1307 N. Hampshire Ave., Mason City, Iowa
In spite of having random "sun-breaks" today, we must consider ourselves fortunate we were not having to endure below zero temps accompanied by a biting northwest wind. It was definitely an "out of the puddles and into the ponds" with our melting snow, and of course the back alleys of our Downtown always seem to have the worst of it.
My first duty of the day, was to get my charming new listing signed up and posted everywhere on the internet. It happens to be located at 1307 N. Hampshire Ave. here in Mason City which is another sought after neighborhood because of its close proximity to our golf course, and elementary school, our ever-popular East Park and municipal swimming pool. Every one of those locations is within walking distance from it, and with summer being not far off, it would be a great buy at this time for those few forwarding-thinking buyers.
Whomever built that brick beauty, certainly spared no expense because I could see they used quality materials during its construction. Of course a poured concrete foundation is always the way to go when knowing we have seepage issues all over our City. Another feature of the home I found attractive, is the 3+ seasons enclosed porch with is accessed from the patio door in the dining room. I could see myself seated out there on summer evenings with all the windows open and no bugs bothering me.
There's a room in the basement which could easily be converted to a "legal" bedroom if it's new owner would install an egress window which really isn't that expensive. Of course its beautiful hardwood floors would be on my "must have" list if I were looking for a home. After hearing of a similar home which just went under contract last week, I'd say my new listing is a steal of a deal compared to that far-inferior home in more ways than one. It's too bad that buyer didn't wait a while longer because I'm sure 1307 N. Hampshire would've been the one purchased. Tonight's photo is an exterior shot of it, and if you'd like to see all the others I took, click on the photo which will start a slideshow for you. We have it listed at a competitive price of $124,500 which I believe makes it a good value in comparison of the few competing listings we currently have in our market.
I was given some bad news today regarding one of my recent sales which is located at 240 - 7th St. SE here in Mason City, and that being the buyer not able to take care of some outstanding bills that came up, so back on the market it went. I know the buyer is very upset over not being able to buy it, but as we all know, sellers can't be waiting around for someone to pull a rabbit out of a hat.
Since the owner has already made some noticeable improvements on it, I'm confident it'll get sold to someone else. I know I've mentioned many times how absolutely charming that home could be if someone with vision would buy it and turn it into a true "storybook" home. I still can't believe there's not an industrious first-time buyer out there who can see what I see. I'm hoping the next buyer will be someone who's into big garages because the size of its lot would enable the building of a monster three-car garage off the back alley which would fit right in with what its neighbor already has. Please put the word out on this "back on the market" home. What can you buy in this City for $56,500 in these times.
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While on the phone with a colleague today, we both agreed that this business of turning our money-pit of a mall into "Hollywoodland" is the silliest of brainstorms because first of all, nearly all of our service industries are begging for help they can't seem to find, so adding more eateries and bars would exacerbate the problem. We both are feeling the continued willful waste of our taxes dollars by our City is outright shameful. If such poor decisions were made in the corporate world, there'd be pink slips being handed to those responsible.
While on the phone with one of my clients this morning, I reminded him about how some of the Realtors in our area, are paying Zillow for leads, of which I refuse to be part of because I cannot justify paying a corporate entity money for leads here in little Mason City. He also didn't know that there are businesses including Realtors who pay Google for their web rankings, which again I find bordering on being completely dishonest in regards to their real standing in our business world. I went on to say how much the internet has created a polarization in the way in which some are now doing business. Like I've asked many times, "Why aren't people getting back to the basics by going out and working for a living instead of always trying to get a free ride on the backs of others?" I'm still waiting for the swinging back of the pendulum. How about you?
I happened to notice some Facebook photos yesterday which sent me back to the days when I was young and semi-good looking. What took me there, were the photos of people living in North Iowa who own horses. Most don't know that back in those days, I had three horses which I loved dearly. The few times I've shared with others my love of them, they'd say, "Well, why don't you get one?" I'd then turn to them and say, "Not a chance because if I had a horse or two, I'd be fighting with myself on a daily basis to get back to working real estate." The years I had those horses were some of my most memorable, and every once in a while, they'll come to mind and create inward smiles.
With about an hour and a half to kill, I went back to work at getting more of those hot peppers readied for grinding. Judging by the amount I already have ground, I'll be giving it to anyone interested in using it in their cooking.
Tonight's One-liner is: It's been said that a pretty face is a passport, but in reality it's not; it's a visa, and it runs out fast.