the letdown

You know when you are working really hard toward something, and you are all excited about it and intensely focused on it.  And then, it happens...and...  Right.  Definitely in a weird funk right now.  Just a "what now" moment, you know?  It'll pass...especially with business going the way it is.  Two settlements next week, the ratified contract from last weekend is closing in three weeks, and another contract offer should be "out the door" in a couple of days.  Meanwhile, meeting with a new client tomorrow, and have two more client-prospects that I am corresponding with.

 

Anyway, my rant about "professionalism" needs to happen.  So, in an industry where 5% of the agents do 90% of the business, and 10% of the agents do 80% of the business, it friggin amazes me how many Realtors are hung up on this whole professional image bs.  It ain't like it works for these people.  I have become increasingly confused over the past few months that clients can care less about what most Realtors think is important.  People want an agent that they like as a person, and that they can trust.  What I'm wearing, what I'm driving, etc...bah.  So, when I walk into the office to consult with a client wearing a cap, t-shirt, and jeans, who cares?  Does he like me?  Does he think he can trust me?  If so, as long as I'm not wearing a pink tutu or a gorilla suit, I think I'll be okay.

 

Don't get me wrong...I understand dress code, and I understand professionalism to some extent.  I'm not saying that going around dressed like a slob is okay, as long as you have a "nice personality."  That's bogus.  Show the clients that you have some self-respect.  But, seriously, professionalism at the cost of being human, in my opinion, is actually bad business; it can be a wall that actually hinders your client-agent relationship.

 

Okay...that's my rant.  Here's my e-mail to my office manager from Monday, as I think it will illustrate well what I am talking about:

 

I am sure somebody is going to complain to you about my lack of anything close to dress code today.  I just want to assure you that I do take the code seriously, whether or not I agree with everything about it.  Having moved this weekend, my clothes were (and are) still in boxes, and I was still extremely busy handling a number of issues related to the move.  The client I met with was a referral from the ratified contract that I just got this past weekend, and he would like to follow the lead of his friends and get an investment property for himself.  Based on his schedule, the rapport we had on the phone, and the "strike-while-the-iron-is-hot" factor, it seemed unwise to reschedule on him.  I met with him and apologized for my dress and explained the situation and he was just happy that I was able to meet with him...and we are going out with full intention to buy a property on Wednesday.

 

Anyway, just wanted you to hear it straight from me, whether you heard it from somebody else or not.  I know several of the other agents were complaining about it to other agents...seriously, I wish people would just ask me about it directly, but such is life, I guess.

 

It's late...time for bed.

Peace,
Greg

8-unit property...

I spent this morning with one of my investor clients at an 8-unit property right in the heart of the historical district in "Pigtown", otherwise known as north Washington Village in Baltimore.  Place needs a ton of work, but shapes up to be an incredibly sound investment if you can make the finances work on the front end.  So, we'll see.

 

Beyond that, I never did get to posting my rant about "professionalism" yesterday, and it certainly is not happening at 1am tonight as I write this.  Thus, I will leave you waiting breathlessly one more day... :)

 

Peace,
Greg

 

P.S.  I love the house.  Unpacking slowly but surely, and dealing with the leaks mentioned in the last post, but it feels good to be here!

greetings from Lake Weyer

So, how cliche is this. First time homebuyers move into a house. Area gets horrendous rainfall of the likes not since in decades. Basement floods. Argh. Even better...first time homebuyers move into a house. Area gets horrendous rainfall of the likes not since in decades. Drip, drip, drip, drip... Right.

So, moving weekend was a bit more eventful than hoped for. I misjudged the size truck that we would need, far underestimating the sheer magnitude of 5 appliances and how much they can eat of usable truck space. :) So, that's meant a couple extra trips back to our apartment. And, then, it rained and rained and rained. Fortunately, our basement issue looks like something that we can manage. And the dripping from the ceiling is only from the vent in our bathroom; the lack of water spots on the ceiling suggest nothing more than a problem with the cover of the vent, so that should be easily addressed by someone with a huge ladder.

