It was a bit of a brisk day beginning with an early morning appointment to show the most charming two bedroom home. Having arrived a few minutes before the buyer, I made sure I had the front door unlocked and all the lights turned on. After having a good look at it before the buyer arrived, I was more than impressed with it’s functional simplicity.
When the buyer walked in, the first thing he said was, “Wow! Nice floors.” I couldn’t help but agree when seeing how well kept they were, and believe it or not, they were in every room including the kitchen and bath. The home was built back in the 1940’s and whomever built it must’ve used native lumber because I swear the floor joists were white oak. I can only imagine how fun it must’ve been trying to get nails pounded in them. The oak floors themselves were the thick plank type which are normally maple instead of oak.
The bathroom was pretty plain with the exception of the owner having recently updated the shower surround, but the kitchen was another story. Without a doubt, whomever designed the lay-out of cabinets and appliances, certainly understood function. The buyer was also impressed with it, and especially seeing there was even a built-in dishwasher. The basement was just a basement where there was a stool, built-in shower, and a laundry area. There was some seepage in some areas, but I told the buyer a good sump pump installation would likely correct that problem.
When walking out, the buyer told me he liked it enough to where he was going to go and visit with his banker. Of all the homes I showed him, I’d say he liked today’s the best. I did forewarn him that if he waited too long, there may likely be a buyer who likes it even more and gets it bought before he’s pre-approved. As much as I push buyers from the beginning of their home shoppings to get themselves pre-approved, there are still those who wait until they find something they like which at times causes them to loose out because some other buyer was more financially ready to spill some ink a purchase agreement.
The remainder of my morning was spent on an accounting project which I raced to get finished before my early afternoon appointment. Looking back on it, I’d say I must’ve been working like a machine to have been able to get that much done in a three hour time frame. Oh well, when some of those demanding types want something today, I try to get it to them yesterday, and you can be sure I double and triple-checked the numbers before submitting it because I do hate questioning call-backs.
My afternoon appointment took me over to Floyd County to a home some buyers wanted to see. While driving over, I made sure to get a good look at the fields, streams, and countryside. I’d say we certainly had a rough winter when noticing there wasn’t a spot of green anywhere to be seen. I’m not so sure the sub-soil is completely thawed in the low areas, but I did notice the Shell Rock and Winnebago rivers were ice-free. I haven’t been over to Clear Lake in a few weeks which makes me wonder when it’ll be open.
The showing went pretty well, but there were some questionable improvements that were made that I had to do some research on after I got back to the office. I suspected something and then mentioned it to the buyers, and wouldn’t you know it, after my deep research, I’d say my suspicions were fully confirmed. I called the buyers and told them what I’d found and just left it up to them to make their decision on whether it was a “keeper” or a “throw back”. I’ve always insisted that a good buyer is an informed buyer.
I was informed today that the showing at 341 S. Carolina went very well on Saturday, along with getting another inquiry on it from a Realtor this morning which tells me it’s definitely back on the radar of buyers. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, “That home is one heck of a nice home for the money.” The location alone is what would get me to pull the trigger on it.
The above photo is one I took of a flock of robins feeding on the over-wintered fruit of the crab apple trees in the parking lot of The Manor. Every year they’re out there feeding on them, and likely because they really don’t have anything else to eat this early in the season. After that very late Spring snow arrived last year, those trees were stripped bare of their freeze-dried fruit by those robins. I really like the photo because I managed to catch some of them in flight.
Tonight’s one-liner is: It’s not long after we’re out of sight that we grow all the more out of mind.
