There is just something about Loveland. When we were looking to buy two years ago, we considered it briefly, but somehow it just seemed too far away from everything and everyone we knew. It was in the boonies, compared to where we lived and played. But something about it has always called to me. I have done three open houses up there, and felt like it was where I really wanted to work. I feel weird about doing open houses in Fort Collins, like I don't quite fit in. I've worked extensively in Greeley, but I never felt any connection to the community. I desperately want to be working all over Boulder County, because it's been my home for decades, even when I was living away from it. But Loveland feels like my secret little guilty pleasure. For the first time, I have clients who are serious as a heart attack about moving to Loveland, and we spent a good chunk of the day driving around it, looking at houses. It was our first excursion in the process, and we learned a lot, including where not to go and what sort of houses to exclude permanently from consideration. I am late writing my blog because I logged in to the MLS to narrow their search, and I sort of got lost looking up houses.
Completely unintentionally, I ran the tour in chronological order. We started with a house built in the early 1950s, and the young couple remodeling it were being very careful to preserve the period feel of the home, even as they upgraded the efficiency of the mechanicals, insulation, etc. The next house was in a neighborhood near the sculpture park where I've held two of the three open houses, and it was awful. Purely dreadful. It was built in the 1970s, and the sellers were trying to take advantage of the hot market and listing it for about $30,000 more than it ought to have been in that condition. We couldn't leave fast enough. The next was a house from the 80s that was a few blocks down from their favorite place (which was already under contract), and it was neat as a pin and very, very close to what they are looking for. If they were ready to jump on the very first house they toured that fit their needs (few people are), then we'd be going forward. But for now, all we can say is "a lot like this, but not yet." After a lovely lunch at a downtown pub, we went to the last, newest home on the list, built in 2003. Oddly, it was structurally in as bad of a shape as the 70s place, even though cosmetically it was just fine. They had it staged with some Danish modern chairs in the living room with black and white leather upholstery that made them look like gym equipment. My buyer said the living room looked like the Starship Enterprise.
I have now survived most of the hectic two weeks I had assigned myself. I have a fair piece of work to do before the Rotary picnic, but most of that can be accomplished at home, in yoga pants, with my feet up. I hurt everywhere, and something I've eaten in the last few days has made me swell up around the middle in the most painful of ways. All I was good for when I got home was napping and watching TV. And like the addict I am, I watched cable news most of the night. It makes me so stressed out, but I can't look away. I joked today that it's like watching the TV show 24, but it never stops, so I'm going to call it 365 from now on. I don't know how all of this will turn out, and I refuse to predict what the FBI and Congress will unearth. But I will go on record right now with the prediction that when they make movies about this period in history, it's going to be chock full of action, intrigue, and sexy cop thriller stuff that will make James Bond look like a piker.
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