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Mrs. Groovy here this week with Groovy Ranch update 7. But don’t worry—Mr. Groovy is not licking his wounds this time. However, he just might be by the end of this post.

Second Meeting With Designer

At the end of Groovy Ranch Update 5 I mentioned we thought our designer went AWOL. Some of you may not have seen what we added in the comments—he never received our follow up emails. But all is good now.

We’re back on track with the designer. We had a second meeting with him last week that was very productive. We’re now working off of a one story, three bedroom, two bathroom floor plan. The designer made a few suggestions we liked. We gave him a check, signed an agreement, and he should have a preliminary design for us to review by the end of the week.

The Deed for Groovy Ranch

Last week, the lawyer who handled our closing for Groovy Ranch sent us the deed, along with the title insurance policy. We were in touch by email and I was very glad to see this warning below her signature.

**BE AWARE! Online banking fraud is on the rise. If you receive an email containing WIRE TRANSFER INSTRUCTIONS from anyone, call the intended recipient to verify the information prior to sending funds.**

We heard about this scam that’s on the rise on an episode of Stacking Benjamins with Shannyn Allen. Hackers seek out communication among lawyers, realtors, and buyers regarding a wire transfer that’s due for purchasing a property. They then create an email account that looks almost exactly like the lawyer’s or the realtor’s account and send wire transfer instructions to the buyer—who unwittingly transfers the funds directly to the hackers.

Under no circumstances should you ever send funds via a wire transfer without confirming the transfer details in person, or over the phone.

Tales from the “I’m Just an Idiot” File

Last week I began doing research for selling our home. I read up on realtors in our area and also found several good articles on questions to ask a realtor before hiring one. While doing this research, I had a flashback to the time we sold our condo in New York.

To set up this flashback story, keep in mind that Mr. Groovy and I have developed a routine since relocating to North Carolina. It goes like this: Mr. Groovy attempts to do something or figure something out. I give him my opinion or provide him with the facts. He disregards me. Then he finds out on his own that I was right. Then I say, “What do I know? I’m just an idiot!”

OK, so a week after we listed our New York condo for sale in 2006, I bumped into our realtor on the Long Island Railroad while traveling back from my job in Manhattan. I was surprised to see her among the rush hour commuters and I asked what she was up to. She told me she was doing temp work for a friend in the garment district.

All the way home my thoughts festered. And in my inimitable Mrs. Groovy style, when I walked through the door I asked Mr. Groovy, “Why the F am I bumping into our realtor on the LIRR? And why the F does she need a temp job? And what if she needs to be on Long Island to show our home but she’s in some office in Manhattan?” Mr. Groovy laughed at me and told me I was being hysterical for no reason. [Mr. Groovy here: I think I did laugh. But not because I necessarily thought Mrs. Groovy was wrong. I just thought she was going nuclear too quickly. She had no reason to believe our realtor’s temp job was anything but a one-off, and yet she was already reaching for the launch code. When did the sweet Jewish girl I married turn into Dr. Strangelove?]

via GIPHY

I cooled down and asked our realtor more about her temp job the next time we spoke. She explained that before she became a realtor, she was a buyer in the garment district. She still had a good friend in the business and one week a year she liked to help her out and catch up on industry gossip. And I let it go at that even though I still had my suspicions she was doing office work to make ends meet.

Also keep in mind that to this day, Mr. Groovy tells this story to friends and family. He loves making fun of me and telling them how I “O-R’d” (over reacted).

Now it’s twelve years later and we’re selling our home in North Carolina. And in those articles I mentioned about what questions to ask a realtor before hiring one, right in the top five every single article said to ask:

“Is being a realtor your full time job or do you do it part time?”

They further recommend that if a realtor has any job other than selling homes, do not list with him or her.

But what do I know? I’m just an idiot!

Selling Groovy Home (and more tales from the I’m just an idiot file)

I set up three meetings this week with realtors. Prior to the first meeting we cleaned the entire house. As we were washing the tile floor in our kitchen, I said to Mr. Groovy, as I have many times before, that I think we should get a steam cleaner to remove the specs of dirt that cannot be scrubbed out of the tile. But Mr. Groovy fluffed me off. He thinks I’m over sensitive to this dirt and I’m the only one who sees it.

