November 10, 2006

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 10, 2006

You've done a nice job decorating the White House.

- Jessica Simpson (1980 - ), Upon being introduced to Interior Secretary Gale Norton

Yeah, yeah, I know I haven't posted in forever. I've been...uh...somewhat frozen in place by the lack of movement in the real estate market around here. However, strange as it may seem, things have begun to wiggle a teeny bit around my neighborhood. In the last week I've bumped into two local agents, both of whom are really busting their butts and have sent the occasional person to me when they've been able. Both reported that they've made sales in just the past couple of weeks...they both seemed stunned. The sales have been within a 10 block radius of my home and pricier than mine. I've seen a couple of 'Contract Pending' signs and while I know that as we approach the holidays, some people may have taken their homes off the market, I've also seen a couple of 'For Sale by Owner' homes go empty and the signs disappear, as if preparing for a new owner.

I'm not getting my panties in a bunch. The way I see it, unless I'm the beneficiary of some fabulous Christmas Miracle, I don't expect to see a possible buyer until January. I've had three homes that have found their buyers in the first two weeks of January. I've decide to hunker down for the Holidays and hope for the best. (At least I can sit and gloat about the Dems taking back both houses.) I may or may not drag out the tree and decorate. My daughter is lukewarm about Christmas - lucky us, she prefers Halloween. She just wants a couple of presents and she likes the parties.

I do have some news to report and since tonight's lookiloo visit went so well, I thought I'd give an update. We've had several visits from 'prospective buyers' since I made a price 'adjustment', but the common sense tank seems to be on empty these days. Most of the visitors since the last post have been interested in buying a home to flip. It boggles the mind. What kind of drooling monkey would even consider buying a home in this real estate market with the intention of tarting it up and flipping it? The kind of drooling monkey that also seems to think that offering 40 to 50 percent BELOW market value will get them a property! Yup, I've gotten some patently silly offers, but the best was just last Monday: $200,000. This person apparently made the same offer to at least ten other homeowners in this area. This kind of tactic reminds me of a guy I knew years ago who once told me that if he went into a bar after 11pm and asked every woman he met if they'd come over to his house for "a fuck", he'd get at least one taker before mid-night. Sure, he fully expected to get cursed or slapped, but he was convinced that the end justified the means.

While I'm sure this approach works with real estate as well as bar flies, I think that offers that low are even more ridiculous and ham-handed than "Hey, wanna screw?". Do some homework buddy, why would someone who paid $275K two years ago sell you the house for $200K? Look at the tax rolls, use your head. And that is the problem really, some dude who wants to flip homes in a market where the average home is up for sale for more than six months is already an idiot, why should this shotgun-style of offer surprise me?

So, on to tonight's special guest, Polka-dot Dress Gal and her Handyman Hubby. They came with an agent, one of the few who hasn't been a rude cow. (My agent/pal, Dianne, called earlier to tell me they were coming...at 7pm. I wanted to go home and sleep since I'm pooped from a long week at work and the day spent with a hyper-talkative 4 year-old, but even the slight glimmer of hope offered by a lookiloo is enough to make me rush home to wipe counter tops and sweep dog hair.) They were prompt and actually seemed interested, they wandered around for over half an hour, she mumbling that the house needed "...a lot of work.", he shushing her with, "yeah, yeah, but it's all cosmetic...". They took notes and asked sensible questions and, when I had the chance, I asked if the home was for them or to flip. "Oh God, no, the home would be for us. You'd have to be nuts to try to flip in this market." Angels sang. People with more than a tablespoon of brain matter were looking at my home. So what if they don't buy, at least now I have hope that the real estate market has not been completely overrun by morons. You can bet I'm gonna pray to every deity under the sun that these people make an offer, one that doesn't merit eye-rolls or a disgusted snort, but then I'm gonna let it go and be Zen about the whole thing. It'll happen when it happens...but, man, I hope it happens soon.