Here is what it is like to show a home in the snow. Believe it or not...there are some of us on the west coast (Vancouver) that are showing in the snow as well as here in the prairies.
I get the call from prospective buyers. I do my best to confirm that they are qualified and have been to a bank already. I make sure that they know what they are looking for and that this is similar to their requirements.
Then the fun begins. I run out of my house to the -15 to -25 Degree Celcius temp to the car. If I can get the doors open then I get on the rock hard frozen car seat and turn the motor on. You would be surprized how cold you can get from sitting on a frozen car seat! I turn the defroster on full blast and run back into the house to warm myself up. Get a coffee, read email and wait forthe engine, heater, vents and defroster to do its work.
Sometimes I have to brush the inches of snow off the car and then scrap the frozen ice off the windshield.
After 10 - 15 min. I get to run back out to check that things have defrosted enough to see out the front windsheild. And then I'm on my way. Staying in the rutts that are on the road and trying not to slide thru the stop signs I drive to the property.
Of course the property is wind swept with snow banks everywere, so snow gets in my socks, freezes me and my feet get cold and wet. Then after trudging thru the frozen tundra I fiddle with the frozen lock box. Jst imagine trying to crack open a 4 X 8in ice cube.
If the front door was not warped because of the cold then I usually get into the house and off with the shoes, coat and gloves. I wander around and get the lights turned on, view the important parts of the house and look in the basement for water leaking in from the frozen cement.
When I see the lights of the buyers car turn into the drive, I open the door and find that they are just as excited about viewing in the cold as I am. We get to start off the relationship with something in common, right off the bat. Common trauma that binds us all together in Cooooooold Saskatoon. The winter house hunting. One of the great white north hunting experiences that you folk in the south never get to experience. Its what makes us feared above all other realtors. We put our lives out there for each of our clients and they know it. It kind of binds us together right from the start, who would even consider using another realtor after you have just risked your life to show a house to them?
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