My dad is down helping that move, so that's been awesome. Overall, it's just great to be owning. No more screaming matches with maintenance trying to get them to fix the A/C after months...just hire someone to get it done. More responsibility is an easy price to pay for a sense of control over your living environment.

In regards to my business, one of the client couples I took out last week landed a ratified contract on Saturday, which has been awesome...and, then, I met with a friend of theirs who is looking to follow their lead today. My meeting with him today went well, and I can almost guarantee that it will be the inspiration of a long rant tomorrow about the stupidity of dress codes and "professional image."

But, for now, sleep is already taking control as I type.

'Night.

Peace,
Greg

settlement!!

So, it's all done.  I am now a homeowner. :)

 

But, I'm too busy to blog, as I'm packing like crazy!!

 

Catch ya' next week.

 

Peace,
Greg

missed yesterday

Well, I took yesterday off from blogging, but I'm back. These last two days have been a little crazy, and the next two promise to be more so. Went all around South-Southwest Baltimore on Tuesday night, and my clients found a place that they like, and now we are just working out the financing before getting an offer in (should be doing that this afternoon).

Yesterday was the tiring day. Went to the new place, only to find green graffiti all over the side wall of the property. Blah. Actually, Sara and I both kind of individually expected this to happen, but not so soon. Meanwhile, we go to go in the property, only to remember that my Supra key doesn't work until 9am, and it was 7:45am when we got there. Doh.

So, I go off to hunt down some breakfast from Safeway. We spend a little time meeting our neighbor across the street (Marvin) and his two-month-old puppy (Diamond) and wait. Like every 5 minutes somebody would drive or walk by and say, "You buy that?" We'd be like, "Yeah." And then they would respond in one of two ways. The locals would say, "This is a rough neighborhood." And we'd be like, "Yeah, but it's getting a lot better, right?" And they'd smile and say "Yeah," or say nothing.

The other response was from the investors and contractors working in the area. They would just look at us, and look at the house, and look at us, and say, "Nice place." Very weird.

Besides that, two people came by to buy some drugs off of us (doh!), but we kindly informed them that they had come to the wrong place.

Finally, at 9am we get in. Sara gets to sealing the grout and cleaning the blinds, while I take care of some business before starting to help with the blinds. Our HVAC guy shows up and that work finally starts (I guess better late than never, right?), and the Comcast people show up. So, our house is crowded.

At around 11:30am, Billy and Joanna show up for our lunch plans. Billy was one of my roommates in Jerusalem 6 years ago, and we've managed to keep in touch over time. He got married 8 months before me and just completed seminary with his wife. The two of them are going to be church planters/pastor trainers in Uganda this upcoming Fall (and for the next 4 years). Billy is one of those people that makes a difference for the good in your life EVERY time that you talk to him...time with him is a blessing.

So, anyway, Sara shows them the house, when Bob, Sara's boss' husband and a friend of ours who has helped us out a lot through this homebuying process, shows up to help us evaluate whether we need a split box spring or not (the jury is still out on that one). Finally, around 12:30pm, we break away from the house, accomplishing very little, but learning a whole lot more about our house and neighborhood in the process.

We go to lunch on the inner harbor, which was a nice, leisurely 3 hours of okay food and good company, and then go back to the house to see how the HVAC is coming along...umm...still not much to see at that point. While I'm on the phone on a business call, Sara gets into a long conversation with some local kids trying to tell her how bad the neighborhood is, which was cute and disturbing all at once. I have a feeling that our place might become a popular thoroughfare of kids wanting cookies and just an adult that cares, but we'll see. :)

So, yes, we are not moving into utopia, but we knew that. What we saw yesterday simultaneously excites me by the change that is going on there, worries me by how much still needs to happen, scares me by the level of crime that is in the alley right by our house, and energizes me at the potential for ministering to the people there, especially the kids. But we'll see. In some way, I can't shake the feeling that God has led us to this property for more than the obvious reasons that we needed housing and it's a good investment. The interesting thing to see is how much we will be "tested" by the neighborhood. Being a young, married white couple in that area could make us a target...but it might not. Time will tell...

