The Crazy Real Estate Business

I am depressed and feel rejected. If you tried to make a real estate deal and had it fall through in the worst way, you will understand.

We saw a nice little house that we figured we could live in. First step.  Let say they were asking ‘X’ price for it. Our real estate guy did some research in the area where the house is located and said..”Wow, this house is priced way over what anyone has gotten on a house in this area for the last 6 months. The most a house has gone for in this neighborhood is X-70,000!

That is a huge difference, don’t you think? So, with the comparable’s in mind, we offer to buy the house at X-60,000. The sellers in say “No way, how about X- 5,000″.

To that offer we say, ” How about X-30,000″. We come up 40,000 from our original offer.

The sellers now, after having an open house and a number of people come view the property say, ” No way, X-5,000 is our deal”.

I haven’t mentioned meeting the neighbor of this property. A single woman, who was bright and friendly when we met her. We instantly liked each other. In fact, she liked us so much, she invited us into her house to view it and asked us for tea and said she would love to have us as neighbors. We felt the same way.

So, with this last ‘No Way’ offer, I held tight inside, and thought, “The neighbor is on our side, something will turn up”.

I was right. After the weekend Open House Showings, where lots of people came, there were no other offers. So, our Real Estate Agent gets a call back from these people….named McHardy. The sellers, McHardy, now offer us X-15,000!

We snatch the deal, say “Yes yes yes”, and sign on the bottom line. The price is way over what the neighborhood has done so far, but we are willing…..in fact, we love the house. We fantasize in our minds where the couch will go, how we will put up a wall in the big front room and make an office. Put up a glass block between the living room and dining and put a beautiful fish tank…..and of course, have the neighbor over for dinner and movies…………. Okay, it isn’t across the street from the ocean. Okay, we won’t have these fantastic views of thunderstorms,but it had a little pool in the back yard and with a bit of a stretch, we could actually afford it!

The papers go back to the McHardy’s for more signatures. We await their return. Damn. The papers never get delivered. After calling us and telling us the price they wanted, they now pull out of the deal! The nerve! Now, they want more money…..X-5,000 and that is it. It’s like they dangled a carrot, they think we really want the carrot and tell us, you want it? you will have to pay more than I said……

This is a crazy making situation. This is disappointing. More than disappointing, this has depressed me for days. We feel lied to and jerked around. (Is that still an expression today? Jerked around). Like a horse with a crazy rider, pulling the reins one way, then another.

Why did they call us back and offer it at X-15,000. We laugh at them and call them the ‘McGreedy’s. And are feeling betrayed. We say ‘ No Way’…..and all our plans are gone….and besides being sad and blue, we are mad as hell.

Moving away from the Ocean.

When we first moved to the Florida area we felt this way: If we are on the East Coast, then we might as well be living on the ocean. We rented an apartment across the street, fourth floor. We dutifully went on seashore walks daily. We got immersed in the birds and the shells and the warm sand and the wind and the amazing color changes and the personality changes that occur on an hourly basis. With all the upheaval and change of life style from the move of West Coast existence to East Coast life, the sea became our friend our entertainment, and fascination.

7 months later we are settled into a life here. Kinda settled. I think it takes more than 7 months to really know a place. And we have been looking for a house to buy. The market is interesting here. The price range is enormous. You can purchase a 2 bedroom condo for 25,000 up to 10 million, and houses can go from 125,000 to 25 million. I like that kind of monetary spread. In Marin county where we last lived house hunting was depressing. A one bedroom shack with no appliances and no flooring, started at 500,000. Only the rich can survive. What kind of envirnoment is that? Sure it was beautiful, rolling green-yellow mountains and small little villages turning up around every bend of highway.

I interrupt this wordy blog to bring you something new in my life….well, somethings new…… neither has a name…..yet. If you have any suggestions please feel free.

Some stories don’t have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment and making the best of it, without knowing what’s going to happen next.
— Gilda Radner

A FEW THINGS ON MY MIND

Real estate deals, bargaining the sell.

Real estate deals, bargaining the buy.

Townhouses, single homes, real estate agents.

 Ragdolls or ragmuffins?

Fax the papers, fax them back.

Where’s the deposit?

Tonkinese?

Motor scooters, they are everywhere teasing and pleasing.

Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, East of I-95, West of I-95. Where is our home?

 Pack it or sell it or throw it away.

Too much junk. Will it all fit?

Not available for show, kittens just born.

Sign the contract, put the deposit down.

 Offer rejected, get the deposit back.

Kittens, cuddles and cuteness.

Nice neighbors.

Slum properties too close.

 3 bedrooms, 2 baths.

