Lookie Loos

Open houses are fun. I stop by an open house any time I come across one and have 5 minutes to stop in. We don't pretend to be actively in the market to buy but we would consider a house for either investment purposes or as a residence if we came across one. The chances that we'd just stumble across a good opportunity during an open house is rare but stranger things have happened. For example, the previous owners of our current residence was named Parker. Then, the owner of the rental home that we purchased was also named Parker. And now the real estate agent that is listing the neighbor's house is named Parker and she has an uncanny resemblance to the Parker that owned our house! Coincidence? I think not.

Today, we stopped by 4 houses. Some agents are new and it's often obvious. They're just so eager to introduce themselves and try to find out about our needs and offer their services. They can't take a hint that many people are just lookie loos and have no need for a random real estate agent. Do you own a house already? Yes (thinking: yes, several, thank you). Are you looking for a home? No, we live in the neighborhood and are just looking (thinking: not for this ridiculous price!). Would you like a notepad? No, thanks. (thinking: it would go directly into the trash). Would you sign my guestbook? Sure (thinking: uh, why?). I guess we do look younger than the average real estate investors. So when we go looking, I purposely dress up in more than just a t-shirt.

One of the agents that we met this afternoon was probably the cockiest we'd ever met. I'm easily turned off by people who flaunt their so called success. He made it a point to let us know that he'd put the house on the market only last night but had 11 calls for it already. Normally, he would offer it to his list of over 3000 private clients first but this time he just wanted to get it on the market. Then he went on about how irate he was with Fletcher Jones Mercedes Benz for not letting him know that the 2005 C230 didn't come with a maintenance plan. Oh lord. After escaping his clutches, we couldn't bear to stop in at anymore open houses for the day.

Total spent Friday:
$8 lunch with colleagues
$15 Cooked dinner but then splurged on dessert. Takeout dessert for 2 from Zov's in Tustin. They are pricey but have the most incredible Key Lime tart. www.zovs.com

Total spent Saturday:
$19 misc stuff for the house at Tuesday Morning
$9 dinner for 2 (saved $8 with Entertainment coupon)

Total spent Sunday:
$240 two modest paintings on canvas (From a great home decor warehouse on Taft/Collins in Orange. It is open to the public on Sundays only so they have things that you would never see at a retail store such as 15 foot high gazebos, ornate Louis XVI style furniture, bronze statuary befitting a Las Vegas fountain. )
$54 Supermarket (saved $38 with double coupons and Entertainment coupon)