It was another remarkable day with our weather to where one could swear we were having a mid-summer rain shower with temps in the 60’s, instead of it being the 26th of October. The number of light frosts in the lowlands we’ve had, has kept all the flowers and plants blooming and growing, but that’ll soon change with our extended forecast saying our overnight temps will be in the 20s for likely a week or longer, so that’ll be the end of our days of greenery.
Most of my morning was spent scheduling appointments for various Realtors who were wanting to show 315 Parkridge Drive, 137 – 14th St. NW, and my new listing at 1309 S. Carolina. There happened to be three showings on 1309 already which I’m hoping is a positive sign that we’ll have it sold soon. I’m still in shock 315 Parkridge Drive hasn’t sold yet, but all I can do is to continue promoting it until it’s under contract.
At another home which is getting readied for sale, I had to meet a gentleman there to get a few things out of the basement, and a number of items in the garage which all ended up being hauled to the landfill. There’s a little painting left to be done, along with a spit-shine cleaning of it, and then it’ll be ready for the market. One of the casement window cranks was broken, and as chance would have it, I managed to find one which was definitely a stroke of luck, so I went back out and installed it. In these times, our buyers are prone to make mountains out of molehills when it comes to those little ‘fix its’, so I’ve come to the conclusion it’s best to get all those things remedied before a home gets listed.
Considering how many price reductions and ‘back on the market’ postings we’ve had these recent weeks, I dare say we’re in the midst of a price correction, but when seeing what the sellers of this week’s new listings are asking, I don’t think their agents have been watching the trend. I just about had a jaw-drop when seeing what a seller is asking for a home they’d purchased on foreclosure, and all I can say is, “Good luck getting it.” What I believe is really causing this down-ward trend, is our 30 year fixed mortgage rate which has been bouncing between seven and eight percent. Like the old saying goes, ‘You can ask anything you want, but getting it is another matter.”
I had another soulful conversation with my dear friend today which centered around this radical polarization that’s taking place in our political arenas. Of course many of those loud-mouths, have no idea what they’re doing to the fabric of our democracy, and you can bet our not so favorite totalitarian regimes are fanning the flames of those fires by spreading all the more fake news out into our social medias.
The both of us have a justifiable fear that what’s taking place in Gaza, could easily become the match which will create a world war, and if that happens, I personally believe there’ll be millions dead before it’s all over, and when it is, our planet’s landscape will have radically changed both naturally and man-made.
We’ve also come to believe that far too many are so selfishly busy with their own families and careers, to the point they really don’t give a hoot about what’s happening in Washington and our world’s political arena, and when coupling that with an ignorance of world history, we’re left with millions of sheep following some really bad lead-goats.
I was doing a great deal of soul-searching today regarding some recent correspondence I received from a potential seller, and what created some red flags to appear, were questions I’d already answered when I personally met with the seller, along with a few more which it thought to be dis-tastefully condescending, so if I have a good sleep on it and wake up tomorrow morning feeling similarly, I’ll be sending a professional ‘good-bye’ email, and only because I’ve learned long ago that if something doesn’t smell right in the beginning, it’ll be stinking to high heaven by the time it’s over, and believe me, the un-necessary time and trouble such situations create, doesn’t warrant even stepping down into such ‘pits’, so in the end, it’s just best to walk away and never look back.
More and more I’m coming into the professional mindset of my office turning into a boutique real estate firm where I’ll be giving 1,000 percent of my time in serving the best interests of my buyers and sellers. Just today I mentioned that rarely if ever have I been chastised by a buyer or seller for not providing the services they were expecting, which is exactly the way it should be, instead of running around out there grabbing at anything and everything, just to load up one’s back pocket. Believe me, I’ve heard some unfortunate stories from buyers and sellers who’ve worked with other agents, and we all must remember, we live in a bloated village where people talk.
After thinking about that YouTube video I watch several days ago, I thought it best to share the link to it, just so you’ll have the opportunity to see how brutal Lukashenko has been towards the citizens of Belarus, so here it is: Inside Belarus: Putin’s Puppet Regime
Knowing the hard freeze is on its way, I managed to dig up all my wonderful carrots, and believe me, there were some really big ones, and the granddaddy of them all, is the one I took a photo of and posted as tonight’s photo. I dare not say how many pounds I’ll likely have going to the freezer, but that’s just OK because I could eat my organic carrots everyday of the week. Now you’ve gotta admit, tonight’s carrot is one giant next to a normal sized coffee mug. Bugs Bunny would be in 7th heaven if he could get his paws on it.
Tonight’s One-liner is: The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.