Too small, too big, too much money.

 Too dark.

Up and coming neighborhood.

Too far from the beach.

Too noisy.

Close to golf course.

 Overlooks gas station.

Mother moved away, she is happy.

Smaller worlds, larger worlds.

Costa Rica vacation research.

Reunited with old friends, not seen for 30 years. Odd and familiar.

Real estate agents.

The hand shake.

The look around.

 The fast look around.

The ‘try out the couch’ here.

The rejection.

The hope.

The next one.

 No more next ones, for now.

Get back to work.

The lunar eclipse.

The disparate times.

Last night we went out to the beach, with blankets and binoculars. We lay there in the sand, and watched the Total Lunar Eclipse. It took a number of hours and we saw the whole thing through. It was totally amazing and the length of time seemed soooo slow to my American timing. Getting in touch with the planatary time lapse, was moving and awesome.

Miranda rented a Mini Cooper S. What fun to drive! This car is really an head turner. One elderly woman pulled up next to us at a light. Her jaw dropped and her mouth formed a perfect oval. She rolled down her window and expressed astonishment at how cute the car was, and how she had never seen one before.

The dashboard is exotic.

We drove around all day, spending some time on the beach and ended up in W. Palm Beach at an Ellen Degeneres show.

 She was funny and charming. We totally enjoyed her.

Yes, it was exciting, unexpected and I laughed a lot. It was all those things are more.

Too many things are happening. Too much to tell. Too many photos to show. It is a time of ‘too’. It is a time of activity. It is a time of excitement and mystery and overwhelm. I have found that some days I do not write because I have nothing to say and now it is due to too many things to say.

One situation that has been occupying me for the past week is a guessing game. The mystery began last week, when Miranda told to clear my calendar for Wednesday. I have been asking, cajoling, demanding and trying to manipulate her in every way I can think of, to tell me exactly what we are going to do. I have been given hints but they are too cryptic. Hint one: It is exciting. Hint two: You will enjoy it. Hint three: It is unexpected. Hint four: You will laugh a lot. Could you guess what it is with those hints? I think not. So, at this moment,  I haven’t a clue. I have put forth a number of good possiblities, but each one has been rejected. Between you and me, I think I might have guessed right on one of my options, but she won’t divulge the destination or the activity. This mornings clue was that we are going in a Northerly Direction to go to this activity. Hmmmmm. The mystery will be over for me in a couple of hours. Surprises are fun and frustrating. I must admit we have gotten a lot of mileage out of this one. I can’t believe she has held the secret for so long, I would’ve given in and told a long time ago.

The sand sculptures on the beach have been noteworthy lately. I haven’t had time to publish them yet, but will soon.

We are packing up my mother’s stuff to get ready for her move up North. The moving date is set, her foot is healing nicely. She is living independently again. She is adjusting to the idea of leaving Florida, where she has lived for the past 25 years. Being 91 years old for her is not easy. Being 91 years old is a concept that is difficult to really understand, few have done it.

I have gotten a lot of advice about getting a motor scooter. I have done a lot of research and I think that all the motor scooter salesmen in a 15 mile radius are ready to run and hide when they see me coming in the door….again. When you ask for advice you always get a conflicting answers. This experience has definitely been that. To help us finally decide one way or another, to get a scooter or not, we are doing the toe in the water trick. We will rent scooters for a day and play on them. I am hoping that I will either want to jump in all the way or see the foolishness of my vain desires.

This is a time of excitement. Admittedly I am excited by this surprise day I have ahead of me. I am also excited about this upcoming motor scooter day. I have beautiful flowers sitting on the table in front of me, telling me that it is my official birthday week and I have been given gifts daily that make me feel special and loved.

To add to all the activity, yesterday on a whim we went to look at a house in Hollywood Florida that was for sale. On a whim I looked on the internet,and on another whim called and went to see it. We didn’t like the house so much, but ended up putting a deposit down on the house across the street from it. We are in shock. Another bold move. Yesterday evening was the first time we were ever in Hollywood (the Florida variety). After we put the deposit down, we went down to the beach and were amazed at all the activity and all the people. It was alive and funky and delightful. Our beach life in Pompano is quiet and secluded, mostly we don’t see too many people and there are no attractions, expect for the waves, shells and fish. Today we must research the area more. It is a little or a lot like ‘putting the cart before the horse’.

This is a smattering of the items occurring right now. It is intense and wild. Miranda is fond of saying ” Once is a pattern.” This is the 3rd time in 3 years that we have changed our lives completely on a whim.  It is a wild time.

The Philly Conference Report

The National Center of Homeopathy Conference we attended was interesting. We were busy from 8 in the morning until well past midnight every day. My social smile was on and no one noticed that it was rusty from disuse.

