This not-so-exalted role comes with a long list of chores — gutter cleaning, garden mulching, furnace filter replacing, and so much more.
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The personal stories of one Realtor’s battles and triumphs in the highly-competitive Bay Area Real Estate Market, seeking to illuminate and humanize the very real ups-and-downs of homeownership.
The text message on my phone simply read, “Julie, can you give me a call so we can talk through a few things?”
This particular client has been a cherished part of my journey for many years, and I’ve had the joy of witnessing his children — like many of my clients’ kids — grow from toddlers into high schoolers, before heading off to college and then down the aisle — an astonishing transformation that seems to happen in the blink of an eye. There’s an incredible bond that forms when you become an extension of a family, even if it’s just in an advisory role.Having spent enough time in this business, I’ve seen firsthand how my clients’ children evolve into the next generation of Homebuyers, and I cannot express how deeply honored I feel to have them trust me with such a significant chapter in their lives. Navigating the world of real estate involves high stakes, but when you share a close, intimate relationship with your Buyers and Sellers, it makes the experience all the more meaningful.
So, I was absolutely tickled pink when this same client affectionately referred to me as his “real estate wife.” Knowing his real flesh and blood wife, whom I admire greatly, I recognize the weight of such a title, yet I embrace it as one of the highest compliments I could receive. (Frankly, we all need a wife; I certainly do.) Each relationship I build in this journey is a testament to the warmth and enthusiasm I feel for being a part of my clients’ lives as they navigate the ever-changing landscape of real estate, along with their highly personal journeys.
While it may look easy, real estate is anything but, primarily because it involves something that’s so personal to most of us — our homes. Consequently, Homeowners tend to find it difficult to be subjective about their properties or how they present. Even when they understand that the house has a fair amount of deferred maintenance, if they’ve been living with the home in a less-than-desirable state for years (or even decades), they often have grown accustomed to its flaws, and start to ignore them . . . .
That’s understandable, but please note, that prospective Buyers won’t share the same point of view; they’ll be far more critical about the shortfalls, and WILL deduct the perceived costs from their offer price. (That’s the math of it all.) Remember, it’s far less personal for them than it is for you. (Once they become the owners, that opinion changes dramatically.)
The reality is that all Homeowners live with a “to-do” list and much of it has little bearing on our day-to-day lives, but forgotten repairs don’t improve over time, they only get worse. And with much tougher requirements regarding insurance, the cost of the offending items can be expensive to address, beginning with old knob & tube wiring. Other items on the insurance hit list include older roofs, outdated HVAC systems, lead pipes, and overhanging trees, just to name a few.
But setting aside these bigger repairs, Autumn has arrived, which means it’s that time of year when we should all be replacing our furnace filters and smoke detector batteries, vacuuming out the lint in the dryer vents, clearing drains and gutters of fallen debris, checking that the sump pump(s) are in good working order, mulching the gardens, trimming trees, and turning off our sprinklers. And if you use your fireplace regularly throughout the winter, you should have it cleaned by a chimney sweep on an annual basis. That’s the basics, although each house has its own piccadillos, depending on where they sit. Mine include water tanks that need to be flushed, a wrap-around porch constantly in need of repainting, and filling in holes my dogs insist on making in the garden (a contest I seem to lose over and over).
So if I sound like a “wife,” touting a long list of chores, that’s because I am: or as my bio succinctly sums it up “I am a wife, a mother, a community organizer, a chocolate-chip cookie baker, a serial renovator, and a flea-market junkie . . . “
Now I can happily add “real estate wife” to the list of achievements. I do so with great pleasure and pride.
How can I help you?
Julie Gardner & Sarah Abel | Compass Realty
Not just Realtors, but consultants in all things house and home, we’re here to educate, explore, examine and refer . . . In short, you may count on us to take care of your home as if it were our own and anyone who knows us, knows we take pretty darn good care of our homes.
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