The Rise of Insouciance

The wind was almost at a gale force today to where I had to grab my spare winter coat at the office before I headed out to place my tent open house signs because it ended up being one of those mornings where the wind came up with the sun.  While driving out to 115 S. Connecticut, I once again forgot that East State St. is closed in that first block, so I had to turn around and go the long way to get there.

After placing those signs, I stopped back at the office and picked up the listing info on the two homes I was to show, and then off I went.  When I pulled up, the buyers were already there, so I hurried to open the front door for them.  As soon as I opened it, got a whiff and a look, I announced to the buyers, “You can go in if you want, but I’m staying on the porch because I’m not going to risk getting fleas on me again.”  Before they walked in, I shared my recent flea story.  After they did their walk-thru, I could tell they weren’t the least bit interested, so off we went to their second viewing.

Every time I have a call on that house and then ring-up the listing agent, I keep wishing he’s going to tell me it’s sold.  It happens to be one of those homes that looks good from the outside, but every buyer’s interest starts going downhill once within.  If there were but one issue needing attention, it would’ve likely been sold by now, but there are others that also need to be addresses and they are all big ticket fixes.  I think if the sellers would do a radical price reduction on it, there’d be a sold sign posted soon after.  As I suspected, both showings were a complete waste of time for both the buyers and myself.

One of the Realtors who was having a morning open house, invited me to stop over and take a look at it since I’d never had the opportunity to see the inside.  It’s one of those grand homes that was likely the Cadillac of its day, but we’re finding all the more younger couples turning away from those classics and opting for newer cookie-cutter homes that’ve been copied about a zillion times across the Nation.

I was quite impressed with its size as well as the quality of construction, but after giving it a good look-over, I’d say the reason it hasn’t sold yet is the lack of a rear yard.  When I was looking out all the windows to the north, that’s all I could see was the neighbor’s house which is definitely not in the same ballpark of value or condition.  If someone could snap their fingers and place it on a half acre lot, it would’ve been sold by now.   Because of its size, the likely buyers for it would be professional families with younger children, and without any sort of yard to play in, they’d do a “fly-over” on it in a New York second.  I must say the stained glass window at the stairwell landing was quite the work of art.

My public open house at 115 S. Connecticut was very much a success considering the number of people in attendance.  I’d say there wasn’t five minutes I was alone in that house during those two hours.  Everyone raved about the quality, style, square-footage, and location, which gave me all the more hope that it’ll get sold during our Spring buying season.  I made sure to tell everyone that I personally knew the previous owner and how meticulous he was about the repairs and improvements on it.  There’s no question in my mind that if I were looking for a home in our Crescent of Culture, it would be at the top of my list.  Every time I’m in it, I get this wonderful “feng shui” feeling of harmony and balance.  For sure there’s plenty of natural light coming in to where one need not flip on a light switch the entire day.

A beyond happenstance conversation took place between one of the buyers and myself regarding the care and welfare of our elders.  I was once again reminded that the dynamics some families believe to be abnormal in comparison to others, are completely wrong because those very same dramas are taking place in widespread fashions all across our country.

We came to the conclusion that children living far and away from their aging parents “think” they know what’s going on with them year-over-year, but in reality, they’re creating their own delusions regarding the real-life happenings taking place. I jokingly said, “I wish I could find the well where they’re getting their mind-altering “Kool-Aid” from, because I’d insist on it being closed until further notice and fully tested for contamination.”

Before she left, I exclaimed that irregardless of what they purport, due to age disparity and distance, most children really don’t have that much concern over the daily happenings of their aging parents.  The rise of insouciance in today’s material world is a by-product of children and grandchildren having acclimated themselves to the Digital Age to where “Now” is real, yet entirely indifferent to their pasts and futures.  When considering how much un-necessary “stuff” we all have to deal with on a daily basis, it’s no wonder all the many children struggle with understanding the whole picture of the natural aging process of homo sapiens.

Tonight’s one-liner is:  Doing nothing is happiness for children and misery for the elderly.  happiness for children and misery for the elderly.

Joe Chodur

About the Author | Joe Chodur

First of all....Joe Chodur really doesn't like talking about himself but this is what we have found out about him. Joe Chodur began his real estate career in 1981 during the height of the savings and loan crisis. It's hard to imagine how difficult it was to sell homes when…

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