It was good to see the temps above 40 degrees today. For some reason, it felt chillier than that, but I think it was caused by the high humidity from all the snow melting. Even though we’re still not out of the woods as far as winter storms, once we get past March 1st, I’ll always know any snow we do get will be short-lived.
While walking down Federal Ave. this morning, I was noticing all the cracked and decomposing pavers in the sidewalks. Remembering which businesses were putting down ice melt, and which ones weren’t, I’m totally convinced those pavers were not meant to be subjected to whatever chemicals are in those granules. So now, we are going to be faced going forward with the continued breakdown of those decorative pavers to where they’ll soon become trip hazards for pedestrians. From the very beginning, I was against using them because I figured they wouldn’t last. It sickens me to know how little time they’ve lasted and how much money was spent by the City and business-owners. I’m sure if there were a warranty on installation and life expectancy still in force, the City would be after that company to replace them with something more durable.
Having visited a number of historic districts in cities of Northern Europe, I can say they’ve got their act more together when it comes to creating that “cobblestone” effect on their sidewalks and streets. As chance would have it, I actually watched a crew installing pavers on a sidewalk in one of those districts. They’d created a concrete base, then added a layer of packed sand, and then placed formed blocks/bricks of granite. We all know how resilient granite is to weather and the wear of human traffic. Of course the longest lasting tombstones in our graveyards are the granite ones. One Sunday I went on a road trip out of town to visit the grave of a relative that passed away well over fifty years ago and when I looked at her stone, it appeared to be untouched by the wear of the elements and time.
I was reminded today how sometimes when you really want something, and all attempts in negotiating have failed, it’s just best to wait it out in hopes one or the other party will come to their senses. Far too many times I’ve seen buyers as well as sellers being hammered by each other and/or the agents involved to where it becomes counter-productive. Tempers always start to flare as those dramas become toxic. I’ve seen many walk away from the table and never come back simply due to those pressure tactics. As I mentioned to a seller today, “If we’ve already had one buyer ready to pull the trigger, then there’ll be another.” Several of my listings are getting second showings tomorrow and I hope there well be at least one listing sold before Monday arrives.
Having touched on the subject of “haunted” houses today, I couldn’t help myself from telling several wide-eyed buyers my grand-daddy of tales regarding a property I sold a number of years ago. I gave them the entire scoop, and when I mentioned how an entity managed to move through me long enough to get me to say to the seller/house which I’d never see or heard of prior to arriving at that “dark hole” late one August afternoon, “How long have you known your house is haunted”. The look on their faces was a classic! In knowing I mentioned this story so very many pages back in time, I’m still getting those tall goosebumps while speaking of it again this second time round.
