What could any of us here in North Iowa find to complain about when experiencing one of the most gorgeous of days? Times like these are to be held close in our memories so to remember them when we’re having not so pleasant ones in the near future. Yes, I’ll remember the 11th of October as being a 10+ day. I was sort of expecting it due to the temperature already being above 50 degrees early this morning. Let’s be good to Mother Nature so she’ll keep em coming. OK?
I just received a price reduction on 103 – 20th St. SE today which I’ll post in the morning. It’s now down to $44,500 and I can assure you, the seller wants it sold before the snow starts flying. I’ve always liked the home’s style long before I ever listed it. The Dutch Mansard design is always a delight to see—especially when someone brings out its best. The home definitely needs decorating, but the expensive upgrades are already there. I discovered the owner was keen on making sure all the mechanicals were up-to-date. That’s all it needs now, is someone with enough vision to see what it could be after the upgrades. It’s in a great location, and now at a bargain price. Take a closer look.
Between returning phone calls and showings, the day actually whizzed by. There were two showings today that were “not cool” in my book. The first one took place at a property the owners must’ve thought themselves to be Mason City’s version of “Flip that House.” From the moment I walked up the sidewalk I could see all the wrongs done on the outside before we even entered the home. I swear, whomever chose the colors must’ve been smoking crack or are color blind. The painting done around the windows and baseboards showed no detail oriented skill to the point where in nearly every room either bleed-thru painting or sloppy trim-outs were found. The buyers continued to say, “This’ll have to be done over.” with just about everything that was supposed to be attractive to ignorant buyers. Some of the things we discovered even showed signs of structural modifications that could possibly create great expenses in the future. That home was a classic example of someone believing they knew how to upgrade by watching programs on the TV. It’s almost like someone thinking they can hang out a shingle as an attorney by watching all the Law And Order episodes. There are reasons why professionals do earn their pay for what they do.
The second one I speak about took place at a property that was so terribly neglected, I braced myself as I walked through the front door. If you all could imagine the smell of either cat, dog, and possibly human urine that was staining the carpets of every room, and multiplying it in your minds many times over, you’ll then understand. It was so bad I could actually taste the smell. Everywhere we looked we found disrepair and discord. Whomever lived there must have lost there eyesight along with their sense of smell. I couldn’t get out of the house and garage fast enough. If that wasn’t bad enough, we started inspecting the yard and again there was dilapidation and neglect everywhere I looked to where I finally said to the buyers, “If I had to come home to this, I’d keep driving.” The wife giggled and said, “You always seem to find something good to say about a property, so why not now?” I turned to her and said, “Because I can hear every board, nail and bent blades of grass crying out, “Help Me!”.” She finally got the picture.
