House Hunters is Not Real Life
October 12, 2007
I think I’ve officially seen one too many episodes. I blame the Tivo.
What’s the timeline on that show anyway? Do they never see more than one house in a day? Talk about inefficient. The outfits are always different for each house showing.
Do the agent and buyer never ride in the same car? What’s all this “Hi There!” talk at the front door? Did you not discuss this listing with them in the car on the way over?
Just once, I want to see one of those agents fighting through a huge oleander to get to the keysafe, hidden on a low water spigot, all rump up in the air and ungainly. You know, the glamorous moments as a Realtor.
And for crying out loud, who points out the kitchen? If I have to point out the kitchen when I’m showing a house, we’re all in trouble. Where’s the shot of the buyers looking through the medicine cabinet, or in the refrigerator? (Oh you KNOW they do!)
At the end when the people are all happy in their new home, why are they always cooking? Always chopping something with an inappropriately sized knife? Do they only have a paring knife? Is that why they’re slicing a watermelon with a paring knife? House Hunters should get these guys knife sets as closing gifts.
(okay, okay, so I guessed wrong again about which house they would buy. I’m sure I didn’t have all the information… ) Have a good weekend!
I Wish I Had Something To Destroy
September 27, 2007
I remember the first time that I saw it. I was on a long cross-country flight, flipping through the in-flight magazine, and there it was.
The FUBAR by Stanley tools, recipient of the Popular Science “Best of What’s New” Award.
I was so excited, I woke up my hubby in the seat beside me to show him the ad in the magazine. “This,” I said. “This, I need.”
Let me explain. I’m a sucker for a project house. The most recent one we bought had this huge straw bale wall in the middle of the driveway that needed to come down so we could, you know, like, PARK in the driveway.
You know what happens when you hit a straw bale wall with a sledgehammer?
It cracks the stucco. And then it mashes into the wall a little, and bounces off when it hits the layer of chicken wire surrounding the straw. It’s an incredible let-down, I’ll have you know, to take your biggest wind-up swing with a heavy sledge at a big wall, and have it go crunch-mush-bounce. Taking that wall down required a lot more finesse than I thought it would - and an entire 10 yard dumpster. You’ve got to crack the plaster and pull away the chicken wire and pry out the rebar and untie things.
And then there were the interior walls. Some are plaster over drywall, some are tile over concrete over brick. And some are plaster over a heavy metal mesh, nailed to the studs. To pull those walls down, you’re chipping and chiseling and hammering and prying and pulling. There’s some muttering to yourself as well, typically.
I own probably 8-10 hammers, ranging from the petite Do-It-Herself hammer I got as a college freshman, to the cushioned handle “iFix” hammer, to the more serious construction guy hammers. I even have 2 kinds of sledge hammers, and one gigantic pickaxe (which, BTW, also didn’t work on the straw bale wall, but is useful for digging holes in caliche). I think I have two crowbars - hold on, mine are called “wonder bars.”
However, I’d give them all up for a single FUBAR. I am convinced it is the answer to all of my demolition needs. I’m just waiting for the opportunity to destroy something so that I can go out and buy one. I’m pretty sure I really really need one.
Today - I find out there’s a FUBAR II, which is a lighter weight version of the original. Was there ever anything more perfect made?
I’m a little obsessed with it. I wonder if I could have them engraved and give them out as closing gifts to my clients? Who wouldn’t want one of those?
A Moment of Silence
September 24, 2007
The real estate blogging world is a small one. Today, we pause to help a friend.
A couple days ago, there was a funny video making the rounds among Realtors, and today we learn that the star was killed in a car accident. He was brother to a fellow friend and blogger. He leaves behind a young wife and two daughters, both less than a year old.
In support of the Anglin family, a PayPal account has been created. If you feel moved to help out, just click the Donate button below.
Lizard, not Packrat
September 13, 2007
Speaking of good people to know…
I saw a bunch of animal droppings in my house and thought I had packrats. I called out my trusty bug guy, who promptly informed me that was not packrat poo, that was lizard poo.
Turns out, there are distinguishing characteristics of lizard poo.
So now I know what to look for. And I wanted to let you know.
Just in case, maybe, you find lizard poo-identification a valuable skill when selecting a real estate agent.