Anyway, so Bob's coming over to help me patch some holes in my apartment so they don't charge us like $50 a hole from our deposit, and then I have to get to the office to prepare an offer with my clients from Tuesday.

Settlement is tomorrow...hallelujah.

Peace,
Greg

For those interested, here's a link to a site about Washington Village, which Mount Clare is often considered an extension of...unfortunately, Mount Clare (otherwise known as "Pratt-Monroe") doesn't have its own site yet. :)

I'd laugh, but it hurts

Man, so I failed to mention the end of Sunday evening. Sara drives home and, after 30 minutes in the car, I could barely move from the car to the apartment. So, I get inside, Sara shoves two Aleve down my throat and I'm all good.

Yesterday, I'm a bit sore...nothing crazy.

Today...holy cow. It's like I got hit by a bulldozer!! My ribs hurt when I laugh, my neck hurts when I turn, my back..., my hips..., my shoulders...ridiculous. I'm 26...I guess that's a lot farther away from 22 (the last time I was dumb enough to spend several hours hurling my body into the ground :) ) than I thought it was.

So, yes, I'm sore.

As for the job, again, taking it light. I am showing properties in Baltimore again tonight to a new client couple and I expect to have a contract submitted by day's end, so that's good. But, as for marketing and phone calls to FSBOs (For Sale By Owners) and all the other stuff I did the last two months, I'm gonna pick up again with all that after the move. So, instead of pulling the 60 hours/week I was, I am doing more like 40 for a little while. Actually, I think a 2 months of full steam ahead/1 month of a moderate pace may be a good pattern to get into so I don't burn out...but we'll see.

Speaking of the move, I spoke with the HVAC guy doing the work on our property last night, and he hadn't started yet. Right. Just smile and breath...and smile some more.

Peace,
Greg

back in the net

So, I told you last week that I got myself hooked up for an adult soccer league for the Fall. One day, I was like, "Well, I haven't played soccer goalie in over three years (actually, I thought it was only two, but my wife pointed out otherwise last night :) ), why not join a soccer team? Duh..." Anyway, so I get in a little bit over my head for starters, and then I get an e-mail from the team's organizer about a 6-6 indoor co-ed soccer league that is running on Sunday nights, and they could use a keeper. Um...okay.

So, I go for a hunt through the closets for all my goalie stuff, realizing that I have no cleats and no shin guards. Then, I go to this game last night, and Sara comes along for kicks. When we get there, I meet Pat (the organizer) and a couple more of the players. I then put my gloves on, only to realize that they have pretty much rotted. Right. We go to the "kiddie field" for some warmups, and I start diving within the first few kicks. Surprisingly, diving was the first thing that came back to me. I couldn't catch the ball for a while, and I definitely was struggling with breakaways, but I was diving well.

What surprised me wasn't that my goalie skills were terrible, but my cardio vascular fitness was just awful. After 15 minutes of warmup, I was spent. I took 5 minutes to catch my breath, and then got another 5 minutes of warmup before I had to stop again. What a great former personal trainer I am...this was going to be fun...

So, the game starts. The other team really had us outmatched talent-wise. They had a few players that we ripping shots from about mid-field with surprising accuracy (remember, we were indoor, so mid-field is only about 30 yards). In the first 5 minutes, I made some pretty sweet diving saves and, in my head, I was like, "Heck, yeah...I'm gonna get like 20 shut outs in a row!" Then, the other foot dropped.

First, the other team seemed to realize that I was too in control of the net for them to score on me from far off. Second, I got tired. And, third, my team started get severely out hustled and outplayed. We had a 1-0 lead, but then it was quickly 2-1, on shots I couldn't do anything about. We had a sweet goal to make it 2-2, but it was all down hill after that. With two minutes left in the first half (24 minute halfs), the other team had a sweet cross that I couldn't cover in time. Then, with 30 seconds left, a guy ripped a shot right at me that I thought was going low, but it knuckled high...so, while I was going down, it was going up, and it was 4-2 just like that.

