The Emily Series Part IV: Things to do Quickly

Hair salons stress me out. I just got a haircut, and it will be my last one for another year. The tattooed girls at the front desk intimidate me, and today while I waited, a little girl (I think she was the daughter of one of the stylists) danced around my chair. She had pink highlights and high top Converse and just oozed, “I’m four, and I’m so much cooler than you.” Is it weird that I was afraid of a four-year-old? Then my hair cut lady called me back and gushed over how awful my hair looked.

“When’s the last time you came in?” she asked, pulling at my frizzy curls and scrutinizing the split ends.

“Uh, like a year ago,” I mumbled, squirming in the chair, thankful for the cape draped over me to hide my wringing hands. I wanted to tell her that the reason I never come in is because I’m afraid of the hair salon, and how the guy in the chair next to me showing off his lip injections is giving me the heeby jeebies. And how it seems like everybody knows everybody else. They’re all laughing really loudly and slapping their pierced knees. But I just kept quiet. Best to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Speaking of things to do quickly (trust me, I’d rather go on about hair, but they make me write about mortgages, so hang with me – zzzzzz) . . .

Our dear Emily is still searching for a home, and in the past few weeks, she’s learned a thing or two about acting fast. (To get caught up on our Emily Series, click here and here and here.) The last time we checked in on Emily, she was deciding between buying one of three houses. One of the houses was listed at $30,000 under her max purchase price, but it needed some work. She stewed on this delema for several days. What to do? What if it needed $40,000 in repairs? What if the place was a dump? Ah ha! I’ve an answer for you. (The answer actually came from Emily’s realtor, but it was such a clever idea I am taking it as my own.)

Emily’s realtor brought in a contractor to measure walls, tap on tile, and knock on the floor (seriously, he did a lot of knocking). The contractor asked Emily questions about what she wanted to do to the house, and then he set to work on providing an estimate. The idea was, Emily could then calculate whether or not it made sense to buy the house.

Emily gives her vision for the shower.

Negotiating

The contractor was not only legit (the more keys and do-dahs a contractor has hanging from his belt, the more legit he is), he also offered some really great ideas, things like moving a bathroom sink to an opposite wall to provide more space in a bathroom. However, Emily learned the hard way that she should have brought him in sooner. One hour after we left, another buyer put an offer on the house and snatched that bad boy up. Emily never even had the chance to find out the contractor’s quote. The lesson: it’s a great idea to bring in a contractor if you’re deciding on buying a house that needs some work, but you’ve got to act fast in this market. (Did you hear that? I said “market” like I know what I’m talking about – ha!)

If you’re thinking of buying or refinancing your house (and you should be if you’re a smart one), run like the wind to your phone and call our office – 281.822.0660. While you do that, I’m off to buy some high top Converse.