At least it was cooler outdoors today which was a welcome relief from yesterday’s humidity and temps. I’ve been reminded more than once this summer how thankful I am to be in an office building with tall ceilings and good air circulation via the number of transoms which are contained within. I can see how people back before air conditioning was invented, were able to endure most of summer’s heat in those very old buildings simply because of their tall ceilings, transoms and canvas awnings. I’m sure my office would be all the cooler if I had a roll-down canvas awning like we had in our old office at 409 N. Federal. It was always a delight when finding how much cooler our office was in the afternoon when it was rolled out. The only thing we had to be careful about, was making sure it was rolled back up if there was a wind/rain storm in the offing. I’m sure a strong wind would’ve ripped it right off its brackets.
Part of my morning was spent preparing and sending correspondence, and returning emails that came in over the night. I also had a good visit with one of my colleagues about how real estate sales has become digitalized to the point where human contact is at a minimum which I find a bit disturbing because the more personal contact that’s being lost, the more detached agents are from the actual needs and wants of their buyers and sellers. As far as I’m concerned, the more we get to know our clients and customers, the more we’re able to help them, because oft times, we discover their key wants and needs which they’re unable to see themselves, and likely due to being too close to the answers, high stress levels, and certainly lingering anxieties. It’s kinda like not being able to see the forest for the trees.
I noticed that Country Landscapes has resumed their work at replacing the pavers on the east side of North Federal. I took the liberty to take several good photos of the pavers out in front of my building which are in near perfect condition because I’d never put snow-melt on them during the winter. My main reason for taking those snapshots, was to make sure that no person could ever come back to me and say, “Your pavers were also bad.”
I’m still bristling over the idiocy of our “powers that be” having the same type of pavers re-laid which many believed at the time to be a joke. I still can’t believe someone from the Street Department hasn’t made them clean up all those tar globs that are now mashed into the pavements. Why is it all the more people pay some much less attention to quality and detail? You can bet I find it quite refreshing whenever coming into contact with all those fewer who still insist on reaching for excellence.
One of my great dis-appointments today, was seeing a home that I thought to be a handsome lady on the drive-by, but when I walked in and say how filthy and unkempt the old girl was, I shook my head and thought, “What a horrible first impression those sellers are creating with this home that’s survived so many years!” Of course the more I looked, the more problems I discovered. Those sellers don’t know it now, but they’re going to take a major financial hit when it does sell. I noticed one great fault that’s going to cost thousands to fix, and it’s all because “some people” thought they knew construction. Oh well, we’ll see if the new buyers’ home inspector is going to discover it.
My afternoon appointment was spent showing a young couple a charming two bedroom home. They took their time looking at every feature, and I’m of the belief they’ll be calling me tomorrow to have another look. One of the big positives of that home, is its location. I found later that it wasn’t necessary I mentioned it because they’d already looked at many others in far inferior districts, and since they have a young child, they’re all the more wary. If there’s one thing that hasn’t changed with our young buyers over these long years, is that most of them work really hard at finding a safe neighborhood to raise their children.
Since I had time late this afternoon, I stopped by the home of a relative of mine just to have a good chat. We hadn’t had time to visit in months, and it seems every time we get together, we have more stories to share regarding our early years. Another reason I enjoy going over, is that our stories are far more accurate than those being told by others who’ve spent too much time re-making the past of our inter-connected families. You can be sure we had some good laughs over some of the nonsense we had to endure over the years. Before walking out I said, “In spite of the harm others have done to us, we can consider ourselves better people because we didn’t allow ourselves to get pulled down to the point of relinquishing our self-worth along with our sense of self.” Without even asking, I was presented with a keepsake which will be my reminder of a dear and gentle-souled giver.” You can be sure I’ll cherish it.
After speaking about those ghostly/spiritual happenings last evening, I found myself from time to time today, remembering all the more un-settling encounters I had in homes. The one I’d nearly forgotten, was during the time at a public open house and seated right in front of a roaring fire and still colder than heck, and that being just the beginning of the creepiest of happenings taking place during those two hours. I’d say that short period of time caused me to recall Dante’s “Inferno”, and yet to this day, I cannot comment on one particular happening in that structure which was beyond my belief or understanding.
Tonight’s one-liner is: If a dog will not come to you after having looked you in the face, you should go home and examine your conscience.