Monday came and we met with the first realtor. She loved our home and was genuinely surprised at how well-maintained it is (Yessss!) She had only a few recommendations for getting it ready to show. And what was one of those recommendations?  Steam clean the tile floors! [Mr. Groovy here: It should be noted that the second realtor we interviewed thought the kitchen floor was fine.]

But what do I know? I’m just an idiot!

Now this next episode sounds too unbelievable to be true. But it is true.

I mentioned I did a bit of research on questions to ask listing agents. But I also found some good suggestions about things you should never reveal to a realtor before hiring one. There’s one I felt was very important and I told Mr. Groovy about it. I explained that no matter what, we do NOT state our bottom price—that is, how low we are willing to go.

Mr. Groovy asked me why we shouldn’t discuss this and I explained that two of the three realtors we interview will not become our realtor. However, they may represent a buyer who is interested in our home. Do we want to provide them with an edge about a dollar figure we would be willing to accept?

Pretty simple, right? I thought he understood. Well—uh, that’s a no.

One of the few things that came out of his mouth during our meeting on Monday was:

“I’d be happy if we got X dollars for this house”—where X was about $15,000 less than the asking price the realtor already recommended.

I glared at him incredulously  and exclaimed “Would you stop with that sh*t?”

I’m still fuming. Words just fly out of his mouth. When he has absolutely nothing to say, or when he gets nervous, he blurts out inappropriate comments.

“WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?” is a question I ask my husband many, many times. From kicking my cat on our first date, (a whole NOTHER story) from telling me to get out of people’s way in a store (Why am I always the one who has to move? Am I invisible? They can’t walk around me for a change?)—this one takes the cake. [Mr. Groovy here: Oh, man, this was not my finest moment. The point I was trying to make to the realtor was that we wanted to be reasonable on the price. We weren’t fishing from some great whale. We want the house priced appropriately. But somehow in the midst of trying to convey that position, I blurted out what I’d be happy to get. Again, not my finest moment.]

Fight-O-Meter

I believe I’m up three wins this week. One for being right about steam cleaning our tile flooring, one for Mr. Groovy blurting out our bottom line, and a third retro win for being right about not hiring a realtor who works part time (and the humiliation I’ve put up with for twelve years of him telling the story).

What do you think? Am I being fair by asking for three wins? Mr. Groovy said he may only gave me two. He told me there was a statute of limitations on the episode from 2006. [Mr. Groovy here: A retro win is freakin’ ridiculous. But with my stupidity this week, I’m really in no position to protest. Damn, it’s tough being a lovable doofus who blurts out inappropriate things every now and then! I just pray I have this affliction under control by the time FinCon rolls around.]

I’d love to hear what you have to say in the comments.

fight-o-meter for update 7 showing Mrs. Groovy up 6 to 1

73 thoughts on “Building Groovy Ranch: Update 7

    1. Mr. G is going to paint just the front of the house which shouldn’t be too difficult. It doesn’t make sense to spend $5K on the whole house when the front is most important.

  1. Oomph Mr. G! You’ve had a couple big misses lately. Time to step it up. 😉

    I’m a little shaky on the 12yr old incident but I’m gonna give it to you Mrs. G for all the times Mr. G retold it on you.

    I hope you found a realtor you liked at least!

    1. Thanks, Amy! I think I’m gonna give him back the retro win.

      We met three and liked them all. We should decide by Monday or Tuesday.

  2. Hey Mrs. Groovy!

    As far as I know, aesthetics are important to getting a house sold, as shown by the whole “staging” industry that’s cropped up. There’s also a chance a buyer’s inspector will mention any aesthetic “issue” in the report, which the buyer will then use for leverage in price negotiations.

