With it being the first business day of our new year, I dare say it ended up being quite the emotional roller-coaster, and it all began when having read and email that had come in over the night. Of course I can’t go into any detail other than say it was just another example of yours truly attempting to do his best, and in the end, appearing as if I wasn’t. Oh well, if what I suspect is going to happen, does take place, I’ll simply chalk it up as another unfortunate experience to be remembered and continue moving forward.
I did place a call to one of the sellers from a recent sale, just to see how things have been, along with checking if her credit union did finally receive the payoff on a loan which they should’ve received and posted, and not being very happy when hearing they’d not confirmed it, so I suggested she call them and be a bit more demanding, along with informing them that if it doesn’t get quickly resolved, she’ll be contacting the Better Business Bureau. I was relieved when later receiving a text from her saying they did finally confirm receipt of the check and will remit the payment they took out of her bank account. My gosh! Why is it in these times, people have to end up getting brittle with banks and companies before they step up to their plates and do their jobs? Hearing about them taking more money out of her account, is just one more reason why I refuse to plug myself into any form of auto-pay. Thank goodness it’s finally over, so she now has one less thing to worry about.
I had a nice visit with my dear friend this morning, and the first thing I had to do, was thank her for that charming vintage ‘thank you’ card she sent me. They sure don’t make greeting cards like they used to, and as chance would have it, I have a small box of them tucked away which I happen to run across whenever I’m in that cabinet, and of course I have to open it again, just so I can get my spirits raised after reading a few of them. I forgot to mention to her that I’ve also been busy getting the many layers of paint off the raised door latches and hinges on a set of cabinets. I actually timed myself, and discovered it takes me between forty-five minutes and an hour to get a latch-set off, then get its paint removed, cleaned up, and then re-attached. I will never understand why anyone would be so thoughtless when deciding to paint hinges, door latches and drawer pulls.
Another big gripe I have always had, is seeing vintage door hardware layered with paint and even to the point where they paint the door knobs. Most don’t think painting those items makes any difference, but I know it does, because there was a classic example of it when being interviewed by prospective sellers who’d had their home listed with several other Realtors, but still no sale. During our conversation, the wife asked me to give her some ideas regarding things they could do to help sell it. Well, I shared my main turn-off, which were all the painted door hinges, strike plates and door knob hardware that was painted the same off-white are their doors. I went on to say that such strikingly beautiful hardware wasn’t being shown off. Well, after two week went by, they called me to go over and list their home, and when I walked in, the first thing I noticed was all the hardware having been stripped and polished. Believe me, it made a huge difference in presentation, and wouldn’t you know, not even a month had gone by, and it was under contract. Yes, sometimes, those little things make the biggest differences.
After I had my real estate chores completed, I made a trip to my bank, and then headed over to St. Paul Lutheran to get copies of those two pieces I wasn’t familiar with, and wouldn’t you know, they both ended up being ‘re-skins’ of hymns I’ve played in the past, so I’m pretty much set for this coming Sunday’s Services.
I happened to glance at our extended weather forecast and noticed we’re in for some below zero nights, so please make sure you keep your furnaces running properly and bundle-up whenever outdoors. Oh, I am so not looking forward to another wobbling Jet Stream.
My listing at 315 Parkridge Drive was shown this afternoon, and another agent will be showing it tomorrow afternoon, and that one is a second showing, so hopefully it’ll end up going under contract. Having that sold will definitely brighten my outlook.
One of my out of State clients called today, and while visiting with her, she began insisting that there’ll be more people moving to Iowa, just to get away from the congested and fast-paced metro areas in the Southwest. Unfortunately she doesn’t realize that Mason City’s temps are noticeably colder than southern Iowa, which is why I know there are more retirees moving to the suburbs of Des Moines and Cedar Rapids, along with those small towns under 30 minute drives from those cities, so when I got off the phone, I did some checking on my own, and sure enough, the population of those areas are definitely growing.
People may think there really isn’t that big of a difference between southern Iowa and northern Iowa weather, but in fact there is, and not too many years ago I had to take a mid-winter drive down to Keokuk, and to my shock, it was markedly warmer, nearly all the snow had melted, and the grass was already beginning to show signs of green. There’s no doubt our southern belt of Iowa, truly does experience the four seasons, whereas up here in the ‘last outpost’, we go from winter to summer and then back again.
While driving home I discovered I’d forgotten to return a call that came in while on the phone this morning and then dealing with additional call-ins, so I made a mental note to make that call first thing tomorrow. That was definitely a rarity for me, but not surprising, considering today’s unnecessary chaos.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Be still my heart; thou has known worse than this.
