On my way to office, I decided to stop at a convenience store and purchase a small cup of coffee, and a good thing I did because I was expecting to have a well-planned day, but soon after, it turned into a track race with the number of unexpected calls and appointments. To this day, I still can’t get my brain wrapped around how overly revealing some of those convenience store patrons dress. One of them this morning was so much so, I had to look away in embarrassment.
Before all “yell” broke loose, I did manage to get some bills paid and mailed out, along with making some follow-up calls to contractors before I had to be at my first out of office appointment. I did manage to make it on schedule, and since I had enough of a spacing in time, they had all the minutes they needed to get a good look at the home. Thank goodness I brought my flashlight along because there were some dark rooms in its basement which were missing light bulbs.
Just before we were finishing up, I received a call from an appraiser needing to get into a home to take another photo which the bank was asking for, so I had to race over there to let him in. I got a little more than a little irritated with him because he could’ve called or sent me a text yesterday. I will say, our general public is growing all the more inconsiderate and I’m not liking it one bit. Several years ago, I read a scholarly article regarding how narcissism is on the rise, and mostly because it’s being encouraged and accepted which as far as I’m concerned, is terribly wrong.
I managed to make it to my half past ten appointment on time, which was to open the building at 1620 S. Federal which I sold to the owners of Pretzelmaker, just so they could get some additional measurements taken for their new build-out. I’m exceptionally happy for them, as well as very confident they’ll be doing more business out of that location than they ever would’ve dreamed. I did find out that this will be the first drive-thru location in that company’s entire chain, which will likely become a blueprint for others. One of the owners said that after they posted the news on Facebook about their new location, they received over 23,000 hits. Now that’s saying something. To top it off, when I delivered the key back at the listing agent’s office, several of the agents mentioned how glad they’re opening a drive-thru because they love their pretzels. Like I said, they’re gonna have more business than they think, so hopefully they’ll be prepared for it. Their pretzel dogs will certainly be on my list of lunchtime snacks.
About twenty minutes before the hour of one, I loaded up my listing file, camera and yard sign, and headed off to my appointment to list an acreage which was less that 20 minutes from my office. The acreage’s address is 1165 Hwy 9 which is around 3+ miles west of Manly. When I got there, the owners were waiting for me, so I proceeded to get down to business and have all the document filled-out and signed. Tonight’s photo is of the exterior, but I’ll not be posting the listing online until tomorrow morning.
Ok, here’s the scoop. The building site is located on Hwy 9 which is a good thing, the parcel of land it’s situated on is less than two acres containing the home, a three stall garage and an old chicken house that was converted into a storage shed. That rock-solid five bedroom home was built in 1904, and let me tell you, it’s a big one containing over 1,200 square feet just on the main floor. For being a farmhouse, its room sizes are staggeringly large. Just as an example of room sizes, the dining room is 18′ x 15′, not to mention the living room being 13′ x 24′.
The down-side of that homesite, is the number of upgrades it needs which includes a new shingle job, a paint job, the ripping up of carpet and re-finishing the hardwood floors, paneling removed, wiring updated, septic updated, and the list goes on. Believe me, when that home is brought back to life, it’ll be a show-stopper. Luckily, nearly all the woodwork and doors were never painted which is a very good thing. The floors are all level, and the doors close properly. There is a bath on both the main and 2nd floors, along with a small bedroom on the main. Having been there for the second time, I could actually see it finished in my mind. The original front door of the home, has an acid-etched picture of Annie Oakley on it which I’ve never seen before. Whomever had that home built, definitely had money because the construction of it would’ve been costly even in those times.
As far as pricing, we listed it “As Is” for $115K. When you see the photos tomorrow, you’re likely going to go, “Oh my gosh!”, but once you start looking past all the owners’ “stuff”, your wheels will begin to turn, just like mine did. Another good thing about the home, is that it’s livable, so a person can make changes as they go. All I can say, is I’m hoping whomever buys it, will turn it back into the showplace it once was. I’m sure it’ll sell because it isn’t everyday there’s an acreage on a hard-surface road coming on the market that’s priced that low, and especially as close it is to Mason City. I can only imagine how many calls and text messages I’ll be getting on it tomorrow. Tell friends and relatives you know who’re looking for an acreage before it’s gone.
Before the day was over, I managed to get another home sold, which rounded out my week on a positive note. I’m very happy and excited for the buyer because it ended up being exactly what she was looking for. I’m very glad she didn’t end up buying that over-priced cracker-box she’d offered on several weeks ago. I really didn’t have a warm and fuzzy feeling over that one.
I’m hoping my “free day” tomorrow remains open because I’ve got a project planned which I have to get completed.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Either men’ll learn to live like brothers, or they’ll die like beasts.
