While I put the finishing touches on yesterday’s blog post, my telephone rang.
“Hi, is this Lauralew? Great. I’m SR, friend of Professional Historical Preservationist. She told me you would be moving. I’d like to see your house.”
This is one ballsy chick, I thought. I recalled telling PHR about my house and that it would be on the market in January or February. When we met, we had exchanged contact information. She mentioned that she had a friend who was looking for a new house; this was the friend.
“Um, it isn’t listed yet.”
“Oh, I know. That’s ok. I know we kinda are barging in, but I really would like to see it while I’m here.” While she was here?
Right on cue, Taciturn called, “Honey, someone’s in the driveway!”
She went on, “I’m sitting in your driveway.”
Out of the door I flew as SR and her friend C got out of a truck. “We thought since we were here looking at other houses--” she nodded at the house next door--”we’d try to see yours, if it’s all right. We can work a deal and save six percent on a realtor if this works for me.”
T stood in the doorway. I glanced at him; he shrugged as if to say, “Why not?”
So with no warning, I led two strangers on a tour of my home, happy that I had cleaned it a couple of days before. SR had a specific need; she quilts and has what is called a “long arm,” which is fourteen feet wide. She said that she works in a 12 x 20 room which is too small for her machine. She would like a new house with a very large room. After we completed the tour, she thanked me but said none of my rooms would work for her purposes.
Our house is very large with fairly good sized rooms. I laughed to myself--”too small” and “too large” really are relative, subjective terms!
If SR and her friend had come today, they would have seen the new faucets we had installed in the main bathrooms this morning. Plumbers were here for two hours today to install three faucets and fix three leaky toilets. We thought it best to get those tasks finished before the house goes on the market.
The entire episode lasted twenty minutes. I just wonder, as I start to let people know that my house will go on the market soon, will this happen again? When I listed my house in San Antonio years ago, people came to the house unannounced to try to work a deal directly in order to bypass the realtor and “save six percent.” That never happened when we listed the Mississippi house. This could be interesting.
2 comments:
I would agree that she was some ballsy chick just dropping by like that. Not everyone would have greeted her as cordially as you appeared to.
I am but a lowly admitter in the ER. I watch the piranha pool of nurses at the hospital and am thankful every day I don't swim with them. They are a mean bunch of ladies. And I often use that term loosely. There are several that I enjoy and get along with. We are fortunate in the ER as we have sweet people. There are a few........ but anyway, up on the floors...OMG. Kudos to you for swimming with them and thank you for stopping by.
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I can't believe I was a Google blog of note. Woo hoo. I wonder how they randomly select them? And how cool that we both know Leann. It's a small world.
So you're moving to more hospitable parts? My family lives here and I'm attached to my job. I'm a stayer :)
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