I visited with an older couple today at my open house of which I was hosting at 945 N. Delaware Ave., here in Mason City. They were delighted to find the home strong and sturdy as well as the neighborhood showing signs that the owners truly care about the maintenance of their homes. One of the neighbors who just happened to be moving into his residence today mentioned that he had been looking for a nice affordable place for three months before he found the place where he will now be living. The stigma that has been placed on any addresses that have an “N” in their directions due to the troubles these past several years on the north side of Mason City have wrongly affected delightful neighborhoods in some of the districts that have a “N”,”NW”, or “NE” in their street addresses. People moving to Mason City do too much investigating on the web before they arrive and have a falsely pre-disposed opinion of where they should and shouldn’t be looking for homes to buy or rent. Some of the districts that are now being wrongly beaten down, have been my bread and butter for years. Test the neighborhoods for yourselves. If you drive through a neighborhood that still features open or screened porches that have either a porch swing or porch furniture on their porches surrounded by summer flowers and manicured lawns, you will then have entered a neighborhood that still contains the fiber of safety and stability. By the way, while I was at my open house today, it made me smile watching small children playing “catch me” in the back alley.
A dear old client of mine who owned a grand home with both front and back porches used to say to me, “Don’t come in the front, my back door guests are welcomed the best.”
