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"My friends have a house in town they're considering renting," the email said. "Can you help them?"
Yes . . . and no . . . While a C.A.R. (California Association of Realtors®) license certainly allows Realtors® to act as leasing Agents (or to actually sell ANYWHERE in the state of California), and while Sarah and I have certainly stepped into the leasing role when pressed to do so, the truth is, there are better options for homeowners and landlords than working with a residential Real Estate Agent when it comes to renting their homes. Really? (Really.)
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"Wanna let you know we just got out of the mud," the email said. "We can make tomorrow's appointment as planned."
Good to hear you're alive and well. We'll see you then. It certainly can't have escaped anyone's attention that those who participated in Burning Man this year ran into some unexpected MEGA rain storms that turned Black Rock City into one BIG, GOOEY, MUDDY MESS (!), making it nearly impossible to escape. A few survivalists walked miles in knee-deep mud to do so while others spent 10 hours by car slipping, sliding, skidding, and slowly inching their way eight miles out of camp onto a 2-lane highway, with tens of thousands of other trailers, RVs, and vans in a long line of slow-moving traffic. (Exactly, how fabulous is this event?) "Mercury is in Retrograde," my lovely client said as if I'd understand the significance. (Astrology has never been my strong suit.)
"Meaning what, exactly???" "That things aren't going to fall into a straight line," she said, offering me a delicious bowl of fruit, and some well-earned wisdom as we took a break from filling out her Seller disclosures. (Those take a bit of time.) Got it. On the other hand, what in life actually does follow a straight line? (Not much.) "I'm so sorry to bother you," she said. "We've been looking on our own and we think we've found the perfect house. Your name was given to us by our SF Realtor®. " (Thank you.)
Listen, there's not an Agent out there, that doesn't appreciate a bonafide referral, but the truth is, waiting until the eleventh hour to select your Realtor® - no matter how experienced he/she/they is -puts you behind the eight ball, especially in a competitive situation. While it's rare for me to invite other authors to contribute to "The Perspective," I annually invite my colleagues at the Blair Team in Tahoe to provide an overview of the marketplace there. As a fair number of Bay Area residents own vacation homes in Tahoe, who better than the number one COMPASS team in the Tahoe region to give us the 411? Take it away Jamie and Nicole (and thank you).
My dog, Riley, and I are at an impasse. I think his chew toys should remain inside, while he thinks he should bury them in the garden, dig them up several days later, and then haul the mud-streaked offenders back into the house and onto our lightly-colored, down comforter.
I think Riley should let the apples on the trees mature, and he thinks the fruit is all his; "ripe for the pickin." The goats have returned to Piedmont, and just in the nick of time. As the days heat up, it's important to note that California summers are now often followed by what has, alarmingly, become known as "fire season" (aka: "fall").
While those of us in the East Bay enjoy breathtaking landscapes, sparkling water vistas, and shaded trails, we should also be mindful that wildfires are an unfortunate reality in our neck of the woods. - especially in the hills! The goat's job is to eat the dry grass that provides fuel to an unwelcome flame. (Although a nap seems to hold more allure.) This week, Jill and I, along with approximately 50 of our COMPASS colleagues took the opportunity to tour the Bristol condominiums on Yerba Buena Island, followed by a light lunch on the 5th floor terrace. (What a view.) Given that COMPASS has secured the listing for the ENTIRE development (congratulations), it only makes sense that as COMPASS Agents, we should know what's going on . . . .
Full disclosure, I haven't exactly been a fan of these multi-story buildings that seem wedged against the Bay Bridge in an uninspiring fashion. In truth, I've been known to comment (more than once) "WHO would ever live there?!?" This week, Sarah and I had the opportunity to join several high-performing colleagues and private bankers at a JP Morgan luncheon in Lafayette. The topic: the softening marketplace, of course. With news that the FEDs are likely to raise interest rates again this calendar year, many of us in the room wanted to know if the "sky is falling" . . . ?
Zdravo (hello in Croatian), I'm back. Having now checked off the beautiful countries of Hungary, Slovenia, and Croatia, Cliff and I also squeezed in a short visit to historic Venice for a few days with his brother and wife, and then met up with my lovely niece and her fiance in London before I caught a United jet home. (Cliff continued on to Africa to meet a friend from high school. Rough life.)
While Cliff's on safari, I'm dealing with jet lag, catching up on work, putting the house back together, and meeting with clients. |
AuthorJulie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 725 humorous but always informative, essays on life and real estate. 
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