The strong gusts of wind we had today, along with the intermittent rain, ended up being another one where a person really didn’t want to go outdoors unless it were necessary, but in spite of it being Friday the 13th which most consider an ominous day, everything on my side of the fence went even better than expected.
There were several phone calls I had to make this morning which revolved around my inquiries on possibly hiring a professional to do some work for me after the first of the year. One of the calls I made, ended up being satisfactory enough to where I scheduled an appointment to get together with him next week, so we’ll see if I have the same feeling after having met with him in person. For me, the first impressions are usually the most lasting when it comes to hiring someone.
There was a final walk-thru I had to do mid-morning over at a home we were closing on at 11 a.m., and unfortunately the sellers had left far too much personal property there which we ended up containing in a given area of the basement, just so one of the sellers would know exactly what the buyers didn’t want left there. Thank goodness the listing agent was able to get that taken care of shortly after we closed.
I don’t understand why some sellers think it’s just OK to leave such stuff behind, because I almost always remind my sellers that their homes should be ‘personality’ free of all things that weren’t listed in the purchase agreements. There was quite a bit there, but not even in the same solar system of what I’ve encountered over the years. Due to the piling of ‘stuff’ in the basement, we were about 15 minutes late getting to the closing office, but at least I did call to tell them we were on our way across town.
The closing went so well to the point I considered it another ‘soft landing’ for both my buyer and the sellers. We did spend a little extra time talking about the yard and various features of the home which always takes away the extra stress of moving into a strange home. I personally couldn’t have been happier because I’ve done a great deal of work for my buyer’s family over the years.
For lunch, I had another big section of that delicious watermelon which ended up being one of the last out of my garden, and believe me, the end-of-season crops always seem to taste markedly better. There’s likely one more Noon meal left of it, and then that’ll be the end of them.
While on my way out to east-side of the City, I received a call on my cellphone from a woman whom I’d become more closely acquainted with since I’d done several real estate transactions with her. Her reason for calling was to share some additional information on a home we’ve both been watching, and as chance would have it, she ran into a neighbor who was pretty much in the know as to what’s been going on.
During my last conversation with her a number of months ago, I couldn’t help sharing at the time, the unfortunate things which had taken place at the end of last year, so today I proceeded to bring her up to speed on recent happenings which came out of the blue. After telling her how firm and very direct I was with a woman who thought she’d get away with bashing me, and in the end, realized I wasn’t going to take any more verbal abuse, but rather setting the record straight, along with sharing my personal opinions regarding her flawed character and chronic neurosis. After I finished paraphrasing what I said, my caller said to me more than once, “Good for you Joe!”, so I guess what I said, was considered the appropriate thing to do considering the circumstances.
Before hanging up, we talked about the many loud-mouthed and wicked-tongued politicians who’re trying to put their own personal agendas ahead of what’s good for the bulk of our citizens. Not too long ago, I decided that anytime someone raises their voice and starts in with their name-calling, along with twisting truths to their favor, I dig my heels in and go on the defense by not screaming or yelling, but rather calmly relaying the hard facts. There’ve been times when it’s not a pretty sight, but at least they’ve not been able to get away without getting a good dose of an unexpected medicine. Yes, that conversation ended up being the highlight of my day. The extra bonus, was being told before we hung up, that she always speaks highly of me whenever in conversation with someone regarding real estate.
I received a call this morning from another agent who wanted to show my condo listing over at Prairie Place, and since that agent had never darkened the door of that complex, I insisted that I’d also have to be there when it was being shown, so around mid-afternoon, I was there giving the full tour.
I have this ‘feeling’ that buyer is going to be the new owner, so we’ll see what happens over the weekend. After being there with the buyer and listening to her, I personally stated that in my opinion, she’d be the perfect fit for the unit. I know it sounds a little creepy-cool when saying whenever I can ‘see’ a given buyer living in a property, it’s usually what end up happening. I’ll keep you posted.
For whatever reason, the internet wasn’t working properly at my office late this afternoon, so I had to skedaddle home and finish up on the remainder of what I needed to get done for the day. Oh how I do dislike performing deskwork from home, but when you gotta do it, you gotta do it. Over the years, most of the agents have learned that I have a cut-off on non-critical communication after a certain hour, which should be a standard for all. I’m personally not one who wastes time during regular business hours.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Greatness is a road leading towards the unknown.