In the second half, I made a couple of nice saves, but the other team scored 5 (all of them shots taken with 5 yards of the goal), and we scored none. I learned that I really needed to relearn how to come out and dive at the ball on one-on-one situations...cause last night I was more just falling, than anything. So, things to work on. Beyond that, I learned how out of shape I am, so I am hoping the next few weeks will improve on that.

In other news, my AC trip last week was an unfortunate mix of unlucky hands, not hitting draws, and a few costly mistakes on my part. So, last time I was there, I won $411 in cash games, and this time I lost $445 (and a couple of great reads prevented me from losing another $200). I also played a couple of $50 tourneys to no avail, but I had fun with the guys I was with and the other players I met.

As far as real estate goes, I made this week real light with our move on Friday coming up. I will be in Baltimore tomorrow night with a client-couple, but that's about it...the rest is office stuff, and making sure my three upcoming settlements over the next two week go off without a hitch.

So, that's that. Happy Monday, everyone!

Peace,
Greg

8 days...

So, the HVAC for our place just got a hold of the seller to make the repairs. Um...right. 8 days. So, he's leaving himself 4 to do a big job, and the sellers will need for to do the finishing touches (drywall, etc.). Seriously, out of all the transactions that I've done, this has to be the one with the most issues, and the fact that I am more emotional involved with this one than all the others doesn't help. Again, 8 days.

In other news, I am heading up to AC this evening with some friends (hence, the picture of the Showboat Casino up top). I'll take in some $1-$2 NL action and we're playing in the $50 tourney at the Showboat tomorrow morning. My bankroll has ballooned these past four months to just under $1500, so I'm take $550 with me, an amount that I am comfortable losing if the cards turn on me. I'm actually due for a couple of horrendous bad beats, as I've been running pretty hot, although that's not to say that everything's gone my way lately (two nights ago I was playing some $20 sit-n-gos on-line and I got knocked out of two of them when my K-K lost to A-Q, and both time the A-Q boated up...pretty sick). Still, nothing horrendously bad has happened. Overall, I'm excited about the trip. It's really a going away trip for Rusty, as he's moving to Cincy in a couple of weeks.

Well, let me go try to actually be productive in the next 90 minutes before I head off. I'll be back late tomorrow night, so you won't hear from me until Monday, most likely. This weekend, I'm scheduled to take a renter around to properties in Odenton, but nothing else is really going on...besides, of course, packing.

8 days... LOL. Phone ringing...

Peace,
Greg

9 days is a long time

My own settlement 9 days away.  As surprising as it may be considering how often I have bounced around since college, transition is something I don’t deal with all that well.  As I indicated in the last couple of posts, staying on task and staying alert and “happy” (“happy” is in quotes here because it’s the best word I can think of…I really mean some weird mix of peaceful, joyous, calm, motivated, etc., but “happy” will have to do) can be a challenge for me in times like this…not sure why.

 

Still, I am excited…which is the weird thing.  My client that had a offer rejected on a property on Saturday and who was going to go find a different one today ended up having second thoughts for lots of reasons…he would have been rushing, which isn’t a good idea when you are throwing around lots of cash. J So, that was disappointing, but not crushing, and I don’t blame him…we’ll keep in touch.  Still, after having two contracts ratified in one week, part of me is very uncomfortable that I have not had one in the last two…which is extremely silly.  To expect to keep up a pace like that your first year in the business is like a 12-year-old in Little League expecting to get a hit every time up to bat (to no surprise, I was like that J ).  I have two serious buyers that I will be showing properties to over the next two weeks, a couple solid leads on sellers that seem to be pleased with what they have heard of my marketing program, and a dozen more leads that I am currently helping in the early stages of their processes.  So, things are far from bleak.  I just need to move so I can get back into a good rhythm of marketing and business-building.

 

In other news, I just verbally committed to a soccer league in the fall, which should be a blast.  I was a keeper in high school and throughout intramurals in college, and I am very excited to get back at it.  I warned the contact that I will be pretty rusty coming out of the gate, but he seemed okay with that…they are pretty desperate for a keeper.  My first practice with the team is June 25^th. J

 

Alright…time to go home.