    I have conflicting thoughts about part-time jobs and side gigs. On one hand, it seems preferable to hire someone who is fully devoted to one thing. On the other, nowadays it’s common for people to have more than one line of business, from weekend Uber drivers to, ahem, people who moonlight as bloggers. There’s also lots of wildly successful people who, in addition to their day jobs, serve on corporate boards and whatnot.

    So, I wonder if this is something more confined to the real estate industry, a reflection of changed times, or something else.

    As always, an interesting, fun, and thought-provoking post!

    Cheers,
    Miguel

    1. I understand your conflicting thoughts, Miguel. I just think with certain professions if a person needs an additional job, it leads to a lack of confidence.

      In a decent market a good seller’s realtor may be selling 40 to 50 homes a year. Also, they have to follow guidelines set forth by the company that employs them. They may be required to physically be in the office a certain number of hours per week and take continuing ed and other training. Ideally they don’t have much time left for additional employment.

      Miss Mazuma’s example is another one that would make me lose confidence in the professional. I would wonder why I’m paying $150 (or whatever) per therapy session while the therapist is bagging groceries for considerably less. The problem is about perception and also about value.

      Funny you mentioned aesthetics and the inspection because I asked both realtors about that and if buyers are using the inspection as an additional negotiating tool. They’re not seeing it very much in this market. But we’re in a good position to say no. The buyer would also need to consider losing money on an inspection and potentially a due diligence fee. We have an additional fee here in NC that is paid before the earnest money is paid and it is not refundable — even if the buyer cancels the deal for a valid reason. We paid it on our land purchase.

    1. Thanks, Caroline! Yes, he really did. He says it was an accident but I’m going to have to write about it. Even if it was an accident it was still a doofus move on his part.

  3. At the risk of appearing as if I’m taking sides, I’d give Mrs. G two wins. The tile floor is a wash since only one Realtor brought it up. The retro win is flimsy, but I’m giving it to you as payback for 12 years of being teased about “O-R’ing” (love that term 😀 ).

    I’m almost certainly not going to make FinCon this year but I can’t wait for the day when I get to hang w/ you two!

    1. Mr. G says I’m OR-ing almost as frequently as I ask what is wrong with him.

      I already told him he can take back a win but we’ll see what he does next week. He usually just takes his lumps.

      I’ll keep a glimmer of hope that things change and you make it to FinCon. Otherwise we’ll have to work something out.

    1. Sorry your comment went into the ether!

      Nah, Mr. G won’t need to do the floors. I’m hiring a local guy who has good reviews but I’m going to wait until we’re a little closer to putting our home on the market.

  4. Mrs. G., I think you do get retro credit for putting up with that story being told for so many years. 😉
    We once went with a selling realtor because our buying realtor in the state we were moving to recommended her through his network AND told her the details (timing, motivation, etc.) of our move. She wasn’t very helpful and we weren’t happy we listed with her. Never know what the realtors will share with each other 🤷‍♀️
    I hope it all goes well for you.
    Carol @ DownsizeYour2080 recently posted…Dear Kids, Check Out These Millennial Bloggers. Love, Mom. P.S. No Book Report RequiredMy Profile

    1. Thanks, Carol. Realtors are supposed to hold themselves to a very high standard but I guess, as with any profession, some of the lines are blurry. And some of the lines get crossed. I’m sorry you had that experience.

  5. Silence makes me uncomfortable too, as it reminds me of my college days as a radio DJ and “no dead air”. However, I don’t think I blurt out too many inappropriate details. Still, I get asked “what is wrong with you?” plenty of times. It’s tough to be a lovable doofus! Hope you two have a great Valentine’s Day at the book store.
    Gary @ Super Saving Tips recently posted…You Can Pay No Income Tax and Still Get a Huge Tax Refund!My Profile

    1. I didn’t realize how common the question “What is wrong with you?” is. Mr. G is in good company at least.

      Yes, the book store was fun and it was pretty empty, which was nice. I hope you and Suzanne had a great Valentine’s Day as well.

  6. Great point about not giving your bottom line. Mr. Groovy – you lost that one, for sure!! As for the Realtor having another gig – it’s pretty common but as a seller a bit off-putting for a sellers agent. A buyers agent, less so. I must say, neither is as bad as walking into Trader Joes and seeing your son’s therapist bagging groceries. Just happened to my boyfriend!!

