I couldn't resist having some fun with this blog post.  After all, real estate is serious business and once in a while we all have to stop and raise an eyebrow and smirk a little.  Right?

On July 9th, my 17 year old son John told me that he was going to go running.  He is a recent high school graduate and is about to enter the U.S. Army, so of course I said in my most serious "mom" voice, "Oh, of course!  You have to stay in shape and prepare yourself for basic training, right?"  In an equally matching serious tone he replied with, "Well, that too mom, but I am going to go catch some Pokemon."

Now, before July 9th, I had never heard of Pokemon GO.  Since then, it has expertly baited and reeled my kids in one by one like a trophy winning bass pro angler, filled up my news feed, attracted worldwide attention through many sources such as Forbes, Inman News, etc. and driven me a little insane to be quite honest.

At first, I thought it was just a kid thing.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  To be honest, I've never played, and I'm not sure I can find the time to even try it out (at least for the next decade or so).  However, for those adults who have fallen prey, I will ask this....would it be just wrong to try and capitalize on a small slice of the Pokemon pie here in the big city of Houston, Texas?

According to a recent CNN article, "The game allows players to drop a Lure module in a real world location to attract high numbers of Pokemon for 30 minutes.  The lure modules have reportedly also been used by business owners to bring people to their stores." http://www.cnn.com/2016/07/11/tech/pokemon-go-crazy-events/

Hmmm, I can visualize the potential now.  A young couple is out looking for their first home.  "Honey", the wife says sweetly, "we can go to all of the open houses that have Pokemon inside first."  Haha.  Ok, that's probably not realistic.  Or is it?

So....what happened a few nights ago to make me stop in my tracks of sane reasoning?  Well, I was working, as usual.  I was reading articles, posting on social media, with my mind on homes, houses, and real estate.  (Note that Pokemon was not part of this regime.)  Then I see the tweet from Inman News, "@Trulia created a #hotspot map for players to find #Pokemon across the country".  

Say what? "Trulia", things will never be as they were before.  So, I read the article in disbelief, did a little Google research and decided that I would like to go catch some Charizards and keep them for virtual pets to sit right next to my big inflatable RE/MAX balloon.  That way, if our Pokemon hunters are looking at their phones instead of their pathway, they will only run into something filled with hot air.  At that point they can take a break from their personal device and come see my grand open house next to the giant balloon.

Hey, it was just a fleeting thought for grins.  If any of you have any better ideas, let's hear them!  In the meantime, we should all carry on with our "non-virtual" real estate business at hand.

~Sherry McNabb