Quick recap - Maryellen and I are looking at a house, make an offer, have it accepted, and then find out the listed property is actually not 1.38 acres, but .997. We found this out because Maryellen works in a real estate law office, and does her own title work.

Anyway, when we bring this to the realtor's attention, they don't believe us. "What's your source" we're asked by both our buyer's agent and the seller's agent.

Uhhh, the subdivision map. You know, that thing you should totally know about because you're in the business and all....

So one of the agents gets a copy of the subdivision map (freely available at the county clerk's office) and calls me. I look at mine, she looks at hers... here's the conversation:

Her:  "see Dan, it says here your property is 1.38 acres"...

Me: "No, it clearly says .997"

Her: "you're wrong. Lot X is what you are buying. It's 1.38 acres"

Me: "No, YOU'RE wrong. We're buying Lot Y - that's what it says on the deed, the mortgage, the tax papers, and everything else. You're reading the map upside down. Turn it so the little North arrow is pointing up...."

Unbelievable.

Anyway, enough complaining - despite this, the deal is moving forward.

After this last house fell through, Maryellen and I had a talk on moving - we're going to stay put for (probably) another year or so. Our house is a cute little house in a nice neighborhood, and is very manageable in regards to cost / maintenance / upkeep. Those are big plusses - this house is prettymuch "recession proof" (not that I worry about that - I'm profitable for companies - I feel I'll always have plenty of work.)

Staying here will also allow us to save more $$ and be able to pounce on something we really like when the time comes. I'm thinking 5+ acres 

Jeez, I haven't written in awhile. It's not due to lack of interest or subjects to write about - I can assure you that. It's just that Clear-Writing has been rather busy as of late. Large, diverse projects; a myriad of new clients needing ongoing work; an expansion of the business; and (hopefully) another book in the works - there's a lot going on.

Whew... good thing we aren't moving  

In another post awhile back, I noted how there's a lot more "writing" competition than there used to be. And truth be told, it's no big deal to me.

Because I don't compete with anyone. Really, I don't.

Do you know why?

Because I do what I do better than anybody else does. Dan Furman has a unique writing style, and a unique business acumen. You simply cannot compete with me at being me.

And far and away, the people who hire me are hiring ME. They aren't hiring just any writer - they like MY website and MY writing and MY marketing vision. Someone else can never do a better job at being ME than I can.

Oh, there are other good writers out there. And some people may even like those other writers better (apparently, I can't compete with them at being them... I'm cool with that.) 

That's the big trick to marketing (especially marketing online.) Be unique - do something nobody else does (or can do), and you cannot be competed with.

There's one Oreo. Try as they might, generic types, store types, or even Hydrox (whatever they are called) can't be an Oreo. If you want Oreos, you have to buy Oreos. There's no other way to get them.

Be an Oreo.

Fell through.

Had the inspection today, and now that the snow melted (and it's raining), we noticed some real problems. Like the slope from the neighbors house is steep, and we'd be taking on tons of run-off. Brown ice on the slope = no good.

Plus, the finished basement (where my office would be) has a water problem. As in "leaks from the outside". I need my future office move-in and work ready. So a leaky office is not what I'm looking to get into.

In addition, I felt there would be neighbor issues. The neighbor had their downspout extenders pointed right at this property - so the run-off water went down the slope, right into the yard - this made the water problems even worse. In my mind, that's a situation that should not be allowed to happen - if I saw my property was somehow infringing on / affecting someone else's, I'd do something about it - obviously, this person doesn't think like that.

Possible Neighbor Issue = no good as well. I'm not saying the people are bad, but it's not someone I want to live next to.

So, we walked.