Yesterday morning I woke up to -39 degrees. That's the coldest we've had in many years. At 6:40 I went out to start my daughter's car so she could leave for school at 7am.
Then at 7:30 I tried to start my car...it was too COLD to start. That's when I went check the thermometer. Of course I do have a garage, but like most real Alaskan's it is filled with stuff...not cars. Actually it wasn't even my car, my car was totaled last Friday. My wife used it to get groceries and on her way home a lady slid out of control into her lane. Both cars were totaled but thanks to air bags and cars that are made to self-destruct, she is OK.
Five of us Realtors meet over coffee every Tuesday morning to brainstorm. I called to tell them why I wouldn't be there and we got into a where is it coldest discussion. I won...I was the coldest place in the valley.
By 8:30 two clients called to ask if they could see certain houses. I explained my predicament and they both agreed to reschedule for later in the day when I had wheels. Things slow down when we have a cold snap, (-20 or colder for our area). Cars stall, school busses don't start, surveyors refused to do as builts.
I finally borrowed my Dads car. He is out of town and his car IS in the garage. I agreed to meet the first client at a home in the Butte.
The Butte is generally colder, it doesn't get any direct sunlight for at least two months a year because of the high mountains just south of them. I hadn't seen the house but it is an REO so I thought it might not have heat and dressed accordingly. I wore a big heavy parka and bunny boots. I thought about my client who just moved in from Bethel, he would like his Realtor in bunny boots.
Sure enough the home was COLD, at least -30 inside. The client was actually interested in this $48K fixer. He was looking at $200K homes last week. I thought that he is a bigger man than I to take on a project like this. He went back out to the car to spell his wife who was watching the baby. She gingerly stepped in our boot tracks though the two feet of snow to the house. After entering she quietly said, "we'll have to talk about this!"
I met my next client at one of my vacant listings. I'm always nervous about vacant listings in the winter especially when the owner is out of state. I arrived early and went inside to turn on the water. I breathed a sigh of relief when the water came on. I tried all the faucets and flushed the toilets just to make sure. The buyer, who was about my age, brought his parents who were visiting from Yuma. We spent some time comparing weather between Yuma and Alaska. The client was interested but needed to check the possibility of subdividing the lot before making an offer.
After that it was office work on pendings.
Sure enough, the surveyor refused to go out in the cold to set the pins until it was warmer. I can't blame him but I'm not sure the buyer will be as understanding since he works 2 on 2 off on the north slope. Those boys work in 60 below zero with 50 mph winds. Those wind chills are off the charts.
I called the snow plow to clear the driveway for an inspection. He says it can't be done, the snow is too hard, we will have to get a loader. I guess the inspector can park in the road. The seller says he will have the drive cleared before closing.
I get a call from a construction worker who wants to sell and asks me to come out to see his house today. I ask why today and he says he has today off because it's so cold. I set it up for tomorrow at 10am. I guess he expects it to be cold then too.
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Been there done that - two solid weeks where the high was -10. One of my fondest memories was a day with an 82 degree temp change.