There it was, the eternal ‘which comes first’ conundrum, played out in real time in front of our eyes, here in Ma’ale Adumim, the sleepy little town we call home. For us, the question was which do we work on first, buying or selling, having to do with my least favorite topic, real estate. My position, which I maintained made a good deal of sense – at least it did when I was planting my toes firmly on the ground – was there was no point in putting our apartment on the market unless we had reason to believe there would be some place out there that we would reasonably want to move into. Yes, we could always back out of any deal we agreed to – something that Esther, our real estate agent kept reaffirming – but short of some unexpected ‘unforeseen,’ that wasn’t what my mommy and daddy raised me to do.
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The Dreaded ‘M’ Word — Part 6
This could be a win-win for everybody. The company sells the apartment, and we buy it. Esther gets her commission, the lawyer gets his fee, and I’m sure you make something on the deal (not that I want to pry!). These remarks were directed at Asaf, who was assisting us in our efforts to buy said apartment (THE apartment on Hashofar) that we were hoping would be the answer, if not to our prayers, then at least to our thoughts. I was sitting next to him as he was driving Barbara and me through the backroads of Har Hotzfim to the offices of the firm that had built and owned the project. We were going to meet with one of their representatives, the hope being that we could come to some agreement that would make everybody happy.
The Language(s) of Latte
‘Do you want that for here or to go?’ I get that question every time I order something at Power Coffeeworks because the barista du jour is supposed to ask. I invariably look at the coffee server in amazement and feigned shock. ‘Where else would I go?,’ I respond with my own somewhat rhetorical question. Should I wander the streets of Jerusalem clutching my take-out container and intermittently sipping the world’s best coffee? Can you imagine walking into your favorite watering hole and ordering whatever it is you order: a beer, a glass of wine, a cocktail, and being asked if you want to take it with you? In this particular case, I had an even better response. ‘Ellie, if I go outside in this heat with my iced latte, it will soon be a watery lukewarm latte, and who wants that’?
The Dreaded ‘M’ Word — Part 5
I know – I JUST KNOW – that there are folks out there waiting on pins and needles for the continuation of my stirring and evocative saga, The Dreaded ‘M’ Word. We had left off with Asaf (the correct spelling of his name) holding the key to the front entrance of this new building on Hashofar. We were about to walk up the flight of stairs (I guess the elevator was not yet in service with only one apartment actually occupied) and open the door to apt 6, which might or might not become the future home of the Casdens. So what were you thinking? What did you expect to find? We know that apartment hunting is not your idea of a good time – to put it mildly.
The Dreaded ‘M’ Word — Part 4
There’s no way I can prove it, but I KNOW, I just KNOW, that was not the way it’s supposed to work. At the Shabbat kiddush we were considering mishtaken mechir, which I didn’t even know existed until a few weeks before. This is a program that allows young couples to enter a lottery, the winners being able to purchase their first apartment somewhere in The Land at a substantial discount from the market value. I try, as much as possible, to discourage discussions about real estate (or anything else that might raise my blood pressure), but, in this case, we were discussing Economics, and that’s allowed (anything under the rubric of ‘social sciences’ is fair game, even politics – although American politics is by invitation only, show your credentials at the door or remain forever silent).
The dreaded ‘M’ word — Part 3
Imagine if they had started when they said they would. Of all the different building projects put up lickety-split in our part of Ma’ale Adumim when the city was nothing but a collection of barren hills, by far – with no fear of competition – the worst, the ugliest, the ones that have most been defeated by the passage of time, are the buildings right across the parking lot from our own humble abode. They really need to do something with those buildings.
The dreaded ‘M’ word — Part 2
To trample on Tolstoy’s immortal prose: every successful real estate transaction is successful in the same way; every unsuccessful transaction is unsuccessful in its own special, one-of-a-kind, that’s-what-went-wrong way. More or less. Here’s one example of selling a home that defies description.
The dreaded ‘M’ word — Part 1
I’ll be home in a little while, and I’m bringing a real estate agent with me. If you want to ruin my day big time, just bring anyone involved in real estate transactions into my field of vision, which is what Barbara was threatening to do.
I’ll drink to that
Some thoughts about conversation
Let’s agree, hosting a kiddush in one’s home every Shabbat morning, as I do week in and week out, is not the hardest thing you’ll ever have to do, but there are things to consider if you want to make it a thing of beauty. One issue that you might not think about right off the bat is the quality of the conversation. Take it from me, it makes all the difference in the world.
It’s the small stuff
Those I can handle…
Catastrophes, disasters, and calamities, those I can handle; it’s the small stuff that throws me for a loop. Those are my words, but the sentiment is pretty much what our friend expressed, sitting over a shared meal at our local sushi purveyor a while ago. Back in Teaneck, he was a volunteer on the local ambulance corps; now he does his shifts for Magen David Adom. (I’m on call tonight; whatever emergencies you plan to have, have them wait until tomorrow!)
alittlebiteast 