Jenn and I are excited for spring, and this week it’s making a great showing. Temperatures in the 70’s, and bright blue skies.

We did our spring cleaning for the yard on Saturday. It felt so good. It’s a lot of work, but Kelsee and Landon happened to come to town and they helped. It feels so good to feel like the yard is in shape.

We’re counting the days until we get to go to Orem to see Jaidyn and Kaleb’s baby. The excitement I feel has brought to light a characteristic of mine that I feel is less than ideal.

My excitement is held in reserve because I’m cautious in case something goes wrong. It’s something I do with everything. I hold back a part of myself just in case something comes up and I might find myself disappointed. It’s kind of like I’m always waiting for the shoe to drop.

This is a hang up I would do very well to purge from my personality. I would rather be all in, come what may, then always be protecting myself from something bad that may or may not happen.

Real Estate

The Purdue house went pending yesterday. The next step will be inspection. Inspections are the point where most sales fall apart. we’ll hope for the best.

The Dartmoor home closes tomorrow. Sellers are signing today, and I believe buyers are too.

*** referred someone who will be taking a position within his practice later in the year. I’m creating some info for him on places to live in Caldwell.

I love the business of real estate. It pushes so many buttons of things I’m interested in.

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My list of gratitudes could be nearly endless.

I am grateful for a new day and excited to see what it brings. I know it will bring growth and fun, and opportunity.

I’m grateful that Jenn is with me, and to have her as my best friend.

I’m grateful for the three closings I have on the calendar.

I’m grateful for this amazing career. It checks all the boxes for the things I like to do.

I’m grateful to feel that I have so many people rooting for me.

Today I want to fix our planter box. I also want to put together a survey for the ward regarding missionary and family history work. I need to send the *** the results of the last weeks activity on their listing.

Real Estate

The appraisal for the Dartmoor house came back at value, so there should not be anything standing in the way of closing on Wednesday.

I need to add a couple of clients in the next week, listing or buying.

We are in a holding pattern for Clearwater, just waiting until closing on April 15.

I’ve had several conversations with people lately where they have expressed their opinion that the market is slowing down. I want to take a close look at the number of sold properties for the last few years and compare to see if that’s really the case. I have a hunch that the last two or three years after Covid will have been pretty even. Perhaps not a ton of growth, but not a lot of constriction over the last year either. We’ll see how that turns out. I would like to do a video for it.

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The number one factor for me in having a good attitude is the feeling of gratitude I carry with me. The power of that feeling can be palpable. At it’s best it brings a tangible energy that attracts good people, circumstances, and experiences. If attitude is created by gratitude, then I will concentrate on being grateful for every experience. There is nothing that can not be turned on its head and deemed valuable, if only for the education and experience. There are some things that are easy to recognize as blessings, and others that take a little bit more of an open and recieving mind.

I’ve had some experiences in the last week that put pressure on maintaining a good attitude. One was an experience with a potential relocation listing.

A relocation listing involves a relocation company providing benefits to a person who is moving for work. This experience gave me an opportunity to recognize I could use more practice in dealing with strangers. 

Another challenging experience was being asked to give up my office space to make room for a recruited agent that produces more than me. I was told I could sit in a different spot, but it was not a desk I want to be sitting at for long periods of time. At first, I felt a bit put out, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to feel like the underdog. I like the reminder not to get too comfortable, and also the realization of what really is important to the brokerage I work for.

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Yesterday I worked in the office for the morning, then did photos for *** in the afternoon. The house I photographed was interesting. I don’t think I could call it nice, but it was built in 1915, and I as I was there my imagination couldn’t help thinking about the it’s history. It had a lot of original features, some the worse for wear. But it was interesting and felt somehow nostalgic, even though I had never been there.

After photos I went to the Boise office, printed some flyers, and took a flyer box to the Purdue listing. We’ve had three showings so far this weeks.

I came home after that and spent the rest of the day at home. It’s been a slower week than usual for me.

Real Estate

A somewhat interesting thing yesterday was having to get the FHA Amendatory clause signed by the ***. This is a document that must be signed for every home purchase insured by the FHA. It states if an appraisel for a home comes in less than the agreed upon purchase price the buyer can withdraw and get their earnest money back. An additional protection to borrowers getting an FHA loan.

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Jenn and I took Moose to the new Nampa dog park again. He did much better than our first visit. He actually wanted to engage with people and dogs. It was funny to watch because a few times he started running towards a dog and then suddenly realized what he was doing and would abruptly turn around and run back towards us.

Before the dog park we had dinner together and after the dog park we watched a movie called Homestead. It was a little overdone in parts, but it was thought provoking. It was about a group of people and what they do when the government effectively disappears.

Sienna went to McCall for the day to go steelhead fishing. She said it was fun. Kelsee caught one. From the picture it looks like a 3ft long giant. I think fish pictures are always suspect. 🙂

Real Estate

It was kind of an off day for business. My mind has been stuck on a negative experience and it’s taken the wind out of my sails a little bit, so motivation was lacking.

I attended our weekly business meeting, and I finished some paperwork that needed finishing.

I had an interesting experience a few days ago that’s worth writing about.

A man called me with a very difficult accent. After several questions and restating of almost everything he said, I finally understood that he wanted to sell a piece of land he has in Boise. The catch was he was too busy with work to meet in person, and he hoped to do all the necessary work to get it listed remotely, with e-signatures. After telling him three or four times that we would need to meet in person, he hung up on me.

