houston: Depersonalize
- 03/16/13 12:32 PM
There is the word that we flat did not see the importance of when we put our house up for sale last year. Several people told us we needed to depersonalize. We thought we had. When you live in a place it is difficult to see it objectively. Your stuff is special to you and when you acquire that stuff, you get it little at a time so you do not notice when things get crowded. Clutter distracts! It takes a prospects attention off the features of the house. As agents we see it every day, but those houses are not ours. Ours … (1 comments)
Well after struggling through last year and being on the market 9 months with no success in selling we went back on the market in February. Several folks looked the home over and made a couple of ridiculous offers. Then finally a competent agent showed up with a precious couple who love the home and were willing to make a good offer. The inspection was done yesterday. The inspector was competent and found the usual laundry list of nicky little items that they are required to find but fortunately we had already fixed the important things. So we got … (4 comments)
houston: Perspective
- 03/13/13 09:17 AM
Today's wake up call came in the form of chain saw noises. Our next door neighbor had decided to rid themselves of the slowly dying HUGE oak between our driveways. Over the years the tree has been the resting point to many migratory birds and hosted nests for many including our favorite, woodpeckers The problem with the tree has been the fact that it has dropped huge limbs on and around both driveways. With the roaring March winds there was concern that damage could happen if a large limb hit either house. Even with all the good reasons to bring the old oak down, it was … (6 comments)
houston: Dancing feet have their proper place
- 03/11/13 09:36 AM
Dancing feet have their place... That place is not a public coffee house. In fact it is not any place where people are attempting to work or concentrate on anything. Dancing is lovely in its place. Dancers employ art in their movements and are an important expression. Feet that make sharp, loud noise should be confined to appropriate venues and places. The ones that seemed so offensive to me today were attached to an overly active eight year old at an adjacent table. Praise God they were not clad in tap shoes! Amazingly, her parents did not seem to notice the routine she was engaged … (1 comments)
houston: Focus or lose
- 03/10/13 12:51 PM
Today while gathering my daily dose of D3, I heard a lot of noise coming from a nearby tree.
When I looked up I saw a large squirrel leave his post atop a bird feeder. He scurried up the tree to chase another obviously younger squirrel.
The pursuit was accompanied by a lot of verbosity! Squirrels this aggressive I had not seen before. The elder one was making it clear that there was no room for the younger on the feeder, on the tree, or in the yard!
While the squirrel was in attack mode and a considerable … (0 comments)
houston: Uses for a dead tree
- 03/10/13 12:42 PM
Even when a tree dies, it has a certain beauty. Animals still use it as nesting ground and since this tree died shortly after we moved in, we have cut down the parts that might fall on the house, and found the following other uses for it.
The roots provide a great scratching point for the outside cats.
The remaining trunk is a sculpture around which to decorate. Yard art is an important part of our lives.
The base is a wonderful flower bed and expands as needed for the seasons.
Cats, lizards and squirrels love to … (0 comments)
houston: Undivided attention
- 03/10/13 12:36 PM
It may be a scary experience when you take your car in for an oil change and see that it is the only vehicle in the place, it is on the hoist and three people are under it with flashlights...
Just imagine the potential for repairs! Scrutiny has its place, but under our car?
Luckily it only produced the news that one oil gasket is getting past the useful point, is leaking and we should expect to replace it at the next oil change.
Good news that it can wait two or three months and will only … (0 comments)
houston: Color Splash
- 03/10/13 12:23 PM
While we wait for our favorite plants to return to their leaved and flowering splendor, there are some lonely looking spots.
Lonely is just not an acceptable look. It takes away from the general tranquility we have come to expect from our urban oasis.
After pondering what to do to add interest and serenity, Ralph came up with the perfect cure.
As captured in the photo, he added a splash of color where there was none. Hopefully the hydrangea will spread and provide the desired effect so next year will be without the boring piece of landscape.
… (0 comments)
houston: Potted cat anyone....?
- 03/10/13 12:16 PM
Since the orphaned cats adopted our yard as their primary place of play, it has been a never ending source of amusement.
The creativity displayed is downright fun!
How many of us could come up with unusual but probably comfortable napping spots such as the one in the photo.
Ralph worked hard to repot one of our favorite plants just a few weeks ago. Following careful instructions off the Internet, he cut the Plumaria, trimmed its roots and provided it with new soil.
We only hope that the plant is enjoying its freshened environment. It appears that … (1 comments)
houston: Yeah! St. Joseph Located!!
- 03/10/13 12:07 PM
A couple of weeks ago Ralph decided to relocate the statue of St Joseph he had buried when we had the house on the market last year.
He dug in the area he had buried the statue, and found him to be missing. Oh No! Grim when Saints desert the cause!
He dug a larger and larger perimeter and had no luck. We were now faced with the possibility of leaving the saint behind when we do conquer the sale and move.
Then last week Ralph armed himself with digging devices and headed out to try again. Success! … (1 comments)
houston: Wild Thing!
