If you miss a cactus flower bloom on the day it bursts into splendor, you have missed it forever. There is no turning back the clock. You've got to catch the moment when it arrives or it's gone.

It's very similar to a new listing that pops on the market. The minute a home that fits your parameters appears, you should take action. If you want to sleep on it, call Tom, Dick and Harry to discuss it, it's likely to be gone by tomorrow.

Homes are unique. No two are exactly the same, even if you are looking in a cookie-cutter subdivision.

Fortunately, California buyers have a way to cancel a contract if further inspections don't meet the buyers' standards. It's called contract contingencies. There is no excuse not to write an offer when you find the perfect house. Unless, of course, you are waiting for the next cactus flower to bloom. But that, too, blooms for only for one day.

You can see in the photo to the left that I have a first-bloom flower on my cactus. But this is an old cactus, and it has many more buds just waiting to flower. They're itching to produce the next breathtakingly beautiful artwork. Will the next flower be as pretty as the first? Hard to say.

When it blooms, I'll post another photo, and you can tell me. :)