So this is number 100, the century mark for a post-happy person like yours truly who is blogging his little heart away? Excellent! I look back and I've come a long way. I look forward and know that I have a long way to go. Evolution is such an intriguing reality. I wanted to make this one special, then I figured they all should be special....Right? So, I wanted to talk about POO. A little bit about POO....
POO is important but you really didn't really think I was referring to anything other than Pride Of Ownership in my acronym did ya? I was thinking about this as I took a meander down the street today. You see, it is that time of the year. There are several homes along my street up for sale and it made me think of the small things, those little quirks I see as important if you are going to be the owner of a home...let alone want somebody else to buy it for the price you want.
I'm on the financing end so this comes from a guy who really has no concrete expertise on how to drive home the sale of a property. Sure, I can guide and hold your hand from the financing end...but that is really a different cup of tea. The only thing the financing end typically cares about regarding the home itself is that it appraises and is structurally sound....AKA, Have a Roof....Have Siding....etc, etc. After all, the financing side wants to make sure the collateral they are lending against is worth what they are willing to lend against it in a typical market. Yet, as I was walking down the street in my quaint little neighborhood, I started to realize I had very real opinions on the houses that had signs in their yards. I had very real opinions on what I thought they could do better to drive home the sale. I had very real thoughts on why I would buy or not buy their home.
As a homeowner, being a neighbor and having a neighbor is oft-times very important. Pride of Ownership is key. I want to be surrounded by individuals and families who take pride & care of the roof they live under. I also want to be that very neighbor surrounding them.
My little neighborhood here on the east side of Allentown, Pa is pretty nice overall. That said, I don't mean to sound like the Neighborhood Nazi but I found some things that I might look into if I was my fellow homeowners. Some of the houses are nicer than mine, I'm working on that. Yet, I saw a lawn that needs to be mowed, a landscape that could use a Green Thumb, and a few other cosmetic injustices that Bob Villa would have a field day with....on the very homes that are for sale. And they weren't FSBO mind you. Pride of Ownership is the mindset that your house is a home. That its appearance and overall integrity reach a standard fit to sell it for good coin on any market, yet more importantly feel comfortable and safe living in 360 days a year. It is an extension of yourself, of your life to an extent. Stepping down from my SoapBox, I have a lot to do myself as I meander around my own home. I have Pride, I have Ownership....it's never too late or early to put the whole thing together.