…And not the good kind — but the head-exploding kind that happens when your home remodel goes off the rails.
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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.
“Our guests arrive on Saturday!” I said to my contractor when I arrived at the cabin on Wednesday expecting to find the project much further along and ready for our finishing touches.
It was nowhere close. Cue the pyrotechnics.
The floors hadn’t been grouted, the plumbing wasn’t connected in the primary bathroom, the room downstairs wasn’t painted, the baseboards weren’t attached, the pathway wasn’t finished, and the entire place was covered in a coat of thick construction dust, We still had shelves to build, boxes to unpack, AND an entire house to clean and put back together before then . . . (WTF?!) “How do we move this along?” I asked on the edge of panic but trying to keep it together.
Not that I haven’t experienced last-minute corrections on some of the homes we bring to market — I have. There have been several times when our work crews are washing windows and staging up until the last minute, but gratefully, we tend to have more control over the timelines with respect to the properties we oversee.
Along with our talented teams of dedicated professionals who know how we work, and who usually meet our expectations, we’ve also got Jill and Kate showing up to the job sites on a daily basis. running to Home Depot, and problem-solving for anything that’s fallen between the cracks. (They’re worth their weight in gold.)
Moreover, we’ve created a set calendar and a budget, so with very few exceptions, we’re able to stick to the plan and deliver the properties on time, camera ready, and looking absolutely beautiful. In fact, we pride ourselves on being “Before & After” specialists, and to toot our own horns, we’ve become very accomplished at it.
However, directing others remotely, being hit with one unexpected surprise after another, and relying on out-of-town contractors is another game entirely. Not that they haven’t been trying — they have. Not that they don’t know their business — they do. But clearly, they are stretched too thin, (the plumber was a no-show yesterday so there’s still no toilet, shower head, or sinks installed), and a late May snow halted the project altogether as the crew had to dig out the water line and redirect the pipes.
What started as an unfortunate but manageable fix has morphed into a chain of events I’ve no control over. (For a gal who loves control, this ain’t great news.) Which is to say, the next 24 hours are going to be a marathon, not to mention HIGHLY STRESSFUL for all concerned. (Yesterday, I had to literally cool off by jumping in the lake.)
Will we get there? Stay tuned; I’ll let you know. Right now, I’m in prayer mode and waiting for the early morning crew to arrive as promised. (We’ll see.) As I have cupboards to clean and floors to mop, I’m going to cut this short and wish you all a happy and UNEVENTFUL Fourth of July holiday.
May your fireworks be limited to the skies (where they belong).
P.S. The Perspective will take a break next week.
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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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