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Real Estate Information |
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Burn, Baby, Burn!
Luxury homes are lots of fun to inspect. Sure, the pay is better too, but mostly it's just fun to see how the other half lives! I also get to meet those people who have reached such a level of financial success that they are buying a home that seems like it could have been a boarding school! One of the fun aspects of inspecting large and expensive homes is seeing furnishing and interior design work at the highest level. Unfortunately, that high level does not always translate to attractive! Good-sized decorating budgets does not always mean good taste. One such mansion sticks always in my mind. Among the oldest and most prestigious sections of Jacksonville, Florida is Ortega. Situated along a wide expanse of the St. Johns River with a fabulous view of the downtown skyline is Ortega Boulevard. In our fair town, that address spells success! It is always a thrill to inspect on Ortega Boulevard. The homes were built during the 1920's and 30's by the business and political leaders of the time. In a state not known for architecture, homes on Ortega Boulevard can be compared proudly with any in America. But that does not mean that some folks don't commit creative crimes in the decorating department! The listing agent was thrilled to have this home as the corner piece of an envious listing portfolio. One point, though, kept coming up in comments made by would-be buyers after being shown the beautiful home. The plum-painted walls on nearly the entire first floor made the interior look like the set from the old "Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In" television show! This simply had to be corrected to attract a buyer to the home. Upon arrival at the home, I parked behind the painter's truck. When I went into the home, a team of painters was busy working to cover "plum" with "eggshell". Their best guess was that three coats would do it; I was betting on five! As is always the protocol, all the lights, appliances, and heating were turned on for the home inspection. My company calls this our "Super Bowl" check. Seems that the greatest stresses a home undergoes is during the Super Bowl. There are usually dozens of people around, all of whom are using multiple televisions, cooking, washing, showering, and consuming every possible stitch of electricity. And all of this is going on simultaneously! If the systems continue to work during the Super Bowl, they will work fine during routine family use, or so the theory goes. So, while zipping about the house checking here and checking there, one of the painters called out that he smelled smoke! If the home catches on fire during the Super Bowl that is most certainly a penalty. Upon my arrival to the electrical panel, I smelled heat and burning wire. I then ran to the exterior to disconnect power at the switch adjacent to the meter, which was on fire! I told the real estate agent to call the fire department while I secured the power to the home. Things were going to be fine. To my surprise and confusion, she became upset with me for securing power to the home. When I asked her why she is upset that I had secured power to the burning electrical panel, she exclaimed, "Wally, if you turn off the power, the painters won't be finished today!" I reminded her that if the home continued to burn, it wouldn't need paint! The old adage "when you're surrounded by alligators, sometimes it's hard to remember that you came here to drain the swamp" must have been coined by a guy who was working for a real estate agent in Florida. Wally Conway is President of Florida HomePro Inspections, and has recently written a book entitled "Secrets of the Happy Home Inspector", available at GoHomePro.com or Amazon.com. Wally's expertise and experience has been sought after by HGTV's "House Detective", the Florida Times Union, and many real estate boards and associations. As a speaker, writer, instructor, and host of The Happy Home Inspector radio show every Saturday at 3 PM on WOKV 690, Wally blends the right amount of up-to-date information with just the right amount of humor, insight, motivation, and real-world application. Visit WallyConway.com for more information!