 

Peace,
Greg

 

 

chaos in my apartment

You know how when the place that you live is in chaos, it's hard to really get things done. It's like trying to study for finals week when your dorm room is a wreck and your roommate is smoking up (no, of course not...my roommate never smoked up...).

Anyway, so staying on task is a challenge right now, but I'm getting done what I need to somehow. :) Just can't wait for this move to be over.

Well, I just had a 30-minute conversation with a seller that's put me a little behind in preparing for my 5:30pm meeting with new buyer clients of mine, so I'm off.

Peace,
Greg

finding a rhythm

So, for some reason, I felt like posting this crazy old picture of me from that a member of the church I grew up in posted on-line when I was valedictorian. LOL. My wife loves to make this picture appear in odd places, so I figured I'd jump the gun on her this time, cause I know it was just a matter of time before she put it in a comment. :)

Okay, just had to break to get my kitten's butt out of my face (again, neediest cat ever), and now for a quick rundown of the last three days.

So, my client that I "struck out" with last Thursday calls me Saturday morning. When he called, my wife and I were 30-minutes into the movie Cars at an appreciation event that our lender was throwing for his clients (he rented out an entire theatre for a 9:30am showing). Pretty sure I knew what was coming, I called as soon as the movie let out and, sure enough, he found some properties in a different part of Baltimore that he was interested in seeing that afternoon (before he was going out of town on Sunday before he goes overseas soon). Normally, I'd say, "When can we meet up this week?" However, this time, with my client's tight timeframe, it made sense to go, and I end up trekking my poor wife all the way from Frederick (where the movie was) to Baltimore for 4 hours of real estate stuff. In the end, we got a good offer in on a property, but it wasn't designed for a competitive situation and it turns out that another offer was in that won out. Eh...now that we have an idea of exactly what the client wants, we are going to give it one more try on Wednesday of this week...

Saturday night was poker and Sunday was a mix of time with Sara and packing. Today was getting caught up even more around my home office before a home inspection and a guy stopped by about health insurance, since we are losing Sara's company's benefits at the end of July.

Anyway, Sara's asleep, so I need to buckle down and polish some things off before I can follow suit.

Peace,
Greg

Blogger down last night

So, Blogger was down late last night, so I couldn't post...sorry for all of my two loyal fans (up two from last month, so that's a start :) ).

Well, yesterday, I struck out for the first time when working with a buyer. But I guess 8 in a row was a pretty good streak. I showed my client, a military guy who is going overseas and was looking for an investment/second home of sorts, about 12 properties, and there was really nothing in the price range he wanted with the potential he wanted, and our timeline was too short to be able to really work with him anymore. So, that's that. A little frustrating, but a good guy, and I feel like I provided him with good service. He may not have bought anything now, but who knows what the future holds for our client-agent relationship, so I don't at all see it as a waste of time from a business standpoint (I mean, seriously, 12 properties for one client who doesn't buy is hardly anything compared to a lot of agents do), and it definitely wasn't a waste of time from a personal standpoint as he is a really nice, interesting guy.

Anyway, let me get some things done, and then off to the wifey's company picnic (missed it the last two years, and my marriage is riding on me being there this year :)).

Have a great weekend,
Greg

the AACAR ho-down & watching what I write :)

More and more lately I have found myself starting to write one thing, and then checking myself and writing something else. The need to maintain client confidentiality in the transactions I am in the middle of, making sure I don’t offend my co-workers, and being careful not to undermine any piece of anyone’s business (including my own J) means that it is somewhat impossible for me to write these posts without a pretty firm filter. I apologize for that.

Anyway, today was the annual Anne Arundel County Association of Realtors convention, and it was more bizarre than I could ever have imagined. 6 hours of continuing education classes which ranged from unimpressive and impractical to entertaining and immediately useful was scattered around several hours of eating, Realtor small talk (which is nothing like any small talk you’ve ever been a part of J), and vendors pushing their products by offering tons of free giveaways, utilizing the attractiveness of their younger female staff, and a wide variety of other gimmicks.