We caught up on a lot of the gossip, which is always interesting in any mini-culture. People are interesting, wherever they are, and when you know them, it is always more interesting.

Philly was impressive. A real city. Alive. Lots of people walking the streets, interesting restaurants and shops, museums, history and  great transportation getting around.

  

This are snaps of South Street. It was cute (notice the huge ants crawling up the buildings, and packed with all sorts of different people (all ethnicities and ages and shapes). This is a site we don’t see too often in Pompano Beach.

Our hotel was right on the Delaware River and I learned that New Jersey is just on the other side. We toured the old submarine docked just outside our hotel. I am not a submarine fan, nor a war fan, but the tour was interesting.

A historically significant Homeopath,  Constantine Hering practiced in the 1800′s in Philly. The Museum of Science has a collection of memorabilia from his life and work. We had a dinner one night in the museum and they displayed all the Hering items for us to see. It was a homeopaths dream. We were impressed that the museum did this display for us, we had the museum to ourselves and they dragged the collection out of storage boxes and let us see it. All the items were displayed on a table, not put behind a glass. Besides being very impressed to see some homeopathic history we were also impressed with the service of the museum, but isn’t that what museums are here for?

 There was a homeopathic kit of 200 medicines that Hering used. It looked something like this one, and the bottles which contained one or two pellets each were only 1/8 inch tall. The tiniest glass remedy bottles we have ever seen.

We went in the evening and our group had the museum all to ourselves. We wandered around looking at all the displays. Besides for the homeopathic memorabilia, the sea shells caught my eye. Since we have been collecting shells on our beach, we are trying to learn more about them. The shells displayed at the museum were so large, it made me feel like our collection is full of  miniatures.

One night found us in the bar having a drink with our new friend, Doug. Within a half hour 7 other people joined us. We drank and laughed and Declan had a bit too much to drink and got loud. The waitress cut him off from more drinking. Declan is quick and has a wit that is not found on many people, he can make any story enjoyable and his retorts are sharp and tangy. I had never seen him with alcohol, and he was truly in great form. Our stomach muscles were sore from laughing so much.

Here I am….me against the world…again

I had to have a real Philly Cheesesteak. We went to Jims, and were not disappointed.  yum.

The one disappointment we did have was the art museum. We had only one day to play tourist, Monday. The art museum is closed on Monday. Damn. But the Ben Franklin Science museum was opened so we did a mini tour of it. I learned there are new things in museums these days. For example, there is a ‘grossology section’. What? Grossology! Displays of all things ‘gross’.

To put the cherry on top of the sundae, it was spring time in Philly, and the spring blossoms were full.

Now, this is something we do not see in Southeast Florida!

We are going to Philadelphia today to attend a conference.

I must be confused. This is a picture from  the ‘Philadelphia Story’. I’ve never actually visited Philly before, but I have seen all the Hollywood Movies, a number of times. I love Cary Grant movies.  Philadelphia with Tom Hanks was a good movie also. Let me try again.

We are going to Philadelphia today

The temperatures are in the 40′s there. I have given all my winter clothes to my sister, but I won’t let that stop me from doing a little site seeing while I’m there.

The NCH conference (National Center for Homeopathy) is well attended and I am guaranteed to see people I know. I am putting on my ‘social self’ smile now in preparation.

 

Hey, that’s not me….and that’s not my smile. I am really out of social shape these days. I’ll have to practice on the journey. The plane ride is 2 hours, that will be plenty of time to get it right.

 

I think this a bit better, but I better take my comb with me on this trip.

     

 

I’ll be back next week.

Random Sitings and Thoughts

Yesterday I saw this Mini Cooper in the parking lot. Everytime I see this car it catches my eye. It makes me smile. I love the design, I love the size. Grasper likes English cars with gullwings and racing car designs. I wonder what he thinks of the Mini.

 

I think we have a new sand sculptress on the beach. This is a nice sand eagle.

So far we have seen the mermaid, the turtle, and the shark and the woman. Miranda’s favorite is the mermaid. My favorite is the turtle. I hope our sand artist continues leaving us surprises.

 

 My taxes are finished so I am now deep into scooter research. Should I get one?  It’s cute, it’s fun, and it’s dangerous. If I do get one, which one? I talked with our maintence mechanic, Alan, he said ” If you were married to me, I wouldn’t let you get it”. I stopped at the Police station and asked an Officer about his experience. Mister Officer said ‘Just wear the correct clothing and gear, it’ll be no problem if you drive carefully. Watch out for the other drivers.” So many questions, so many answers.