Palos Verdes Lifestyle - Norma Toering's Palos Verdes Homes Blog

I bought a Get Well card for a client yesterday.

After work on Friday I stopped by a client's house for dinner and to participate in their housewarming celebration.  I sold the house to them last month and I was quite surprised to see new hardwood floors and tile throughout most of the house.  The recently retired husband wanted a fixer and it was evident he was already fixing the flaws of the charming Old Spanish house.

The party was in full swing when I arrived.  I did not immediately see the host or hostess.  When I finally connected with the wife her first words were, "My husband is in the hospital."

"What happened?" I inquired.

"He fell off the ladder and broke his leg," she replied.  "He was putting in the last screw on the new water heater installation when he fell.  He insisted the party must go on."

So as we sat enjoying the delicious feast my buyer was in surgery.  I asked his wife to give him my best wishes for a speedy recovery, but I also took the time to shop for a card filled with a 'heal soon' message.  Cards may be considered Old School in this e-age, but do social graces ever go out of style?

I believe social media is here to stay, but that doesn't necessarily mean we should let all other forms of social graces fade away, does it?

A past oversight does not negate current responsibility.  About three weeks ago I opened escrow on a charming little view home in the Miraleste neighborhood of Rancho Palos Verdes.  As we moved forward with inspections and other due diligence duties we requested an inspection of the property by the Palos Verdes Estates Homes Association since this area of Rancho Palos Verdes falls under the strict and stringent deed restrictions of what was formerly known as the PVE Art Jury.

The seller was momentarily taken aback by our request.  No one told him about these deed restrictions when he purchased the property.  He bought the house without knowing if there were any compliance issues.  There are.  Thankfully, they are minor and do not fall into the deal-breaker realm.  At our request, the seller paid the $175 fee for a representative of the Association to visit the site and check for any additional compliance issues before the property is transferred to the new owner.  Once transferred, the new owner accepts responsibility for complying with the deed restrictions.

The deed restrictions cover such things as paint color, roofing materials and other aesthetic aspects of the dwelling.  The violations cited for the property in question was the air conditioning condenser lacked a screen and one window was not in conformity with the rest of the house.  Yes, they are picky, but the neighborhood benefits from their close attention to detail.

Many out of the area agents have no knowledge of this little local quirk--who would expect a section of Rancho Palos Verdes to fall under the jurisdiction of the Palos Verdes Estates Homes Association?  But it does.

I'm making an office change within my same company, REMAX Palos Verdes, but after over four years in the same space, I can't believe the amount of "stuff" that filled every nook and cranny of every available space.  So much for the organized person I thought I was...thankfully, my habits are not carved in stone!  Change can be refreshing and the perfect opportunity to tweak the systems, discard what is not working and embrace new ways and techniques.

Eight large trash bags full of stuff and ten file boxes are gone.  Two file cabinets are about to be donated to the less enlightened and paper dependent--I must confess there's still a little bit of me wistfully clinging to my habits of yesteryear.  However, the office space is more inviting and I'm feeling much lighter without the weight of years of files and the crutch of old documents held far too long.

I'm working on using less paper, but I'm far from being paperless.  I am more selective in the information I print and Google docs are fast becoming my favorite file cabinet.  My impending move is going to be my catalyst for going greener and traveling lighter.  Technology is well on the way to winning the battle for my business to go virtual.  Boxes and file cabinets are so cumbersome, don't you think?

Norma Toering & Team RE/MAX Palos Verdes Realty
(310) 493-8333 / Office Phone: (310) 831-0800

PalosVerdesLifestyle- Nominated by Relocation.com as one of the top ten Los Angeles area real estate blogs. Chosen by MovingCost.com as one of the best Los Angeles realty blogs. Ranked by Technorati in the top 1% of all blogs. As seen in the Daily Breeze newspaper.

South Bay Los Angeles cities I sell real estate, property, houses and homes in: Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills, Rolling Hills Estates, Rancho Palos Verdes, San Pedro, Long Beach, Torrance, Lomita, Redondo Beach, Hermosa Beach and Manhattan Beach. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

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