It came as no surprise to find in hot and humid today. My thermometer was registering in the low to mid 80’s. As we all know, when the humidity is high, it feels all the more uncomfortable. I’m hoping any visitors we have here aren’t thinking every summer in North Iowa is like this.
I was visiting with a client of mine today who recently re-located to an area near Duluth, but on the Wisconsin side. After listening to her speak about the drier air they normally have, I was beginning to grow envious. Since it’s that much farther north, air conditioning is an un-necessary luxury. I discovered that section of Wisconsin is quite the draw for outdoor enthusiasts. The love of fishing would have to be a prerequisite for having a happy life up there.
My mid-morning appointment took me to a home I recently sold to a young man. He wanted me to open it up again so to show his girlfriend and grandparents. We spent a good amount of time in the home with their taking of photos and having a good chat. As chance would have it, I knew his grandparents from years ago which gave us the opportunity to play catch up.
We somehow ended up on the subject of climate change and the visible effects it’s having on North Iowa. I was surprised they’ve become quite the advocates of going back to the basics with what we eat and our living environments. We even spoke about how we can innocently allow ourselves to slowly become poisoned by the chemical interactions that take place with things we eat, drink, wear, and breathe. The medical community is still not up to speed with drug interaction, and certainly the EPA is years behind them.
My public open house at 321 S. Carolina had a number of visitors, but not as many as I was hoping for, but I guess this is going to be a “dead” real estate weekend for a Labor Day. What I was very happy about, was the arrival of a gentleman and his wife who are in their seventies. As chance would have it, the husband’s parents purchased the home when he was in high school. My suspicions were confirmed when he told me that under all the existing carpet, there are oak floors. They certainly must be in near perfect condition since it was a brand new home when his parents purchased it, and before they moved in, his mother had all the oak floors carpeted. He insisted the existing carpet in the living/dining room and down the hall is the original green carpet. Now that’s saying something about the wearability of nylon carpet.
Whomever buys that home is going to be in for a real treat when seeing what those oak floors look like after pulling up the carpet and padding. Another noticeable bonus, are the kitchen cabinets. They appear to be in pristine condition. I’ve personally never seen a set of original cabinets in such near-perfect shape. It was making me wonder if the owners ever cooked. In spite of it being priced at $114,500, you’d still be far ahead of market values with similar sized homes that’ve been tricked out. One of the comparable sales sold a little over a year ago for $140K. Now that’s a big price difference if you ask me, and especially considering the exceptional quality of construction that’s visible.
I received a price reduction today at 741 – 10th St. NE which should make it all the more competitive with what’s available in today’s market. Now that the owners have moved out, it’ll be all the more of an easy move-in for potential buyers. I must remind you all that the sellers are leaving all the appliances which is yet another bonus. As far as I’m concerned, you’ll not find a better neighborhood for the price. I’m personally more attached to that district because I’ve had family members living there for a number of years, and whenever talking about their home, they’d always say how much they loved it, along with their neighborhood. The above photo is an exterior shot. What a beautiful exterior color combination!
Tonight’s one-liner is: Difficulties mastered are opportunities won.
