224 W. Spring Street Re-visited

I couldn't believe how warm it was outdoors this morning, but unfortunately once it started raining, it wasn't so pleasant. With yesterday's wind and today's rain, one can now definitely see the tree leaves beginning to pile up on the ground and curbsides. Whether we like it or not, the endless dark and cold days will soon be upon us.

My morning was definitely a busy one with calls and emails needing to be addressed, along with getting some bills paid which had come in over these past several days. I did have to make a quick trip over to a lumber yard to get an estimate on a list of materials needed for an upcoming project which will be getting underway this week. The orchestrating of materials, labor and a sub-contractor, had me going in all directions, but at least I've got everything ready on my end, so now all I can do, is hope the workers show up on the day and time that was agreed up.

Because I've had a real awakening this year regarding my trying to get reliable workers to give me fair-priced bids on work I was needing done, there's no question our times have changed to were far too many contractors will attempt to milk their customers for as much as they possibly can, and for the only reason being, they're convinced they can because they've got competitors charging similar amounts, which comes down to the mentality where if XYZ Company can get away with charging such bloated prices, then they can too. Sounds like monkey see, monkey do. Doesn't it?

Just this year I had to search far and wide for reputable and fair-priced contractors for concrete work, roof work and tree work, and let me tell you, those bids were at times many thousands of dollars apart. Of course we have a high percentage of trusting elderly living in our midst who far too often get duped into believing the first bid they get, is worth taking because they're made to believe those contractors are doing them a favor by even agreeing to take on the job. What a bunch of hogwash! I was just told again today about another elderly couple in our City had to wait over six months to get their home shingled, in spite of having given that roofing company a hefty deposit the day they came to an agreement. How wrong is that?

I had a delightful surprise when a past client/customer showed up at my office today whom I'd not seen in at least six or more years. After getting her real estate questions answered, we had a good long visit. Her parents were clients of mine, and then when she divorced, I ended up selling their home, and then later her one of her own.

Since she went to school with several of my sisters, I had to bring her up to speed with the familial transition that took place after the death of my mother. I didn't really go into much detail other than saying how quickly the true characters of people can come to the surface after there's a death in the family. Since we both have known each other long enough, we ended up on our country's political climate, and acknowledging it's become so bad, it's torn families apart. It came as no surprise to hear she's got immediate family members who've drank the "Kool-Aid" as well. I couldn't help adding, "We've really got a whole lot of loud-mouthed and really stupid people in our midst, and unfortunately, stupidity can't be fixed." Since we both went to the same school and church back in the old days, she's also of the belief that our churches are getting far too involved in politics, which was a big taboo back then. My how times have changed.

She's now fully retired, and joyfully looking forward to the years ahead. From what I was told, she'll be wintering in her home in Florida, and spending her summers in Mason City. Before she left, I made her promise to stop by more often while she's here. The creepy-cool thing about her unexpected arrival, was my having just recently thought about both her and her parents. It gives me the chills every time that happens.

I had a nice visit with the owner of 224 W. Spring Street in Manly this morning, just to let him know our market is beginning to slow, which has me concerned over getting it sold soon. I also mentioned we have a buyer that's mildly interested in it, but still hasn't called for a second showing. There's no question in my mind regarding that home having a great deal of up-side potential, and mostly because it's a newer ranch in a most sought-after district of Manly. Yes, it needs cosmetic, but that's the fun part about having a new home because that's when you can make upgrades when time and money allows. It shocks me every time I see another lipsticked-pig sell far higher than I believe it's worth. Of course it all goes back to people having lost their ability to envision and create, and all thanks to the social medias. That cabinet I finished stripping yesterday, is a prime example of lack of vision, because most people would've walked away from it after seeing what it looked like, but after it's finished and proudly standing in my office, I guarantee most wouldn't believe it was the same piece. Once again, lack of vision. Tonight's photo is a exterior shot of 224 W. Spring Street re-visited.

Another past client/customer stopped by my office later this afternoon to talk about his retirement plans, along with asking for my advice on possible time-lines of when it would be best to look at purchasing a home out of State. We sat and visited for well over an hour, and mostly because he also had some scary tales regarding coyotes and white-tailed deer in North Iowa. Because he's an avid hunter, he's more in tune to what's been happening, and it came as no surprise to hear him agree that we've got far too many coyotes and deer in our area. When he mentioned having heard there was a "tagged" mountain lion recently shot on private property not so very far from our City, that's when I got the chills. If that be true, then why and how did it manage to get tagged? Is there something taking place we don't know about?

Tonight's One-liner is: Unfortunately we have too many self-centered people in our midst who intend on living forever, and end up dead trying.

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