cranking out the work

Dear Family and Friends,

9:10 and I'm winding down after a day of staying put in the chair writing reports. This job has its good moments but a ton of stress. When lenders are stressed they just pass it down the line. After carefully completing a report yesterday on a home in Alamo I sent the report to the broker who in turn sent it to the lender. The lender sent conditions back, my comps were no good, they wanted comps that were within a mile and in the past 90 days. Well guess what so did I but I did the best I could. So I sat down and ran the computer searching the area. 1 mile, last 90 days, not one sale. So they were asking for the impossible. Who knows how it will come out. Bad thing is, the home is beautiful, well worth what I appraised it for but since the comps did not fit the description in some rule book someplace it had to be challenged or even refused.

All day I've dealt with issues that seem pretty well impossible to manage and they tend to stack up and up.

Lois left for San Jose where she and Ray will attend a Jewish dinner for passover. I encouraged her to attend even though she did not feel all that well. I know she will enjoy herself a lot.

Late this afternoon I had an appointment to see a ranch where the much beloved husband died in January and for estate purposes they need an appraisal. I enjoyed meeting the widow, seeing the place, meeting the dogs and being outside in the air for a change. Then I raced to a second appointment in oakley totally unprepared for what I was to find there. Just the most perfect little ranchette property I've seen in a very long time. From the circular driveway with its two powered security gates to the huge pool and spa, the huge rear yard or the covered patio, the marble entry, the custom kitchen. This was some place. Its so fun to see a place that is so together and so appealing and even in this bad market places like this would sell if marketed. This one was for a refi purpose.

After I left the Oakley area I drove a short distance over to Antioch where I inspected a little tract house. The prior owners loved tile, a very specific kind of tile for it was over the entire floor surfaces of all the rooms, bathrooms, kitchen, bedrooms, this same ugly tile. Oh well taste is up to the owner, we still have some rights, the right to make horrid decorating choices. I've made some winners in my time.

Finally with the sun setting I shot my last comp, my camera was demanding batteries and I drove home. Now I'm going to bed, I need rest, lots of it and money but of course the mailman does not deliver money here anymore. I think there is a filter somewhere that removes all checks from my box. Oh well.

I've included a couple photos that Jo took when we were at their home a weekend ago.

love to all,

tim