  7. Oh Mrs. G I feel your pain! Come to think of it, I said the “Why did you say that? Do you realize how that came out?” comment to Mr.Wow this weekend. I especially enjoy it when I make a comment and then a few minutes later he restates what I just said but then thinks that he was the creator of that thought. And he says it in a contesting way, as if I do not agree. The story of my life!

    1. I think you hit on a way of getting Mr. G and Mr. WoW to do what we want. We have to make suggestions that are oh-so-subtle — and then let them come up with the idea and be the creator of that thought. Then we can say “honey, what a great idea!”

  8. OMG, I am literally LOL as I read this at work. You have GOT to stop writing so well, I may get fired. Then again, screw work (only 115 days left), keep telling us “I’m Just An Idiot” stories.

    And, for the record, there’s no statute of limitations with the fight-o-meter. Only an idiot would think such a thing! 🙂

    1. Between our posts and the tweets Mr. G put out with the Adele parody, it’s a wonder you get any work done in the office or at your apartment. (For anyone who wants a good laugh, search for Adele parody Hella Cravings in YouTube.)

      Oh, I’ve got plenty more “I’m just an idiot!” stories.

      Thanks, Fritzer.

  9. First… I want an apology, because I just spit my tea out all over the table.

    This is one of the best posts I’ve read in a long time. And on Valentine’s day! Love is truly in the air.

    “What is wrong with you?” is said more times to me than I would like to admit, along with “Stop mumbling”, “I can’t believe you did that”, “what were you thinking?” . They all seem to go hand in hand.

    I feel Mr Groovy’s pain. Silence seems to make me uncomfortable. I specifically remember Mrs Wow looking at me and going, “Why don’t you shut up and let them talk?” on more than one occasion.

    I’m also gonna have to take his side on the Retro-Active fight wins. Because if we were ever to tally this up, she would have a YUGE advantage.

    Anyway… Happy V-Day Love Birds!!!! Now, back to mopping up my tea.

    1. I am VERY sorry, Mr. WoW. I hope you didn’t stain any of Mrs. WoW’s table cloths.

      Oh yes, stop mumbling is a popular ditty in my repertoire too. Mr. G will say it’s my hearing but at least he knows that when I’m giving a fake smile and nodding my head, I don’t know what the heck he’s said but I’m tired of asking him WHATTTTT????

      You’re right. I should probably give him back a win. He can make the adjustment on the next update if he wants to.

      Enjoy your Valentine’s Day!

    1. Thanks, Dave.

      I don’t know if the cat incident is fodder for an entire post — maybe. If not, I’ll have to edit this one with an addition.

  10. Man Mr Groovy I hear you. My bottom line now is I try and support friends and family above strangers if their behaviour is socially acceptable. I won’t tell my wife to move. I love my wife, the other person can move. This did not come naturally to me but has set a better order in our house.

    As for pricing. I always look at realators with suspicion. If they sell the house for 15k less it is not much off of their final commission and they still get a sale. Keep those cards close. Still I am more like you Mr Groovy and say too much too quick. My wife is the better negotiator and business person.

    1. The other person can move. Good for you!

      My husband is just plain weird when it comes to space and people. When we begin our daily walk in the park we may be the only two people there. Then we might round a turn and see two others walking a quarter of a mile ahead in the distance. And I already know he’s planning on taking a diversion in the path so he doesn’t have to pass them.

    1. I’m sorry to bring up bad memories for you, Tom. It’s not as bad as having a root canal but there can be rough patches, no doubt. I’m pretty hopeful right now. We’re in a good position because we don’t have to sell or move right away. We’ve got time to wait for the right deal.

  11. Funny. Weirdly, I’ve had a similar unbelievable experience with a realtor’s temp job. When we were first looking for a home, our high-profile realtor palmed us off on an assistant, presumably because our budget wasn’t that big. The assistant was nice but wasn’t very good– I kick myself for missing out on some amazing deals back in 2011. We started looking again in 2012, and the realtor was no longer working with the assistant, so she reclaimed us as her clients. We then bought a pocket listing for a steal, which mostly made up for the bad service we received.

