"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.
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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. We're off to Croatia, and while we're gone, the plumbers will be replacing ALL of the pipes in our house. In what's proven to be an unavoidable conclusion, Cliff and I are "sucking it up" and paying out of pocket to change out the PEX pipes which, to date, have sprung at least three spontaneous leaks in the walls of our home, resulting in extensive (and expensive) damage to the garden apartment below.
Yes, we have insurance, but we're unlikely to collect on a "product defect." ("Read the fine print." our agent flatly informed us.) "Open wide," my new dentist said, (who looks only slightly older than my son, Case.) "This should be fairly painless."
"Thank you," I replied, relief flooding over me. "Just so you know," I continued, "my childhood dentist was a SADIST, so excuse me if I break out in flop sweat." (I didn't, but there was the distinct possibility.) "I'm sorry," the email said, "but we need to extend the close of escrow by several days. State Farm has just canceled the policy they quoted my Buyers early last week." (Say what?)
And then the next day, it happened yet again on another pending property of ours: "We need more time; we're scrambling for a new insurance carrier," their Agent texted. WHAT THE $%&@!!! |
AuthorJulie Gardner, has been writing The Perspective for 18 years and has published more than 750 humorous but always informative, essays on life and real estate. Categories
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