If that cold north wind wasn’t blowing, I think our temps would’ve climbed a little higher than the upper 60’s, because I got the full blast of it this morning while standing out at an acreage waiting for the buyers to arrive, and with there being nothing much to slow or block it, I was quickly getting chilled to a point where I had to let myself into the home and wait inside for them to pull up.
I’d already resigned myself to having a busy day out of the office, and that’s exactly what took place. My second showing wasn’t as unremarkable as that acreage, and thank goodness for it, because I really don’t like walking around in soiled homes because I swear the smell of them gets absorbed into my clothing. You can imagine what a closed-up vacant house in need of a good cleaning smells like when there’s also damp odor coming up from its basement that’s been taking on seepage for days.
Yes, the second one was a refreshing change from the norm to where it appeared as though you could move right in and call it good. It’s too bad more sellers aren’t as conscientious about how their homes present themselves to the general public, because if I were some of those sellers, I’d be embarrassed to the point where I’d want to go and hide under a rock.
I’ll never forget showing a home some years ago which belonged to the deceased grandmother of a business person I know. I was so much in shock when I showed that home, when knowing it was where that business person’s grandmother lived for years, and thinking to myself, “Don’t people realize that such living conditions reflect on a given family’s “fiber” as a whole?” You can bet that if it were my grandmother’s home, I would’ve done everything I could to make it at least presentable prior to placing it on the market. But, as many of us know, there are those who just don’t care about such things.
My afternoon showings were also a waste of time because of where they were located, and the conditions they were in. One of them was so much in disarray, I was beginning to wonder if the owners knew I was going to be showing it. In another, you could see in the basement where the owner had caulked and then painted over some of the mortar joints in its failing block foundation. Anytime I see a recent filling of mortar joints, I get concerned over the possible continued movement of those block walls. The third one reeked of animal to the point where my eyes started burning. I’ll never understand how people can live in homes that smell so bad, but likely they’d grown used to being hit with such smells day after day.
Early this morning I text a man about the condition of his yard which appeared as though it hadn’t been mowed for weeks. I’m sure he got it, but being of such weak character, he’d not even bothered acknowledging receipt. I’ll be calling the owner of that home tomorrow, and telling him what his tenant has been up to, or should I say, not up to. I shake my head every time I see beefed-up big boys prancing around like they’ve got their “shite” all together, but so lazy, they can’t even take their garbage out to the curb. I think many of them are too busy creating “selfies” on Facebook for everyone to see how “awesome” they are. Gee, I can think of many hundreds of long-lasting accomplishments far more worthy of praise. Don’t you think this ever-annoying idleness of our young is also growing into pandemic proportions?
Pretty much the rest of my day was spent making calls, and returning those that had come in while I was out. One of my calls, was to a dear client who owns a home I have listed, and pretty much all we talked about was the process of negotiating with potential buyers who sometimes think they can go back to the bargaining table about things they knew were existing prior to making their offers. No matter what anyone wants to call it, I consider such forms of bartering as “double-dipping”, where you beat up a seller on the price, and then after having a whole-house inspection where they crawl into every crack and crevice when looking for, and sometimes finding, minor issues that end up getting blown out of proportion, which in turn gives them license to ask for big-ticket improvements. As I’ve said before, if there are hidden chronic issues with a home, then they need to be addressed, but many times it’s far more than that. Oh well, it’s a brave new world out there, and the only way we’ll be able to continue enjoying the lifestyles we’ve worked so hard for, is to keep our wits about us, along with the necessary adjustments and acclimations to the times in which we live.
I couldn’t help being a little wicked today with my teasing of a young man who’s looking at purchasing a home, but not fully prepared to plug himself into a long-term mortgage. Since he’s come to know me better, I’ve found that he really does value my opinion to where today he said, “I look at you as being my guiding father figure.” I took that as a compliment, along with realizing he truly does value my opinions.
I’m sure you remember me saying how much I work at getting at least one good laugh per day, and today I got an even better one when noticing a rubber strip having come loose on his fancy car. I’m sure he was glad I noticed it, because he was quick to push it back into place. But wicked me wouldn’t let it go by saying, “I wouldn’t want to see you driving around with a loose rubber.” That was my first belly laugh, but then I had to add, “You’d better be careful about that rubber, or some may think you’re driving a curb-service mattress.” Yes, I did get several much-needed laughs this afternoon.
Let’s hope our weather is going to be pleasant this weekend, because I’m hoping for a good turnout at my public open house at 15 Farmstead Square in the morn.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Your beliefs don’t make you a better person, but rather your actions.