- 03/03/13 11:10 AM
Last night when I went out to the trash can, I noted that a new furry thing had been added to our patio. After an initial "what the" response I decided that the Wild Thing needed to leave. I spoke to him or her in my finest opossum screech . He responded by running his nose into the base of the barbecue pit. Ouch! I gave him a little time to regain his composure. Wonder if possums get embarrassed? He began to lope slowly toward the back fence. I followed at a distance to be sure that an exit was in fact achieved. … (8 comments)
houston: Back on the Market!! After two months of hard work!!
- 03/03/13 08:04 AM
February 15th after two plus months of scrutiny , scrubbing and addressing every angle of the house we want to sell, we pushed the appropriate buttons on the computer and flooded hyperspace with the information that there is another home to consider. After a dismal nine months last year we decided to take a break from living in model home conditions. While we were on hiatis, we studied and tried to look objectively at the house. The result was ten weeks of hard work. Lots of little projects evolved into many larger projects and lots of money spent. Now we are preparing new market materials … (9 comments)
houston: The importance of new photos!!
- 03/03/13 07:40 AM
A few weeks ago a local home builder offered a free photo shoot to all the agents who would come preview their newest model homes. We went. The models were beautifully presented and the photographer took four shots of us in various poses. The new photo (on the right)takes the place of the eight year old one we had professionally done before we left Durango. When compared side by side they are both definitely us but there the similarities end. If you passed us on the street the old photo (on the left) would not help you recognize us. The purpose of using photos in … (2 comments)
houston: Laying a Pathway
- 03/03/13 07:28 AM
As we began our New Year, it seemed to make sense to take a close look at what has worked in building our business over the past years. The most important thing is to do something. Doing nothing is a guaranteed non producer. The what's are pretty predictable. The how's you approach your ways vary and periodically someone comes up with innovations that help break the cycles and add excitement to the mundane. Reading continuously is a must. It leads to the innovative and keeps those brain cells crackling. Getting out and engaging with the world is another must. Someone once said in our … (1 comments)
houston: If the phones aren't ringing,we know where they are today!!
- 03/03/13 01:29 AM
If your phones are not ringing and you are wondering where all the people are... We know! In our neck of the woods they are all at the car wash! The weather has been dristy to downright ugly for weeks. Today is the second bright sunny day in a row and everyone including ourselves has decided to get a fresh start. The weather feels like spring and although it is a month or so before it actually will be, feels like will do just fine for now. Having a clean car gives us a different perspective. I am willing to bet that the average consumer will … (2 comments)
houston: Moms, you never have too many.
- 03/03/13 01:27 AM
When my eldest son departed for college one of his friends called with an unusual proposal. He asked if he could rent the vacant room. He had been to the house frequently over the years and his situation was different. His family had sent him to the US after some traumatic events transpired in Iran, where he had been born. They sent him to live with an uncle here. The uncle had recently received notice that he was being transferred to Indonesia. Our soon to be star boarder did not want to move as he was enjoying high school here. He had just conquered the … (3 comments)
houston: Showing is an art form
- 03/02/13 11:37 PM
We made our yearly pilgrimage to the Rodeo this week. A bonifide day off, we decided to savor every aspect from the shopping venues to the stock shows! After walking for a couple of hours we sought places to sit. One of the arenas was featuring the judging for the champion cows and bulls. I know precious little about cows, but Ralph was raised on a farm and his grand folks had a dairy farm, so I settled in to watch and learn. After a very few minutes I realized that getting cows to show at their best is even more challenging than showing houses! Not only … (2 comments)
houston: A well oiled machine!!
- 03/02/13 11:31 PM
After our recent visit to the Rodeo we realized that during its eighty year tenure as one of Houston's finest attractions, it has become a well oiled machine that runs year round. In short it is a many faceted jewel and the efficiency with which it is run is a pleasure to behold. From the parking lot to the individual events there are committees planning, executing and fine tuning the experience. There are a lot of take away lessons from our time spent there. The first was that lots of people can work in harmony if they are focused on a common goal The second was … (2 comments)
houston: How does the history (on MLS) serve the seller?
- 02/22/13 12:02 PM
How does the history of a house serve the seller! Who do we work for? Now there is a source of confusion. Obviously we work for our customers, but the transaction originates from what we sell. The listings are said to be the life blood of our industry. The listings come from the owners of the houses. Now. Lets talk about the owners rights. We have had a crash course in being sellers since we put our house on the market last February. We learned some up close and personal lessons through the five offers that we had from that. The first of December we took the … (8 comments)
houston: Have you painted a birdhouse lately?
- 02/16/13 09:26 AM
The problem with bird houses is that they require regular maintenance just like people abodes. My favorite one needed a complete over haul. It had begun to look quite seedy. Ralph took it down and placed it on our patio table for renovations. He has created a new bottom for it and it is waiting for paint. While it was apart, he found two LARGE wasp nests within. One came complete with a large lethargic red wasp. Pesky non paying boarder? Within the boundaries of the current construction was a porch with extremely intricate benches, and other flower oriented stuff. It has a lot of … (5 comments)
Author Bio: Ralph and Jeanne are long time Real Estate BROKERS dedicated to helping good folks buy homes and land in Durango Colorado and the Surrounding area.
There is the word that we flat did not see the importance of when we put our house up for sale last year.
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