Basically, imagine what would happen if, in a relatively confined space, you put a thousand Realtors together with a hundred title and settlement lawyers and staff, a hundred lenders and staff, a few dozen home inspectors and contractors, and a random handful of marketing gimmick “experts”. I mean, seriously, can you get more type-A personalities in one room?! Throw in free alcohol for the last 90 minutes, and you have a close approximation of my day. Yes…exactly.J

Still, as I said above, several parts of what I learned will be immediately useful in my business, so that’s good. Wow…it’s 7pm already. I’ve got more to do, but I can do it at my home office, so I’m out of here.

Peace,
Greg

P.S. Back to Baltimore tomorrow…

post now while I have the chance...

Meeting this morning.  Home inspection at noon.  Showing properties in Baltimore again late this evening.  So, a good day.  I also finally got my car back yesterday, which makes life a good bit easier.

 

So, real quick: my pet peeve with the Century 21 commercial.  Realtor and client in client’s new house.  Paraphrase of client: “You are the greatest Realtor ever.  We must have seen 27 houses.”  Paraphrase of agent: “Actually, it was 41.”  Cue cheesy music and “Century 21” hits the screen, as if they are the greatest because their Realtors show 41 houses.  Gag.

 

Seriously, there are agents that show you 41 houses.  There are agents that will show you 121.  If you want that out of an agent, call someone else…actually, I’ll help you if you want me to. J

Again, I fear I am being a little too harsh here, but please hear what I am saying.  If you think that I feel this way because I am lazy and don’t work my butt off for my clients, you would be dead wrong.  Here’s what I wrote to a client a couple of weeks back:

 

“In my experience and with the training I've received, I've learned that there are two ways to buy properties:

 

One, we could spend several days going to look at dozens of properties with no clear idea of what our objectives are.  We will likely buy one or more in the long run, but I suggest that this is not an efficient use of time or energy for either of us.  Also, when you do this, you risk not getting the properties you eventually decide that you want because of the nature of how quick the…market moves.

 

Two, we do a lot of research by looking at the listings on line (this was why I originally suggested waiting until June 5th to go see anything).  We pick out our best options “on paper," and go to see these options with full intention of making an offer on one or two of them the day we do this "tour".  The most properties I have ever shown a buyer before they put in an offer is twelve (and this all in one day), and that is because I work hard with the buyer to narrow down their options with them before we ever set foot in a single one.

 

Now, I understand if you might want to spend a couple of hours or so driving through the areas that we are talking about one day, and then go back to do the tour I am suggesting another day...that would work for me.  However, I would really recommend against just going out to see some properties on several different days before we put in an offer on anything.  If this is really what you want from a Realtor, I would be more than happy to find a Realtor for you who has a different way of going about things than I do.

 

Again, I do want to reiterate that I have no intention of rushing you at all.  We will go out to tour properties and buy whenever you are ready...I just want us to do the majority of our homework before we hit the road, and not after.  If there is a list of questions that you would like me to ask about certain properties to help narrow down our search, I would be more than happy to call all the listing agents of these properties and do this research with you.

 

I really think that I can be a big asset to you, and I hope you understand that, while my method of helping clients buy properties does serve to protect our time, I also feel that it provides you with top-level service.  There are many drawbacks to seeing dozens of properties over the course of a few weeks that I would be more than happy to discuss with you further.

 

Peace,
Greg”

 

There…so I’ve said my peace.  Now, I hope you all feel just as ill over that stupid commercial as I do. J And, if you don’t, imagine driving around in a car on a several hot days looking at house after house when you can’t even remember the house that you saw three houses ago.  In my opinion, every house that you see after 5, makes it exponentially harder to have clarity in the home buying process…hence, why I don’t think I’ll ever show more than 12 to the same client.

 

But, again, that’s just me…it’s worked extremely well so far, and my clients love it, so I’ll stick with it until I see a need to change it.

