Considering how slow it was at the office today, I’d say many of our residents are more focused on their plans for tomorrow, or possibly already on their way out of town to be with family and friends. Let’s hope the cloud cover disappears long enough for everyone to enjoy our area fireworks.
I believe everything has now settled down with my buyer who closed last Friday on the home she purchased. If it wasn’t one thing, it was another starting with the amount of “stuff” the sellers left, and then some hidden defects that were discovered after moving in.
I’m sure the listing agent was getting really tired of it all, and likely sorry for even taking that listing due to the sellers’ neglect and concealments regarding their home. I found out today that the listing agent paid $250 out-of-pocket to get all that stuff removed, but then yesterday, the buyer called and said she had to call someone to get garbage bags and a mattress removed from the back of the lot which those sellers “knew” the City would not pick up because of size and not having stickers placed on those bags.
The buyer has some plumbing issues in need of fixing, but at least today they finally got the dishwasher working which must not have been used in months. I did notify the listing agent that we think everything is now under control.
I may sound like I’m beating this subject to death, but there’s got to be some re-educating done with sellers regarding the condition they leave their homes in when moving out, and thinking it’s just “OK”. Both the listing agent and myself agreed that we wouldn’t even think of leaving our homes in the condition we’re now seeing all the more of with our closings. Irregardless of what anyone thinks, this whole business of not cleaning and leaving junk behind is just not right and leaves a lingering bad impression of those sellers forevermore.
I managed to catch Mr. Benish from Benish Studios on the street today and asked if he would re-affix a print that had slid down in the matting of a framed print that I’ve had at my office for some time. He gave me a price to fix it, so I sent it off with him. It’s one of three prints that belonged to some old clients of my who didn’t have any use for them, and as chance would have it, a customer of mine said he would gladly take all three of them. I’d already given him the two that were good and told him I’d get the third one fixed for him just so he’d have all three of them. I’ve always considered it nearly sacrilegious to break up sets of artwork.
Late this afternoon, I finally received a payoff I’ve been waiting for on Monday’s closing. I finished up my documents and emailed them off to the closing agent so she could get her side finished before Monday arrived. I wasn’t surprised when receiving a very big “Thank You!” back from her.
I heard today that the seller is very unhappy with that out-of-State mortgage company for not acting on his numerous payoff requests until it became a near critical situation. I fully understand his frustration, and for sure he, like many others, are opting to seek local mortgage financing at banks where their loans are serviced right here in River City. Not that I’m playing favorites, but I do appreciate First Citizens Bank when it comes to their mortgage department because I’ve never had a problem getting payoffs from them. It’s good we have a big bank that can still provide small-town service in North Iowa.
I had two late afternoon showings with a buyer who’s moving closer to making an offer on one of them. At least there are now two possibilities which will give my buyer more options during negotiations. I’ve always felt if a buyer doesn’t have “Plan B” in place, there could be some hard feelings if that one and only purchase doesn’t materialize.
While out on the west-side this afternoon, I noticed the parking lots of Menards and Fleet Farm nearly full of vehicles which meant there were people buying things they must’ve been in need of for tomorrow’s gatherings. I’m sure our local businesses are always happy when holidays arrive.
Whether staying in the area, or traveling afar, I wish for you all a fabulous 4th that’s filled with good food, merriment, and above all, memories worth keeping.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The holidays allow us to get away from the pain of the year, and create something people can laugh at.
