It looks like we’re heading in the direction of a very hot and possibly humid summer. I was shocked to find it 84 degrees this afternoon. I’m not sure how well our Spring flowers are taking this because they don’t like such high temperatures. They’re looking good for now because of all the moisture in the soil, but once it dries up a bit, they’ll be struggling.
This weekend for me has been stacked with appointments along with other office duties. I went in early this morning to try and catch up, but once 8:00 am arrived, the phones started ringing. There’s no doubt about there still being an abundance of buyers in our market. Just this past week I noticed an abnormally high number of big ticket homes having gone under contract.
It continues to amaze me how some of these younger couples believe they can comfortably afford homes over $300K with very little downpayment. I sure wouldn’t want to be servicing a long term debt like that for 25 – 30 years. I’ll wager they’re convinced that inflation will add value to their homes, yet not taking into account real estate taxes always going up, insurance prices getting higher every year, Alliant Energy’s near-annual rate hikes, and lastly, their homes’ upkeep.
I was reminded again today how all these new products we buy being poorly designed, containing shoddily-built components, and short-term warranties. Not but a year ago, I purchased a new water heater which had one of those self-lighting ignitions on it. Looks like we can’t use matches anymore. Well, for some reason, that water heater stopped heating, and when I went to light it, I found that the newfangled ignition wasn’t working, so there again, another new part had to be purchased and installed, and no warranty.
Many of you remember the older forced air furnaces we had before the high efficiency ones arrived on our scene. Without a doubt, the new HVAC units of today are cheaply built and most certainly prone to some type or other electronic failures. And you can be sure those weak warranties had magically expired shortly before problems started, which left all the many of us to foot parts and repair bills. As a footnote, have you ever noticed all those expensive trucks, cars, and homes owned by our “trustworthy” plumbers, electricians, furnace and air, and owners of companies building stick-built homes/condominiums ? I’m beginning to think I chose the wrong line of work.
Did you know that most companies that marketed very good and long lasting products have long since gone out of business? The sad reason is that their products were markedly more expensive, yet created to last a very long time. The lowest and best price mentality is alive and well with most of our buying public, and it’s all because corporate advertising has done exceptionally well at getting people to focus on price instead of quality. Kinda crazy don’t you think?
The highlight of my day was signing up my new listing located at 716 S. Taylor Ave. here in Mason City. It’s a one-owner home that’s had many updates done since the owners had it built. There were three bedrooms on the main floor, but later on, they decided to open a wall and make a very large kitchen/dining area.
The strong points to the home are: newer windows, steel siding, high efficiency furnace with central air, a nice basement rec room, and another room that could be a bedroom if an egress window would be installed, a big double garage, and a fully fenced rear yard, along with being located in one of our City’s popular southwest-side districts. The asking price is $87,900.00 and well worth it. Without a doubt, you’ll be looking in great favor at 716 S. Taylor.
Tonight’s one-liner is: Raise boys and girls the same way.
