, and then the following rain storms during the first half of May.
There’s been a great deal of water seeping into basements due to the amount of saturation that’s been taking place. Nearly everywhere I look, I see sump pump hoses spewing water out onto the curbsides. One of my clients mentioned having to install a sump in their home after being there for more than ten years and having absolutely no water seeping into their basement. For as long as I live, I’ll never forget the number of homes ruined and families displaced due to our City’s flood of 2008.
The second of my early appointments at my office was someone from the general public asking for advice on a private real estate sales transaction. All I could do was give suggestions and directions for getting additional help. The more I see the general public trying to do a professional’s job, the more I’m convinced they’ve created even greater problems for themselves due to their inability to fully understanding the ramifications of future problems they’ve un-knowingly created. I doubt they’ll ever learn that it’s just best to bite a bullet and make a call to a professional before spilling a drop of ink on legal documents, because in the end, they would’ve found themselves saving time, money, and most of all, needless worry.
Thank goodness I had more than the normal errands to run so to be able to enjoy the weather. One of my afternoon appointments took me out of town which offered me a look at what’s been happening with the farm fields. It looks like only about half of them have been worked. Now that May 15th has arrived, the farmers are really going to be under the gun to get their crops planted.
One of my listings closed today with another un-expected “soft landing”. That sale had far too many, and certainly un-necessary dramas attached to it. Thank goodness the seller kept his cool in the midst of such dysfunctional chaos. The strangest of things was that when it finally went under contract, I mentioned to the seller my gut feeling there’d be some land mines to deal with, and unfortunately my suspicions were confirmed.
The un-sold listing I have located at 801 W. Main in Fertile, is certainly long-overdue for having a sold sign planted in its yard. You can’t get any better than what it offers because it’s hooked up to city water and sewer, offers a man-sized heated building, and four season views that are the caliber of being calendar quality. Be sure to tell friends and relatives about this fabulous in-town acreage.
While I was in another town today, I couldn’t help but drive past a number of homes I’d sold over these long years. While turning the corner and seeing a home that was owned by the most particular of owners, I was shocked to see how poorly it has been maintained by its current owners. There’s no question the previous owners would roll over in their graves if ever seeing what their “castle” now looks like.
The most bothersome to me when seeing such pig pens, is knowing what craftsmanship went into building them, along with the years of great care that was given until “hillbillies” move in. I can only imagine what their neighbors must think. If I were that home, I’d start kicking back at those current owners to where they’d maybe wake up and start doing something before their homes decides to fall in around them. It’s near sinful when allowing beautiful homes to fall into deep neglect and dis-repair. I hope that rock of a house does rise up and starts some serious kicking back.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The more you know, the better off you are.
