Carrying On.....

So, we are a little disappointed that we weren't able to buy the property, and we went through the whole winter a little on the nervous side.  Jim is putting together his ideas for a cabin - found out that his ideas and my ideas had some differences.  I realized that guys really think differently than girls do, bless their little pea pickin' hearts....  Let me give you an example:  We both decide that a loft is a fun idea, so Jim is working away on this CAD model designing a loft.  When he gets it done, he calls me in and has me take a look, and the first words out of my mouth are, "Where's the bathroom?"... His response is: "There's no bathroom in the loft.  You have to go downstairs."  Um... I think the blank stare on my face was all he needed to realize that we needed a redesign.  So, now that there's a bathroom in the loft, life is pretty good!

Springtime comes and Jim starts talking about taking a drive back down south to look for property.  We decide that we are not going to call a realtor ahead of time, we are just going to kind of wing it.  We make the drive, and we see a couple of properties that are reasonably interesting, make a couple of calls, and I swear, I have called some of the strangest people on the face of the earth.  In a real estate market that is really struggling, the answers from some of the realtors was, "I'm really busy today, can you come back next week,"..... "I can get back to you tomorrow".. We were shocked.

So, we drive into Duck Creek Village and pull into this one realty office.  We go inside and we tell one guy what we were interested in, and he tell us that he's really not interested in our business (I mean, what is with these people?) but, we should try Trophy Real Estate which is about a half a block away.  He said to talk to Cathy because she really knows her stuff.  Jim and I walk away really in shock that again, we have a realtor that doesn't want to sell real estate.  Strange.

So, we walk about a half a block away, and see the Trophy Real Estate sign, and walk in.   There's this lady in there, soooo pleasant, and a young boy sitting there... both are chatting and giggling.  Such a nice atmosphere.  We ask for Cathy, and the lady tells us that Cathy is on her way in, just wait a little and we'll be good to go.  So, we wait.  We find out that this lady that we are talking to is from CANADA!!!!! This is the first plus!  The young man, who was probably 12/13 years old, was delightful.  I was sold on the kid before the realtor came in.  This is the type of young man that ANY mother would be proud of... he was articulate and polite and engaging.  If my daughter wasn't 28, I'd have been trying to set these two up.  It comes out, that this young man is the realtor's son.  Waaaay impressed.  Now, this has really got my attention.  I am really picky when it comes to kids, and rude and bratty kids get no respect from me - such a reflection on the parents.  I know it shouldn't, but it does.  This kid is amazing.

About 10 minutes later, the realtor/Mom walks in.  She's this little cute thing, no bigger 'n a minute - but talk about being a firecracker!!! OH MY GOODNESS!  This woman packs a punch and means business!  She understands immediately what we want, understand our time frame, and we're in off to the races.  The only thing that really concerned me was this hat she had on... kind of different - but, she explains that it's Kentucky Derby day, so I now understand the whole deal with the hat. 

She has a piece of property in mind and wants to show us.  Turns out, this property used to belong to a couple that wanted to build a cabin, changed their minds and each got half the property.  Go figure, but, they don't want to build next to each other... So, it's up for sale.... The property is gorgeous... beautiful mature pine trees, some oak, and this amazing looking plant called Manzanita.. There's deer tracks, and who knows what other kind of tracks... we are in love. 

Cathy tells us what the sales price is.... considerably more than we want to pay.. but, we continue to talk.  She suggests that put in a bid, and see what the owners counter with.  We have to write two contracts and write it that one sale is contingent on the other sale...we want both pieces of property.  We write the contract, sign the paperwork, hand over an earnest money cheque, all in shock!  This whole process has taken no more than 2 hours.  I am not feeling particularly hopeful,

Now, the bid that Jim suggested was really outrageous - less than 1/4 of the asking price.  I was embarrassed when he suggested it, and shocked when the contract was written... I wasn't feeling hopeful. 

And do you remember the issue I had the previous fall with the big assed truck that Jon Twit had me getting in and out of... Cathy has an equally large vehicle.... I mean, really?  Thank goodness I only had to get in and out of it ONCE!  Is it in realtor's code for southern Utah that you have to have a HUGE vehicle that fat, middle aged chicks can't get in an out of?

Jim and I leave the contract with Cathy and we head back home. We are so impressed with this woman, and we feel confident that we are finally working with the right person.  Within 30 minutes, we get this call - the owner of the one piece of property (the man) accepted our offer!  WHAT?????  We were shocked.  A day later, another call from Cathy - the woman accepted our offer also... No counter offer, no negotiations, nothing.  We are so excited!

My advice:  If you need/want to purchase property in Southern Utah - call Cathy at Trophy Real Estate..... cbarsness@att.net - this woman packs a punch.

Lesson learned:  Miracles still happen.

Our journey continues......