Another windy day in North Iowa, and for some reason, it felt even colder out than it did yesterday. It sound like we’ll be getting another reprieve from it these coming two days, but let’s hope it’s not going to be another yo-yo back to what we’ve been getting. For sure we don’t have enough snow-cover to keep the frost from traveling deeper than it should, so don’t be surprised if we start hearing about frozen underground water lines.
Having found a message that was left late yesterday on my office answering machine, I listened to it, and then gave the person a call. As I suspected, another old friend/client is moving in the direction of selling her home, and mostly due to her age and underlying health issues. I scheduled an appointment for tomorrow morning to go over and have a look. She claimed it was ready to list, so we’ll see, and if it is, that’ll be another one that should sell quickly because of its location and how well it’s been taken care of.
Her and I go back a good twenty years, and whenever being in her company, I’ve always had a good feeling, and mostly because she’s about as filterless as you can get, so if she’s got something to say, she’ll make sure you’ve heard it. With there being so few people left who don’t beat around the bush, whenever I happen upon one, it’s always refreshing. I’m beginning to get the “feeling” my own filters are falling away, which is good, but sometimes not.
When a familiar delivery person stopped to drop off a package, I chided him for not wearing enough to keep himself from being chilled, but of course he insisted he’s always good because of how much he’s in a near non-stop motion with his deliveries. Since he’s such a jolly chap, I couldn’t help yelling after him and saying, “If there’s one thing I want you to do, is to never wipe that smile off your face.” He gave me a grin after answering, “No I won’t because it’s always been a part of me.” The next time I see him, I’ll have to share what I recently read, which was about how happy/joking people tend to live far longer and healthier lives which didn’t surprise me a bit.
It wasn’t a shock to me when finding I already had an offer in an email on my new listing at 313 S. Hampshire Place because there’s absolutely nothing on the market that compares to it. There’s been a good run of showings on it already, and with it only being on the market 48 hours, the seller decided to reject the offer and wait for one which was more to his liking. The person I showed it to yesterday, is still on the fence about buying it, but after visiting with him today, it’s still a consideration, so we’ll see what this week brings.
One of my relatives who lives out of State called today, and while visiting with her, she asked if there’s been much new residential construction taking place. Without even thinking about it, I proceeded to tell her that the reason our prices are going up, is because most people can’t afford to build, and mostly due to the price of materials and labor. She was shocked when I told her about several new construction ranch homes which sold in 2021 over in Clear Lake, and being nothing to write home about. The one that had a little over 1,200 square feet, sold for over $475K, and the other one which had 1,900 square feet, sold for $511K. Now tell me, isn’t that insane? The main reason I’d never want to buy a “new build” spec house, is because they’re full of chip-board, particleboard and laminates. Most think the smell of new is good, but unfortunately what they’re smelling are all the glues drying which is definitely not good for a person’s health, and don’t even get me started on the cheap “farm-raised” dimension lumber we now see being used. “Matchstick havens” is what I call them.
With the free time I had this afternoon, I put it to use by working on getting my tax undertaking more readied, just so to get myself comfortably immersed in it. What used to take me days and days to get it all sorted out and posted, doesn’t take me nearly as long now, and only because I’ve established a standardized method. I guess if you’ve eaten an elephant enough times, you learn how to get it eaten more quickly.
A face out of my past arrived at office unannounced, and only to inform me that he’s now fully retired from his job, and now not sure what he’s going to be doing with his free time. He and I go way back to the time I began working at Holtz Realty when it was located at 409 N. Federal, and since he was one of Roger Holtz’s friends, he’d stop by every day on his way home from work. In spite of his being the ripe age of 87, he still has his mind, along with his physical health appearing to be much better than most his age. Seeing him today brought back a very many memories. Just thinking about those days, reminded me how much has changed in the way we market real estate.
What really gripes me, is knowing that there are a number of agents who’re paying Zillow big bucks every month, just so they can get leads on other Realtors’ listings, and the most angering about their platform, is their purposely not posting who the real listing agent is, so if a un-knowing buyer clicks on the link to schedule a showing, their information gets sent to an agent who’s likely never stepped one foot on the property. How crazy is that? More than once this past year, I was called by prospective buyers who’d been checking on homes posted on Zillow, but were savvy enough to realize they’d not be connected with the listing agent if they clicked on one of their links. One of those buyers even said, “I’m not getting involved in any third-party distribution of my name and phone number.” Well said. I’m just glad my office website has as a strong enough internet presence to where the general public can easily see what homes I have listed. I believe if more in our general buying public would realize what they’re doing, you can bet their company would be fizzling fast.
Tonight’s One-liner is: Bad humor is an evasion of reality; good humor is an acceptance of it.
