Shop Talk

Lest you think I was being unkind when Trish called me, I wasn't. I answered the phone for a couple of reasons. First, she is my friend we have been known to discuss many other topics. Second, I am the emergency contact for her child, so there have been occasions I have been asked if I can give her daughter a ride home from school.

But talking shop all the time gets boring. The truth is, real estate agents don't remember the 26 homes our buyers see. After a while, the homes blur together. "Did you think the house with the green bathroom was too small?" I don't remember a green bathroom. I saw a lot of bathrooms. Was that the house with the 2 x 4 that was extruding out of the fireplace? I remember that house.

Also, Trish happens to be a fangirl of DIY shows. I happen to think they are all the same. Someone (sponsored by Home Depot or a window company) buys a home a home, knocks out a wall and then has some sort of manufactured drama they weren't expecting. They are over budget, there is a bee hive in the basement or something else kind of stupid, but easily resolved in a sixty-minute episode. The made-for-TV drama is created to look like they are top decision makers and draw in viewers to make the advertisers happy. A true investor has already budgeted for contingencies and they don't have time for self-inflicted drama.

Trish also likes updated homes. This is a thing for her. She wants her house to have that modern appeal. Most "updated" homes look exactly alike. Recently I toured some model homes and then, that same day, looked at some updated 1950s properties. The kitchens in both sets of houses were exactly alike--same color cabinets, same types of flooring and counter tops. Everything from the lighting to the faucets were exactly the same. Everyone else's idea of "updated" is my idea of generic. Besides--and this is something I just don't understand why buyers ignore this--what is updated today is passe' five years later when these same buyers want to sell.

In any case, Trish calls real estate her passion, but I would like to point out she isn't in the field. She likes to look at model homes. She likes to talk about houses and she certainly likes to view Web sites and watch TV shows. That doesn't make it a passion in my book. That makes it an interest.