    Then one day I get to work and find an email announcing that the realtor’s former assistant is working as an unpaid extern in my own office! Totally different field in a different part of town. I felt bad that her career had gone so badly. Fortunately it’s a big office so I was able to avoid her.

    1. I feel for you on that, Frieda. That’s another area that came up on all the articles I researched. They said to ask: a) Do you have a team or will I be working only with you? b) Who answers the phone when I call or when a prospective buyer calls? c) How quickly do you return calls?

      Several articles went as far as suggesting that before deciding, a seller should call or have friends call, and see who answers, how quickly they return calls, etc.

      I wouldn’t like being passed off on someone, or reclaimed. I’d probably want out of the agreement — and that’s another question the articles said to ask — can I get out of the agreement if I’m not happy.

      It’s too bad the intern’s career went so badly. I wonder if she was in the wrong field or just working with the wrong firm.

  12. Staying out of this one. lol! I think the not having another job is probably a key thing for hiring a realtor. I have several friends dabbling in it but some reason I wouldn’t think that they were truly invested in helping me.

    1. It really needs to be their bread and butter plus they need to be very good at it. Dabbling doesn’t cut it for a big financial decision.

    1. He’s buying me a mocha coffee at Starbucks. Does that count? We got an idea from one of Gary’s posts at supersavingtips.com to spend some time in Barnes and Noble today. I found two old B & N gift cards that were given to Mr. G years ago he may as well take advantage of.

  13. Hahaha, When Mr. G gets nervous he also kicks cats, that cracked me up this morning. I vote for 3 wins, even if one is retro-active. Yuo could bargain that if you got that win, you wouldn’t write a post justifying it. 🙂

    Sounds like you have a good realtor, at least when buying the land. When we bought land, most of the lots were the same realtor and price varied wildly (see my reply below) with no seeming order to it at all.

    I agree that until you’re under contract, you don’t want anyone knowing your bottom line. I don’t trust most realtors in general given our experiences. We ran into the “oh, there are multiple offers, are you sure that’s your best and final?” and then when we withdrew our offer 2 weeks later, guess what sat on the market for 4 more months, and ultimately sold lower than our offer? The same house that had multiple offers on it… That happened a couple of times, so um, yeah….
    Mr. SSC recently posted…Stick to the Plan or Chase Adventure?My Profile

    1. I agree there can be a lot of games involved. One thing we’ve found here that is pretty consistent. With the homes that are not very high-end (like ours) the sale prices are not that far off from the listing price. We also know of a few recent sales that were higher than the list price. We’re in a good place right now because the 6 to 8 other homes on the market in our subdivision are a totally different model. They’re larger and cost quite a bit more. If it stays this way we won’t have much competition — if someone is looking for our style of home.

    1. You’re right, Brian. I’m one of those elephants who doesn’t forget. In this case it got to me because only recently he regaled the family with this story about what I nut I was in 2006 for being worried that our realtor had another job. BTW, it turned out that she really was just temping for fun and we’ve become great friends. And the story had a great ending because she got the highest amount for us that was ever paid for a one bedroom in our building — probably to this day. Long Beach has gone back up, but not that much.

  14. You two are so funny. I love reading these posts.

    Not just because they are entertaining, but because my wife and I also talk about buying land in Western NC and building a small single-story house there.

    We had one in Lake Lure many years ago and I sometimes wish we’d kept it. But with some life changes we know that honestly it would have sat empty these past 10 years.

    Perhaps in another few years we’ll start looking out there again.
    Brad – Financial Life Planning recently posted…Why You Need To Understand How Mortgages WorkMy Profile

    1. Thanks, Brad.

      Lake Lure is very pretty. We’ve been there and to Chimney Rock. At one time we were seeking land around Asheville — but then we made our first trip to Montana. After that we decided if we’re going to buy mountain land, it’s going to be MOUNTAIN land out west.