MORE RESOURCES: Cambridge is the worst city in New England for first-time homebuyers, study says. Where’s the best? The Boston Globe Real Estate Expert Jody Wainio of Buyers Choice Realty Shares Advice on Mortgage Pre-Approvals in HelloNation sg.finance.yahoo.com Blackstone's Wesley LePatner, a mentor to women and real estate investing leader, killed in NYC office shooting Business Insider The real estate market: 5 key themes to watch this week Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com AI Is Transforming Real Estate Marketing | Florida Realtors Real estate: Condo prices rise in Indian River County; fall in Martin, St. Lucie counties Treasure Coast News Troy Furbay has been appointed Managing Director, Hospitality at Crescent Real Estate LLC Hospitality Net ‘Walking beside him’: Daughter continues stepfather’s real estate dream Mountain Home Observer Richland County property transfers recorded July 21-24 Mansfield News Journal Double digit price increases for Putnam real estate Mid Hudson News I-78/I-81 Corridor commercial real estate activity picking up Lehigh Valley Business Alex MacWilliam of Alex MacWilliam Real Estate in Vero GlobeNewswire Haag-Brown Commercial Real Estate to open Bentonville office Talk Business & Politics RE/MAX revenue continues to slip despite agent gains Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com US industrial real estate investor Terreno sells $82m portfolio IPE Real Assets Executive Killed in Manhattan Shooting Was CEO of Blackstone's $53 Billion Real Estate Megafund Realtor.com Inside Zillow’s summer launch: 5 new tools built for agents - Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Inside Zillow’s summer launch: 5 new tools built for agents Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Anywhere revenue inches up despite ‘weird’ housing market Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Real estate transfers: 7/30 Toledo Blade Leading Arizona Real Estate Team JBRE Joins Real Brokerage, Bringing $310M Sales Portfolio Stock Titan Real Estate Transactions | July 14-18, 2025 Republic-Times Real estate office renovating former daycare The News-Enterprise Exclusive: Apple to buy another Silicon Valley campus for $365 million San Francisco Chronicle News | UK commercial real estate investment slips slightly to £10 billion in second quarter - CoStar Ledge Road property in Newport sold for $3.3 million tops latest Newport County sales Newport Daily News Christie’s Debuts Crypto Real Estate Division The New York Times What’s Rising Across the Upstate? Updates on 7 Real Estate Developments Upstate Business Journal Santa Monica Ranks Second Most Expensive for Rentals as Real Estate Market Shows Mixed Signals Santa Monica Daily Press Atlanta real estate tycoon Tom Cousins has died at 93 Rough Draft Atlanta Chris Heller’s real estate team joins eXp Realty HousingWire Easton home on Sierra Drive that sold for over $1M 'epitomizes one-of-a-kind luxury' Enterprise News Population Growth in England and Wales: A Boon for Real Estate and Social Infrastructure Sectors AInvest Hamptons Real Estate Market Data – Week of 7/22/2025 Hamptons.com With The Enolia, MCB Real Estate reinvents the residence hall for Morgan State University Baltimore Fishbowl Boardwalk Real Estate: Q2 Earnings Snapshot San Antonio Express-News Blackstone’s LePatner killed in NYC shooting Private Equity Real Estate | PERE RealPage buys Rexera, maker of 'AI agents' for real estate deals The Business Journals Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2025 Financial Results Quiver Quantitative One of the world’s largest luxury real estate firms wants to help you buy a house — with crypto New York Post Gold Key Real Estate lewistownsentinel.com Judge sides with LGBTQ+ Alliance in battle with ex-CEO Real Estate News by RealEstateNews.com Commercial Real Estate Still Has a Software Problem Commercial Observer Brixmor Property Group's Q2 2025 Earnings: A Strategic Playbook for Resilient Retail Real Estate AInvest The Future of AI in Real Estate Valuations: Understanding Tomorrow’s Appraisal Standards Appraisal Buzz WeWork Wants You to Know It’s a Grown-Up Real-Estate Firm Now The Wall Street Journal Real estate: Home prices climb in Martin, Indian River counties; fall in St. Lucie County Treasure Coast News NexPoint REIT Offers Shareholders Choice in $0.15 Distribution: Cash or Stock Payment Options Stock Titan 18 months later, Blackstone still sees real estate comeback ahead Private Equity Real Estate | PERE Partners Real Estate names a new top executive in Austin The Business Journals Virgin Hotels Chicago Flagship Sold in Strategic Deal Amid Timeshare Real Estate Shift – What You Need to Know Travel And Tour World |
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