 

Peace,
Greg

people are "funny"

Funny, strange. Funny, haha. Funny, odd. Funny, fickle. Just funny. People are "funny".

In all of my professions since college, I have had to do "marketing" of some sort that relied heavily on the people I already knew. As a short-term overseas pastor and a campus pastor, I raised my own support primarily through friends, family, and acquaintances from all stages of my life. As a personal trainer, my clients were great friends of mine, but also my lifeblood. Now, real estate is kind of a mix of the two, relying on people who know you to refer you clients, while becoming great friends with the people who pay your salary.

And through it all, I can't even count the number of surprises. Those who you think will totally "get it" complain about everything you do and want you to "take me off your list". Those who you barely know love hearing from you and respond to everything you e-mail/mail them with best wishes and uncanny support. I send out e-mails to a list of around 150 e-mail addresses of friends and acquaintances on a roughly bi-weekly basis, and I get 5 encouraging responses, two complaints about what I wrote (one was about the fact that I mail merge my e-mails even though it's not exactly a "personal e-mail", and the other was about my auto-reply that is sent whenever you e-mail me), and one "take me off" demand. (Honestly, I'd rather the last of those three than the second.)

Whatever...again, people are funny. I'd write more about the "auto-reply" scenario I find myself in (and I've also been meaning to write about my major pet peeve with the latest Century 21 commercial), but my car is ready to be picked up from the shop and I need to get to two stores before the night is out...just material for next time, I guess. :)

Peace,
Greg

another day in Baltimore :)

Seriously, I have learned more about Baltimore properties in the last 3 months than I ever wanted to know. J This morning, Karl, a budding investor I know, and I drove around the different areas, just looking for some properties that he could rehab and turn over throughout the next three months.  We started in Federal Hill, went down into Morrell Park, explored Washington Village, and then wandered through Mount Clare, Southwest, Carrollton Ridge, Mill Hill, Western, Bon Secour, Franklin Square, Poppleton, Lexington Terrace, and Union Square…believe it or not, these are all within 2 miles of each other. J

 

So, in the end, it was actually quite informative and interesting, for me just as much as it was for my client.  Back at the office, we ran some “market updates” using the multiple listing service, and there are some distinct possibilities that Karl is going to spend the weekend mulling over with a business partner of his.

 

Meanwhile, Sara and I are going to spend this evening with friends picking out appliances.

 

Have a great weekend everyone!!

 

Peace,
Greg

sleepy

This heat is knocking me out…that, and the stress (good and bad) of two ratified contracts, car troubles on both the cars, getting closer and closer to my own settlement, and having no A/C in the ridiculous excuse of an apartment complex that Sara and I can’t wait to move out of.

 

Meanwhile, our crazy, 6-month old kitten hasn’t recovered from the three days that Sara and I were away.  Now, our cats have an automatic-cleaning litterbox, an automatic-filtering water dish, and an automatic feeder, so they were taken care of by the wonders of technology crossed with pet pampering.  Still, our kitten has this ridiculous need to be pet 18 hours a day, especially when it comes to Sara.  Over the last two nights, this ball of furr that I simultaneously am delighted with, frustrated by, and fascinated over has woken me up at least ten times in his attempts to get the comatose, sleeping beauty next to me to pet him.  And, anyone who knows me, knows how hard I sleep, so the kitten is doing a lot to wake me up. J I keep telling Sara that we need to lock Sambuca (that’s his name, although Sara insists that his full name is Sambuca Tequila, but we usually just call him Buca) out of the bedroom at night because he’s a lunatic, and she says, “Awwww, but I feel bad.  And, besides, he lets us sleep through the night and just starts waking me up at 4am.”  Right…”through the night” and “4am” aren’t mutually exclusive.  My bad. :/ Sara is not the overly compassionate type…except when it comes to our furrballs…

 

Anyway, so the long and the short of my rant is that I’m feeling slightly worn down…can’t believe it’s Thursday already.  I’m showing an investor around Baltimore City tomorrow, so let me get prepared for that.

 

Peace,
Greg