  15. Wow, it seems I am a mixture of you. In our marriage, I am the one who provides the facts and then peacefully have to wait for my wife to figure out I was right. However, I am the one too who blurts out inappropriate comments. It is good that she is smart in fields I am not and vice versa. I think we are a great team, just like you 🙂

    Sorry Mr. Groovy, but I have to agree with the 3 wins for her.
    [HCF] recently posted…Hyperinflation baby…My Profile

    1. Thanks, HCF. It’s true we complement one another. That’s what makes Team Groovy work. If we were too similar we’d be bored. I’m glad to see the same holds true for you.

  16. Hang in there, Mr. G! I live with one of those guys who blurts things out at the wrong time and he’s even on medication to prevent it 😉 This house stuff is stressful! But the end product will make going down in flames on the fight-o-meter worth it!

  17. I love keeping up with your fight scores. Looks like Mr. Groovy is down big late in the game. I bet he can mount some kind of comeback.

    Another valid point in the realtor not knowing the cost goes the other way when buying a home, too. You shouldn’t fall in love with a home (I know it’s hard) and make it obvious how much you’d be willing to pay. The reason is that realtors get paid off of the sale of a home. You end up paying (typically) 6% or so to each side.

    Coincidentally, if you mention you’d be willing to pay listing price to your realtor, don’t be surprised when that’s the counter you get because “there are multiple offers.” The price going up allows for each realtor (and each broker) getting paid more. So, don’t let it surprise you that your realtor “let it slip” to the selling realtor how much more you’d be willing to pay.

    Great advice on the part-time realtor work. Never would have thought to ask that, honestly.

    1. Coincidentally, the 2nd realtor we met which I didn’t discuss yet, recently had a client who received multiple offers. When that fact was presented to one of the buyers, she thought they were playing games and backed out. But it worked out because the seller went with a higher offer.

      It’s very tricky with realtors. When we bought the Groovy Ranch Land, the listing was too high. At the same time, an almost identical property next to us was being sold by the same person and was under contract with the same listing agent.

      Our realtors called the listing agent to discuss an offer. They gave him a ballpark range and he said his seller would probably accept at the higher end. Our realtors basically said, “Look, the sale price of the adjacent lot will be public in a few weeks. We don’t want to find out our buyers paid too much.” In this case it seemed reasonable for our realtors to make an inquiry, because a bunch of properties on the same road were subdivided from a larger tract, owned by one seller. In theory they should all be priced the same per acre.

      1. Sounds like you have found a good realtor! I am not too far away (live in Winston Salem). We have some good friends that will likely help us when we buy a house in about 18 months. Gotta get rid of this student loan debt, first.

        1. Oh too bad we didn’t know that. We were in Winston Salem in December for a wedding. It would have been great to meet up with you.

          I would also advise that if you’re considering working with friends who are realtors, I would still interview two others. Buying a home is a business transaction and you want to do what you can to work with a top notch professional.

      2. You would think that about price per acre, but case in point, our lot in Canyon Lake is 2.4 acres, heavily treed (a bonus for us) and we got it for $53k. The lot next to it, same layout, size, and building restrictions with the watershed splitting our properties is priced at $110k. WTF? It even has less trees (read privacy) and still no direct lake view. The lot on the other side is priced at $58k and you could position the house to get a lake view… I don’t get it either.
        Mr. SSC recently posted…Stick to the Plan or Chase Adventure?My Profile

          1. Yes, that’s the weird part. Well, most are owned by the same developer still. Some residents have purchased lots in the neighborhood back when they were $15k or even $25k and just sat on them to sell later. Those have emotional attachment and prices tend to reflect that, like the $110k lot next to ours, but, even the ones owned by the developer fluctuate pretty wildly on a seemingly random basis.
            Mr. SSC recently posted…Stick to the Plan or Chase Adventure?My Profile

  18. What do I think? I think you need to do a post on him kicking your cat on the first date. Like, do that post as soon as possible. We need that post.

    You’ve got him down 6-1. This is the point in the game where you pile it on…. 🙂

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