Officially homeless…part II

August 31, 2007
Ok so in the last blog, I began to tell you of the frustrations I was having with my realtor and his refusal to work for a sale. I am sorry if I do not own a multimillion-dollar home but hey, if my home was beneath you, why accept the charity case, huh? Maybe, like lawyers, he was looking at it as Rocky did when he had to go back to basics to train and fight the monster Drago in Rocky XXXVIII, right? After many talks with this broker, who is so many words continuously, reminded me that the market was bad and that this agent of his was a top seller. To me, that sounded like an oxymoron. Are you saying that even super-agent couldn’t sell a house in this market? Or are you saying “…stay the course…” like Bush and have some faith? I am sorry but that phrase just reminds me of my father driving to a location and lost beyond his wildest dreams while my mother nags him to turn around. All the while my brother and I in the backseat throwing bread crumbs out the window like Hansel and Gretel to find our way back home. After many conversations, I realized our agent’s contract was running out, still not soon enough. Two weeks remained and not a darn thing I could do about it. Miraculously, my agent found my number just to call and say hello. With characteristics we though would be a successful agent in this declining market, we finally started realizing that he was a “no sense twit” who sold house by his name. I then knew I had to find someone that would not mind working for a living. I am sure Michael Vick‘s name threw footballs. He actually had to throw it himself! So after some exhaustive searches, referrals and interviews, a young lady came along and charmed our socks off. Janet Carroll with Integrity Choice Realty was here to save the day. As a good host would do, I offered her one of my world famous (ok not world famous yet but soon to be) iced lattes. She raved and seemed overjoyed in my little concoction as we talked, joked and dealt with business. A clear choice lay in front of our eyes. So on Aug 2, we began our adventure with Integrity Choice…where they sell their homes based on characteristics (integrity, honesty, customer service and values) and not a name alone. 28 days later, we are turning over our keys and moving out of our home. Call it luck, call it fate, call it what you want…the stars lined up for us and now we are homeless. It feels weird to be homeless.

officially homeless...part one

August 30, 2007
ok so we closed on our home today. 28 days and it's over. So let me tell you about our ordeal. Now before I begin, don't get me wrong. I am not complaining nor do I pretend to think I should have any reason to complain but just when all hope was lost...we finally accomplished a task we thought to be impossible. You see it all started with our first agent. I won't name any names but I have a few choice words for him and his firm. You see, we weren't picking an agent based on personality or smoothness...we just wanted to sell our house! Well this gentleman fit the bill in so many ways it was uncanny. not only was he one of Richmond’s biggest producers but...he had no personality or smoothness about him. We had our man. After some well calculated timing, we finally listed out house with this fine selling stud. But wait! Could it be? Had we unknowingly waltzed ourselves into a declining market? Could the selling prowess of one of Richmond's studs overcome the disparity of the market? Seemed like the makings of a good vs evil type comic book. In what seemed like mere minutes, we got an offer. And might I say, ladies and gentleman, what an offer it was. Can you believe the buyer wanted this and that ...and us to pay over 13000 in closing costs! OMG! Is this what we were in for? Is it that much of a buyer's market? My dreams of moving to Spain is swirling down the tube! So time passed. Days turned to weeks and offers came and went. Most of the offers with contingencies on some other issue unrelated to my personal business. I swear someone tried to buy our home with a contingency that Genie's Dream places in the fourth race. So what's a guy to do? Top producer didn't seem to be doing any good. But to his defense, it was the market kicking us all in the teeth. Well in desperate times, let's try other measures. Me:"Mr. Realtor-Man, being that I am the customer, can we try other measures?" Him: "Well what did you have in mind?" "Ummm, you are a realtor right? You do have more tricks up your sleeve, right?" "I think we are doing enough." Doing enough would have a buyer lined up for us. I am thinking I need a realtor who is never doing enough. I also think to myself that he said 'we?". ok I respond with, "How about if we do an open house?" long pause from realtor "No, I don't think that open houses work...." What happened to WE...now it's about what he thinks. Now he has ideas about the realty business! Sigh... To be continued...

I love soccer...

August 28, 2007
Most of my friends already know this. But most of them also could care less why. To the average human, I can see why this game is foreign and weird. Well mostly because it is foreign. Soccer was a sport played overseas, not in the United States of America (sidebar: do people in South America call themselves Americans? of course a person from Brazil would call themselves Brazilians, but the United States doesn't encompass the whole North American continent now does it. Can Canadians call themselves Americans? No, they call themselves Canadians, duh...maybe we should think of a name to call ourselves...like the “United Statians” or something cooler...sorry) Where was I? Ok I spent 7 years coaching kids and have a new found understanding and appreciation for the game. still, outside of basketball, it's just the perfect sport for physical fitness. Yeah, yeah, soccer players do a lot of running, so where is the upper body strength? who needs upper body strength if you can't touch the ball...well we do when we throw the ball in. Maybe the keeper does a few push-ups. Ok admittedly, basketball players get a better work out, but they only play 60 minutes and they get more subs than Jarrett at Subway. Any try to keep up with your team that pays the rent, being called up to play for your national team, playing in several local tournaments in your country...AAAAAAANNNNNNDDDDD playing for you conference (Europe countries are in UEFA, US is in CONCACAF...blah blah). Ok what's so beautiful about this game? well one thing is there are 90 minutes (regulation, refs decision to add on more due to injury time or streakers), split in two halves (do the math!). You only get 3 subs. So there is a 3 in 11 chance you are running for 90 minutes. Ok 3 out of 10, remember the keeper! also, the ball can be won or lost at any time. With baseball, you can get up and go to the bathroom and stand in line forever to get a hot dog and come back and still have not pitched the next strike! Basketball is another beast so we won't get into that. Football...well you have TV time outs, just don't be a girl and stand in that long line for the toilet. But with soccer, being in the right place at the right time is essential. That is one of the most important aspects of a player who is successful or not. It's a talent that cannot be taught. Sure you can teach a player how to dribble, receive, and pass but that extra something is priceless. And on top of that, there are 4 main positions and many, many systems of play (for football fans, that's the difference of 4-3, 3-4 or nickel back defense, for basketball fans that is the difference between a man on man zone and a box and 1 defense). Within the 4 positions (keeper, defender, midfield, forwards), there are endless possibilities on formations. # Forwards make for interesting possibilities than having 2 forwards. Ok I challenge you to watch one half of a soccer game (still doing the math?). I know, bring Dramamine or something to keep from puking or such. Just get back to me if you dare...