The day went by relatively quickly with all the little “to do’s” which always go with our profession, including picking up signs, going to the bank, checking on vacant houses, and getting desk work done.
I was about five minutes late for my afternoon appointment due to the bottleneck of traffic near that continuous street work on 4th St. SE. There certainly has been a great deal of digging and grading going on in that stretch of highway. It appears they’re even adding more storm sewer inlets. That would be a great plus since that’s a low area around there, and when we get heavy rains, those intersections seem to fill quickly.
The viewing on the home today was also being attended by a relative of the buyer just so to get another opinion. Some agents bristle whenever there are friends and relatives tagging along, but it’s never bothered me a bit. Personally, I think it’s good to have opinions from people buyers trust because it nearly always helps in the decision making process. There were more questions asked and answers given, so I think just about every base has been covered to where it’s now up to the buyer to make the final decision.
A client stopped in today to say “Hi” and have a quick chat. He was really on a burn about how some corporations waste human resources while spending money on un-necessary upgrades, along with giving themselves un-warranted bonuses. I couldn’t have agreed with him more because what I believe is pulling our Country apart, are all the over-paid people in management who attempt to justify their jobs on a daily basis, while the rank-and-file workers have to fight for meager increases in their wages. There’ve been articles written recently about how the meritocracies in business and government are having far-reaching ill effects on our middle class workers.
Another one of my customers happened to speak about the private equity funds that are making in-roads into our corporate world. I told him that from the time they started making headlines, I’ve never liked or would ever trust them. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all they’re out to do is make money while showing no regard for the companies they’ve taken over, and most of all, their employees. I said to him, “I’m sure many of the top brass of those equity funds have many good times sipping margaritas on some patio of an oceanfront high-rise while making jokes about how much money they’re milking from the companies they took over.” People who do that must have exceptionally dark souls to where they don’t even give their pirate-like actions a second thought.
A call came in today from a person looking to sell a small piece of land he owns in the country. I told him I’d do some research and then go out and personally inspect it. If it meets the criteria of those many who’re looking to build in the country, it should sell relatively quickly if the price is right. I actually have several people I’ll be calling if he does decide to sell it.
These past months it’s again been confirmed that nearly all those who are looking for an acreage, want as much privacy as possible, and little or no gravel to drive on while getting there. Any more than a quarter, and possibly as much as a half mile of gravel can be a deal breaker. I still don’t understand why all the Counties in our State don’t go ahead and blacktop all their dusty gravel roads. The United States is definitely behind many of the European countries when it comes to road surfaces. I don’t ever remember being on gravel while traveling the back roads of middle Europe a number of years ago.
The above photo is of a piece of limestone that I found sticking out of an outcropping. What I found so interesting about it, is the delicate calcification of its topside. One can only imagine how many hundreds of years it took for it to build up after the fracturing started within that clump of stone. The process of freezing and thawing has a mighty power with a strength that must never be under-estimated.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The two most powerful warriors are patience and time.