Downtown Tucson and the Impossible Quiz
September 10, 2007
I found a quiz that is bizarre, meaningless — and incredibly frustrating as I have yet to complete it correctly. I’ve set strict limits that I can only play 5 times per day, as otherwise it would take over my life. Can you get through it all? It’s a long download, be patient.
In the meantime, check out the progress of development in Downtown Tucson by checking out the September issue of the Downtown Tucsonan.
From the issue:
- The old MLK building renovation and conversion should be starting soon, to be called One North Fifth, with 11 affordable units for lower income residents, and 85 studios and 1 bedroom units, targeted to young upscale professionals (think rooftop common area with ramada). Construction should begin September, Octoberish of this year, completing end of third quarter 2008.
- The Mercado District at Menlo Park is already underway, with streets and 20 houses finished or under construction. Some builders say they sold out their inventory in days.
- Bourn Partners says they need a couple more sales at The Post to trigger construction, hoping to get construction started by end of the year.
- The Greyhound Bus station needs to move again, as their original site is now a dirt lot, and the lot they occupy now is slated for a new arena. Sounds like they need to be out and into a new building by October 2008. Project design is moving along for a new location off of 6th and Toole.
(I’m up to the mid-70s on the quiz. Let me know if you need help!)
Breakfast of Champions at Bobos
September 1, 2007
Have a good Labor Day Weekend!
Can You Stay Awake for the Lunar Eclipse?
August 26, 2007
There’s a total lunar eclipse that can be seen in the wee hours Tuesday morning on August 28th. Here’s the timeline:
- roughly 1:00am Tuesday Morning: The darkening phase begins
- 1:51am - the moon enters the darkest part of the Earth’s shadow, becoming progressively darker
- 2:52am - the moon is fully eclipsed
- 4.22am - the moon starts to leave the full eclipse
One of my favorite sites is Heavens Above, which will give you schedules for fly-overs of various satellites, the International Space Station, and Iridium flares based on your location. I remember often sitting with my husband in the backyard with a list of the satellites and other objects flying over that night, having contests for who could spot the objects first. Not a bad way to spend an evening, methinks.
Vail Open Houses and New Themes
August 24, 2007
It’s been a slow week on the blog. We’ve been upgrading to Wordpress 2.2, and my current theme doesn’t want to support it, despite the time we’ve spent futzing and refutzing with it. Using a different theme, our testbed up in the Elastic Compute Cloud is nearly functional though, and we should (hopefully) be launching the new look by the end of the weekend.
I’m sure you’re all very excited about it.
More exciting this weekend is the Vail Open House Tour, take two. We had some issues with the ad not coming out in the paper as planned the first time around, so we’ve got double the exposure and a nicer ad for the weekend, thanks to the generous folks at Tucson Newspapers. If you’re looking for a home in Vail, or just have never explored that side of town, it’s a great time to go visit the area. Go see www.HomeTourTucson.com for all the homes, maps, pictures, and other details.
My First Scorpion
August 21, 2007
I’ve lived in Southern Arizona since 1981, and in Tucson since 1995. Out of the thousands of homes I have ever entered, this is the first scorpion I have ever seen inside of a house. I’ve seen two others, alive, in the wild: both outside at night on a patio. Out in the desert, they say you can make the little translucent ones glow if you shine a black light around the yard at night, but I’ve never tried it.
This guy was a little surprise for my buyers during a final walkthrough. Luckily, we found a bowl and some cardboard, so that brave Mr. Buyer could capture the little guy and release him back outside — and far from the house, at Mrs. Buyer’s instruction.
I’m in Realtor Magazine Online!
July 27, 2007
I talked to a woman at Realtor Magazine a couple weeks ago, who had called with questions aplenty about my blog. And now little ole’ Housechick Blog has a nice mention in the Realtor Magazine Online version, here. It’s probably silly to be flattered, but I am. Cool!
- About Tucson (27)
- Canadians and Tucson (2)
- First Time Buyer (20)
- Home Buying (72)
- Home Selling (48)
- Homeowner Associations (5)
- Loans and Financing (22)
- Market Discussion (3)
- Market Reports (29)
- Odds and Ends (50)
- Purchase Contract (1)
- Relocating (7)
- Repair Renovate Maintain (14)
- Restaurants (13)
- Top Ten (2)
- Tucson Events (19)
- Tucson Homes Explained (17)
- Tucson Land (5)
- Tucson Neighborhoods (18)
