by Mary Wakefield Buxton –
Urbanna, Va.—On Christmas Eve, after my morning tea, I made an offer to buy a condo in Naples, Fla., from a real estate posting I saw on Zillow. My offer was accepted on Christmas day.
This sounds a bit reckless, but it actually was the third home I have purchased “without inspecting it.” This is because I am easy to please and can’t be bothered by details such as how big is the bathtub in the master bedroom or what color the granite on the kitchen counter might be.
Ed Ruark in Deltaville can attest to the fact that was how I purchased the cottage on Kent Street in Urbanna across the street from where I now live. I wrote a contract on the fender of his car before I had even walked inside the place. I told him I didn’t care how the cottage looked inside because I loved the wide Rappahannock River view and that was good enough for me. Ed called me the best customer a Realtor could ever have and I am very proud of that sobriquet.
Actually, Ed finally insisted I take a quick walk through the cottage, which I did, but I wasn’t one bit interested. But I still remember a glass of iced tea the previous owner offered me with a sprig of mint she had grown just outside the kitchen window. How wonderful was that tea! This was July 3, 1984 when I happily contracted to move from Newport News to Urbanna.
I bought the house I live in now also without inspecting it. Like I said, I’m easy to please.
My husband, Chip, far more conservative than I am, was flabbergasted at what he called my “Christmas contract.” But when I showed him pictures on the Internet of the new condo he warmed up to the idea.
My behavior wasn’t as rash as it sounds. I had previously lived in Naples during the winter months and I knew the area well. I knew the condo was in a neighborhood I liked and I knew and trusted my Realtor. When I sent him over to look at the condo on Christmas Eve, and he called back to say I would love the place, I knew I would.
A good Realtor, like a good doctor or lawyer, is one of the best assets a person can have in our journey through life.
My last Naples condo, which I saw before purchasing, was dreadful. It was on Naples Bay and it had a marvelous view of yachts that went streaming by, but it had one major flaw. It was in the direct flight path to the airport and the Lear jets the CEOs were arriving and departing on went right over my head. On Thursday, Friday, Mondays and Tuesdays this could happen every few minutes. The day a pilot waved at me was the day I listed that condo for sale and said goodbye to Naples. At the time I thought for good.
A girl can change her mind. That’s what makes life interesting: changing one’s mind. We ought to do more of it.
Closing was in January and I was ready to go south immediately, but my lawyer refused to leave Urbanna until the condo had closed. “We are not living in a motel while some unexpected title problem is settled,” he said flatly, as lawyers do.
“But shouldn’t I see the condo before I close the deal?” I asked.
“My dear, you have signed a contract to buy a condo you haven’t seen. That I could do nothing about. But we will not be going to Florida until you own the property and that is that.”
So, I sat and waited, packed and ready to go, and finally, a few weeks later the condo closed. We dashed off southward chasing the sun, happy as a couple of larks perched on the head of a cat, which is a good definition of life.
After two 10 hour days of driving we landed in a motel in Naples. The Realtor had dropped off the key and a map of our new neighborhood. We threw our tired bodies in bed and slept like the dead. That’s a scary phrase for a writer to use who is 78 years old but it was exactly how we felt after such rugged days on the road.
But we were in Florida and it was January and we had caught up with the sun which was shining with all its might. So what is better? Chase after the sun and feel half dead? Or stay put and feel well? Well, the former, of course, because tomorrow we would recover and feel great! So what could possibly trouble us now? We had caught the sun!
(Notes from Florida is continued next week.)
©2020