It’s a common scam now days for people to sell bare land that doesn’t belong to them. It’s hard to understand how this type of thing gets all the way through to closing, but I’ve read enough articles about houses being built on lots when the true owner of the lot is completely unaware. Be vigilant.

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Yesterday was a recharge day for me. It was very fun to take Moose to the park and throw the ball. I started our taxes, which felt satisfying. Paying our taxes will be less satisfying, but represents our progress.

Jenn and I decided to have a date night. That’s always a highlight. We went to Texas Road house. After dinner we took a drive to Canyon Hill Cemetery. I thought we might take a walk there.

Life is varied, and interesting, and not boring. I am grateful for that. I am happy to have a family that is close, and without drama for the most part. So grateful to have Jenn in my life. She is my greatest supporter, and my best friend.

Real Estate

We have moved past the inspection phase of the Clearwater house, and should have appraisal back this week.

The Dartmoor home will have the appraisal this week. It’s scheduled for tomorrow. The closing date is March 26, so I’m surprised they didn’t get it done sooner.

The Purdue house had a couple of showings over the weekend. I didn’t recieve any calls.

The Ripples house continues on.

A highlight so far this week has been completing a BMA, or Broker’s Market Analysis, for a relocation company that is offering a relocation package for someone. It’s a little bit of a challenging property. Rural location that is apparently just outside city limits, with acreage, but minimal. It’s a little bit of a no man’s land because there are several properties with multiple acres and several below an acre, but not many with just over 1. We’ll see what happens with that.

I want to take some time to reach out to more Sotheby’s Int. Realty agents and build some relationships. One of my goals this year is to send 3 outgoing referrals. To do that I need to know people that are moving and know people where they are moving to.

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We celebrated our anniversary yesterday. It was a pretty simple celebration. We had a little gathering after dinner for my dad’s birthday, then went to Scheel’s to ride the ferris wheel and check out their selection of small outboard motors that might work on our Costco raft. It was simple, but fun just to spend some time together. We set out with the goal to do something nice for someone intentionally, but almost forgot. We decided to give a special shout out to the lady who helped us on the ferris wheel to her supervisor. She was fun and kind.

Yesterday was tough (I’ll get into that in the real estate section) and I was very happy to be able to spend time with Jenn just goofing off. She is my most bestest friend ever. 🙂 There’s probably some psycho-babbel term for it, but I’m not sure I would navigate this world at all well if I didn’t have her.

Real Estate

Work was pretty calm yesterday. I went to the office and got some admin stuff completed, and in the afternoon drove to Fruitland for a listing appointment.

And I bombed. It was so awkward. I won’t go into all the particulars, but the air got sucked out of the room when the topic of sale price came up. I have since came up with all sorts of excuses as to why they are not a good fit for me, but it really comes down to I was not prepared.

Preparation brings confidence, and I did not take the time to really convince myself I had a good handle on it. In the future I will be sure to write out my reasoning for my opinion on a properties value. I will do it as an exercise in being knowlegable and confident, and prepared to converse about it.

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And it’s also my dad’s birthday.

Life in this world has been good for us. Imagining a world without Jenn is bleak. She is my greatest support, my best friend, and my most effective challenger. I hope for another 27 years. It’s not too much to ask for.

Real Estate

Varga is officially closed. I need to do a whole video on that.

This morning I need to get a note to our neighbor. His name is Travis, and he gave us some dirt that Jenn used at the nursing home. His dad will be moving from Oregon.

The closing process is moving forward for the Clearwater and Dartmoor houses. I feel a little in the dark about the Ripples Dr. house.

The Pardue house is very interesting. 6 showings in the first weekend and then nothing. We’ll see what happens this weekend. It’s a challenging sale. I’m not sure what will happen with it, but I suspect it will sell to someone who wants to flip it.

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Yesterday felt kind of weird. It’s hard to pin down why. I have a closing coming up, and I know it shows a lack of faith, but I keep wondering if something is going to pull the rug out from under.

This is the longest listing I have had. Almost one year to the day. It’ selling as a short sale. I feel like I could write a book about the education I recieved from this one. Definitely a growth experience.

I feel like it’s time to step it up a notch in my quest to document my real estate life. I’m not quite sure what that looks like, but I have an urge pushing me towards something.

The primary Inspection for the *** was finished yesterday. Considering the age of the house it had pretty good results. There were several things to address, but we’re hoping a small price reduction will take care of it.

We found the water heater at the Pardue listing. It was fully enclosed in a cabinet in the bathroom. Not sure what will happen with that.

The Foothill Dr. listing was put on pause as a direct result of the federal government instability and tariffs put into place.

Spring has sprung, and the world is coming to life.

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I should probably get my taxes finished. The incentive is low because I know I’m going to owe quite a bit, but better to get it over with.

Yesterday was just the sort of Sunday I like. I went and picked up *** for church. He ended up going home with ***, which was nice.

Church was good. After church Jenn went out to visit her parents and I did some church visits. I enjoy church visits so much. I visited with *** and ***, the ***, and ***.

I told *** I would lock up the building this week? I have never done it before, and I already forgot to do it last night. Hopefully whoever left it last made sure it was secure.

Work has felt blessed. The *** house should close this week. That feels miraculous. I have three other closings on the books right now, and the Purdue listing will likely be added soon. The next closing is the *** house.

At the moment there doesn’t feel like there is a whole lot more to write about.

Coming up today is the inspection at the Clearwater Ln. house.

And then I think the rest of the day will be clean up and loose ends.

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