Never again will I get lip filler. I feel like a duck.
I hoping my lips will still go down, and really it’s mostly just my top one. If it didn’t feel different then I wouldn’t care, but it feels weird. It is was it is, and I’m glad I did it. It was fun and exciting and I scratched that itch.
Family Stuff
The kids are good. Nothing too exciting on the family front. Bridger has had a crush on a girl at school and he told her before thanksgiving, before they went on break, that he liked her. Then, over break, she said she liked him too. So that was kinda cute. But now they are back at school, another boy was making fun of Bridger because he knew Bridger liked this girl, really all the boys like this girl. Anyway, my son was getting upset about it because he didn’t want to call the girl out and say, “Well she likes me too.”
Bridger was being a gentleman and just took the teasing. He wasn’t immature about it, but he didn’t know how to handle it. So we decided to give him some coaching on it and we told him to tell this other little boy, “Of course I do, everybody does. You like her too.”
So, he did and it’s been a couple of weeks now and that boy doesn’t bother him anymore. I’m very, very proud of Bridger for that. The little girl is really sweet and it’s a budding romance of the 4th grade. When I was in 4th grade, I had crushes but they weren’t reciprocated, so it’s nice to see that isn’t true for him.
On Saturday night our water heater decided to break and we’ve been sponge bathing since then. It’s been kind of a nightmare. When we bought this house a year and a half ago, we bought a 6 year home warranty and have only used it once for a dishwasher so far. I recommend home warranties, but you have to be persistent to get them to cover the claim.
I called the home warranty people and at first, they denied our claim because they don’t cover leaks. But I told them it isn’t leaking because it’s just leaking, it’s leaking because it’s broken. Well, they didn’t have anyone to send but they reversed the claim and said I could find my own contractor. Lucky me one of my clients is a heating and plumbing guy. He came over and told us it was the heat exchanger and it split and there is no way to fix it. So, we have to get a new one. Hopefully, this happens soon because we would normally go to the rec center or parent’s house to take showers, but with covid that can’t happen. I scrub so hard with the sponge bath that I think it may be getting me cleaner than normal, but, What happens next? No idea. More sponge baths, I guess.
Work Stuff
It’s gotten hella busy. A past client of mine called and saw some land that was part of an old burn scar. It’s 45 acres in Pine. We put in an offer and she got it! She doesn’t want to build, she wants to do some conservation, plant trees, and such because she’s very conscious of that.
We are under contract on the Ft. Lupton property and just had the inspection done. There were just a few small things that will get resolved easily. The appraisal came back at value, which means it came back at the purchase price which is great. If you ever go under contract for more than the purchase price on the home, it is recommended that you change the sales price in the MLS. No one really knows how appraisers come up with home values because there are three methods used and most use some blend of them to come up with their appraisals.
The theory with changing the purchase price in the MLS is that when the appraiser looks at that and other comps, they see it matches which helps with the appraisal. So, now that that is done we can move forward. Another thing that’s exciting about this is that originally the seller was going to let the house fall into foreclosure. He had it on a reverse mortgage and didn’t think he had equity, but with this appraisal, he is walking away with about 100 thousand bucks!
On top of these guys the best bud of mine is ready to buy/sell now, I have new buyer clients looking in Buena Visa and surrounding areas, a past client referral buy/sell appointment tomorrow, another buyer referral from a different past client, plus 2 home listings and 2 land listings. It’s great and I’m not complaining, it’s just a lot.
And That Brings Us to: Once in a Lifetime
Today I had a little adventure. There was a gentleman with an expired listing who I had been texting and calling and texting and calling to see if he wanted to list his house again, to no avail. I told a woman in my office about it and she thought her clients may be interested. I asked the gentlemen if it was ok if a broker came by with some interested buyers, and he agreed. Doing this with no agreement in place was risky because they could have left me out of the deal. Well, the buyers did love the house and made an offer and the gentleman asked me to be his agent.
This was an off-market deal that is happening more right now because it’s so hard for buyers to find a home. They had written 6 offers since November and went under contract once but it didn’t work out. I’m hearing that most people are writing 10-15 offers before getting a house. Inventory is insane.
Well, today was the inspection on his house and the seller asked me to be at the inspection. This is unusual because the buyer’s agent typically goes, not the sellers, but I’m glad I did. It is a vacant house and when the inspector started running water to test the plumbing, water started backing into the house. The water kept coming and coming and I was freaking out and we stopped running all the water. Honestly, it was no one’s fault, no one could have known – it is practically a once-in-a-lifetime thing, but the septic tank was frozen.
A friend of mine lives 10 min away and let me borrow a shop vac so we could get all the standing water out of there. A great contractor who I connected with because of the FT. Lupton property is meeting me tomorrow with fans and a dehumidifier so we should be okay. It was good I was at the inspection because we caught the water quickly, and had we not noticed, the water could have sat there causing damage until closing and could have killed the deal or left a huge mess for the new homeowner. There are so many ways a real estate deal can go wrong – you have to have a good team on your side.
Note to Self and Others
A quick note to self and others: If your home doesn’t have regular occupants, make sure the septic isn’t frozen before you run any water. If you get anything out of this week’s post, it’s that.
Let’s end with something a little more cheery this week, shall we?! The fact that my family and I are healthy is cheery enough for me at this point. The gratitude I feel for this simple fact is palpable. We are a year in and the fact that my parents, Tag’s parents, all our living grandparents, my siblings, and all our kids have somehow steered clear of Miss Rona blows my mind. And don’t for one second think I am taking it for granted. My gratitude journal is full of people.
Buyer Needs
- A vacant land lot with mature coniferous trees, 2+ acres, private, within 20 minutes (15 would be better) of civilization; $300k. Or; all of the above with a rustic mountain modern ranch home; up to $800k.
- Horse property in Conifer or Pine with nice usable land and an indoor arena or a place to put one. Up to $1.2 Million.
- An ultra-modern home in Solterra within walking distance to the clubhouse would be great. Up to $1.4 million-ish.
- A top-of-the-line, open concept kitchen, dining family room in the Highlands Ranch area. Don’t want a mansion (under 5000 square feet) but are able to do $2 million+.
- Buyer looking in Conifer, Pine, Morrison, South Evergreen area for a nice size home (2000+ square feet) with GREAT internet. Up to $625k.
- One of my best buds is looking for the impossible, (you know who you are, Lisa). Dream home in Evergreen for under $700k. Imagine the Biltmore.
- Buyer looking in Pine, Conifer, Morrison area for a rustic cabin fixer upper. Well, and septic is kind of a must but we will look at anything.
- An amazing small business owner in Conifer, looking for a single-family home on a good size lot. Privacy is important, willing to fix up, must have a garage, ideally two separate living areas, and would like to be in the Conifer, Bailey, Pine, Morrison area. Around the mid $400s. No HOAs.
