MY FIRST CLOSING!

 

 

Well, not really. I mean, it's my first closing. Since I don't feel comfortable posting a picture of the client's new home to my blog (it wasn't my listing, I feel tacky standing in the front yard with a camera, etc.) I chose Neuschwanstein Castle for a few reasons.

 

First of all, I'm feeling like the Queen of Everything. This was a major sale by any account. (Anything over $250,000 is a major sale in my book, and this passed that line by a lot.) Enough of a sale that the Real Estate Course, books, license fee, MLS membership, franchise fees, first year marketing of myself (you wouldn't believe what it costs to be on a few of the Kroger grocery carts!), signs, lock boxes, brochure boxes, and down payment on a new-to-me car to transport buyers in which had piled up on my credit cards is soon to be history. I am so grateful that my client (MC) chose me to help with this purchase.

 

Second, I feel like the Queen of Everything because while I've lived in some nice homes, I had only seen homes in the MC's price range and beyond in home shows. Clients always love showing their realtor everything they notice about the property and what it means. I learned enough looking at homes with MC I'm sure the thought of charging me tuition crossed his mind.

 

Third, it made me work hard enough that I had to take a break that was more over due than I'd realized. I travelled to Milledgeville, Georgia to see Flannery O'Connor's house, something I'd wanted to do for years. (Bookworm? Guilty.) It was also the chance to reconnect with my old friend Holly, who I'd last seen sometime between 2000 and 2008. We had a wonderful time remembering the travels we'd had as students. We were spending the semester in London because our college had a low rate interest loan program created by alumni to support worthy but "under funded" students in spending time abroad. During spring break, it seemed everyone had an exotic vacation planned. Greece. Italy. Skiing in the Alps. No, I'm not kidding. Those of us with less funding opted for Ireland, Scotland, and Wales, but Holly, dreamer that she was, wanted to see Neuschwanstein Castle. She talked me into joining her. Talk about budget travel. We started in Paris, which had been my pick, I think, where we stayed in a charming but run down hostel for two or three days. The first morning, I was offered a Café au Lait, and the owner sprinkled it with cinnamon. I've been hooked ever since.

 

We made our way from Paris to Germany, and since we were exhausted from walking Paris because we couldn't master the Metro, we timed our travel so we could travel overnight, sleeping on the train. My backpack was my pillow, and I remember tying its strap around my wrist so I would wake up if someone tried to take it. Our backpacks were also our kitchens, and we carried peanut butter, bread, fruit, and the like for our meals. I will spare you the account of the one and only time we paid to eat at a restaurant, where Holly had a dining experience that still haunts her. Our best meal was probably the meal we made for ourselves at the Youth Hostel, where two very cute boys flirted with us. Our priorities were straight. They were NOT getting our food! Sure enough, they asked to join us. I'll never forget how shocked they were that we said no.

 

There were many adventures and misadventures, including but not limited to lack of sleep, lots of wandering around lost, missing trains, walking into the shower room before it was empty, and people everywhere being gracious and  patient and extraordinarily kind (one couple let us have their first class seats because they didn't want to wake us up, and at dawn I found them waiting in the corridor for us to get up so they could sit down; they'd stood for an hour or so), I learned that while the world required some caution and planning, it was also absolutely overflowing with good people eager or at least willing to help. So when we reached Neuschwanstein Castle, almost out of money, and the line stretched for hours, as we rested our feet trying to decide what to do next, I wasn't even upset when Holly said, "I don't think I want to go inside. What if I don't like it? What if it ruins everything?" So we made our way back to London a few days early. And I was perfectly happy.

 

Remember when you are buying a new home, moving, getting married, having a baby, graduating from school, burying a parent, getting a divorce, or undergoing any major event, remember to stop and breathe. Enjoy the moment or remember that this too shall pass. It's a cliché, but it's also one of the deepest truths I know. It's about the journey.