I was glad to find we didn’t have frost last night, but by the looks of our weather forecast, we’re supposed to get down to 30 degrees tonight which doesn’t make sense to me because we have a full cloud cover which in the past, was an assurance that a freeze wouldn’t happen, unless it’s supposed to clear off before the night’s over, and then we will be getting hit. Just as a precaution, those sheets on my plants will be remaining in place until Monday morning.
I had several hours of manual labor on my plate this morning, so I went out and got that done before I had to meet a Realtor at a commercial property to let her in for a showing. It wasn’t but ten minutes later when she text me saying, “We’re done. The buyers believe it needs more work than what they’re looking for.”, so that was a bit of a waste of my time. Those of us who’ve been in real estate sales long enough, know that sooner, and sometimes later, every piece of property has a buyer for it.
I’m not sure if it’s been an after-effect of the full moon when feeling today everything seeming a bit “off” for me. Yes, even yours truly has such days to were I’ve wondered if there was something that recently happened in the universe which was affecting me. Of course cold gray days have never been my cup of tea.
When seeing a new listing posted overnight, and then my shock at the price the owners placed on it, I picked up the phone and called the person I showed that rat trap to over a year ago. Thinking I was going to surprise her with the shock, she’d already seen it online early this morning. Oh did we have a good chat about that home which was in need of everything, and at the time I showed it to her, I remember saying, “Oh if these walls could only talk, we’ve be running for our lives, because we both know there were some very naughty things people were doing within.” There’s no question I’ll consider our market having gone stark-raving mad it that sells anywhere even close to what they’re asking. Evidently the people who purchased it have no clue about neighborhood conditions and functionality. If I’m not mistaken, it doesn’t have room to build even a single stall garage. Good luck to them.
I went out to pick up a sold sign in the yard of a home I recently sold, and when I started pulling on it, the new owner came out and said, “Would you mind leaving it there until we can get our family together so we can take a photo standing here?”. Of course I was more than willing to oblige since it means I’ll have all the more free advertising. I did ask that he call me after they get their photo taken so I can go and pick it up.
Those cursed lockboxes we have are enough to make a preacher swear at times because yet another one of mine was acting up today where I finally got it off the door knob so I could take it back to my office and switch it out for one that’s working fine. Too many times I’ve been locked out of a house because I couldn’t get those contraptions to work. Either its battery is going bad, or it’s just worn out. Next week I’ll have to take it out to our Multiple Listing Office and get it switched out for a new one. Way back when our Board agreed to purchase them, we were never told that they’d become obsolete and have to buy new ones. We are now in the third generation of those nasty gadgets. Whomever invented them, didn’t factor in how cold it gets here in North Iowa and the problems our bitter winter weather creates for them. We certainly don’t live in Southern California, which is why their manufacturers should’ve checked, and later found that North Iowa is on the list of areas which have the most extreme changes in weather in our Country. If I’m not mistaken, we’re in the top 10 of that list.
My public open house at 115 S. Connecticut had some good activity on it again, and one particular couple was there much longer and asking the right questions while I went on to talk about how expensive all its many Marvin Windows were, along with the detailed improvements the previous owners had made on it. Believe it our not, it’s priced lower than what the current owners paid for it, and considering how our market has spiked this year, I’d say that home is a steal. I soulfully said to those buyers, “If I could snap my fingers and magically switch my home for it, I’d do it in a New York second, and for the reason being how much I truly like its floor plan and over-all design.” Every time I’m in it, I alway have this feeling of being “grounded”.
Since we were talking about good spirits in a home, I couldn’t help sharing some facts about another which I believe contains some really bad Juju. When I found out who purchased it at the time, I began wondering what unfortunate things would be happening with its new owners. As much as I distance myself from situations like that, I’ve recently heard thru the grapevine that there’s already been some creepily unfortunate things that’ve since happened. I only showed that home once, and that was one time too many.
After my open house, I received a call from a potential buyer for my listing on 114 – 11th St. NE. I must’ve been on the phone with her for close to 45 minutes, and after hanging up, I’ll remain positive she’s going to be its new owner if we can get the numbers right. That’s another home which should’ve never been on the market this long, but as I’m more fully realizing, most buyers will not buy a home if it’s not in move-in condition. It’s very sad when knowing how many big ticket improvements that’ve already been made on it, and now all that’s left are the fun things.
The only real estate appointment I have tomorrow is in the mid-afternoon which will give me enough free time to get some personal work done. Winter’s on its way and there’s still much outdoor work to be done. Let’s all hope for a long Indian Summer.
Tonight’s one-liner is: The fruits derived from good labor is the sweetest of pleasures.
