We’re ten days into August and still the temps are well above 80 degrees, and it doesn’t look like we’re going to have comfortable weather until the weekend. When reading the online news today, there were all the more reports being given about this global warming. If all that we’re seeing published by the scientists is true, we’re gonna be seeing even more radical changes in our weather patterns around the world, and heaven help us if the gulf and Atlantic currents suddenly stop because that’s when all “yell” will break out.
Between returning calls, doing some deep research and working on a closing file that’s coming up later this week, my entire morning went flying by. One of the calls I received, was from a gentleman asking if I would go out and look at a home he’s planning on selling. We agreed to meet shortly after 1:00 p.m., so after getting the address from him, I went to work at gathering the information on it.
I noticed it sold about eight years ago, but for the strangest of reasons, I could’ve sworn I sold it once upon a time. Well, after my deep digging, I found that I had it listed in the late 1980’s., and finally remembering the rest of the story after looking at that old listing, which told me I indeed had it listed, but the owners decided to take it off the market because a home they were wanting to buy, sold before theirs did.
It’s funny how we can remember certain things about a home, and especially after so many years. The home was pretty much as I remembered it, and when I asked about the finished basement, the owner ushered me down. Yes, it was pretty much as I remembered it. I did mention that the previous owner was quite the creator of little nooks and crannies which you normally wouldn’t find in homes of that age or price range.
We talked about pricing and preparation, and by the time we were finished, I had an appointment scheduled to list it tomorrow. I’m not looking for it to be on the market very long due to the price range it’s in, along with all the modern improvements that’ve been made. If nothing else, it would make a great investment property for an investor who’s more particular about the basics, instead of these lipsticked pigs people are buying.
Believe it or not, there are nearly 90 homes under contract in our MLS, and when I went paging thru them, there were several that jumped out at me. Now if those bucket of bones are sold, then just about anything will sell in this market. I was shocked when seeing how many homes that are under contract being listed at over a quarter million dollars. There’s no question the banks are loosening their underwriting guidelines, just as they did before the 2008 Market Crash. Since this pandemic arrived, there’ve been far too many buyers out there who’re buying just for the sake of buying.
Speaking of price differences, while researching this morning, there was an acreage just north of town with an old two story home that was likely built back in the 1880’s, along with some mediocre outbuildings. In the late 1990’s that sold for $85K, but when looking at its assessed value today being over $170K, I’d wager it would sell in today’s market for close to $250K. Yes, that’s how hot these acreages have become.
I’m going to be sure and tell the ones who purchased the acreage I have listed over near Clear Lake, that they’d best not tear down that old house, as it’s likely still structurally solid enough to do a restoration on it. It’s going to take a great deal of work getting the dooryard cleaned up and the scrub trees removed, but after that, it’ll be clear sailing to turning that home into a very good long-term investment. Now if there were more young buyers out there willing to work at building sweat equity, that acreage would’ve sold right out of the gates.
One of my past clients text me a photo several days ago of a very old plank-bottom rocking chair which was painted black with a shiny enamel. He asked if I was interested in it, and in a gentleman’s fashion, I changed the subject. Well, yesterday morning, he arrived at my office with it in the back of his pickup truck. All he said was, “If you want it, you can have it.” I gave it a good looking over, and agreed to take it, so I hauled it in, and then later delivered it to a storage room. Not only is it going to be a beast to strip, but also there’s some repairs and replacements needed on it. I have no idea what type of wood it was built from, and in spite of it being quite heavy, I knew that much of its weight was the many layers old paint it has, but once I get around to stripping it, I’ll have a better idea of its age. Just by looking at it, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was built prior to the 1880’s.
I’m not much into wooden rocking chairs, but that one must’ve been designed for a larger torso due to its tall back and wide seat. I’ve actually never seen one quite like it. I thanked him for it and right after, he hollered back saying, “I’ll be back to pick it up after you’ve got it stripped and restored.” Yes, he’s always been a good one for having the last word.
With some time to kill later this afternoon, I sat down at my office piano and began running thru the six hymns I’ll be playing for that church this coming Sunday. I have four of them pretty much under control, but those last two are going to be a challenge to have learned by the time I’m to publicly play them. After all the many years of believing myself familiar with the bulk of religious hymns, just these past three have proven me terribly wrong. I now know I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Tonight’s One-liner is: The internet is a telephone system that’s gotten uppity.
