Poop in Pants

October 31st

I went into Oakland today to check on another property that was going through a foreclosure. My job was to go in there to check and see if the property was occupied. I was to report my findings back to the bank that owned the property.

I got to the house around 11 Am and knocked on the door hoping someone would answer it. When no one answered I went to the side of the house to see if any lights were on or if it appeared that people were living there. I saw some movement in the house as well as some lights on. Since I had my answer that people were in fact living there, I started to walk away when a big guy came running out of the house asking not so politely what I was doing in his yard. There were a few curse words thrown in for good measure. I explained why I was there, stood there nervously, and to my relief, he just walked away.

I ran to my car.

**Update** I have posted some pictures of the house described in the story.

Odd Smells

This past Saturday I was driving around Oakland checking out some homes in the area. The price of some homes in the Oakland are are pretty low right now because of the market, so I have actually started to look for a place that I can buy. I really love the Oakland area and have decided that I would like to stay there for the forseeable future.
I walked into one house down in Rockridge, pretty close to the bart station, and was overcome by the smell of cigarette smoke. Hey, if you want to smoke in your own house, you have every right to do it; but since I am not a smoker myself, I had a little trouble taking it all in. Either way, it was a cool little house and I wanted to check it out anyway. I zipped through the house saw what I needed to see and hopped back in the car. Apparently the smell from the house had followed me into the car. It was so strong, that I felt like it was in my hair, on my jeans, on my shirt, you name it. I rolled all the windows down in the car and headed onto the freeway, all the while enjoying the fun experience of not being able to think because of the helicopter type noise coming from one open window in a car. Hey, I would have loved to open all of the windows but a giant paper storm would have happened and I didn't want to be that guy on the freeway who no one wanted to drive behind because who knows what was going to come out of the car next...

*Random tangent*
Have you ever been driving down the freeway and your car starts smoking or leaking? Even though you are well aware of what's going on, people zoom up beside you and give you a look to check out the idiot who obviously has a piece of junk car. I hate when this happens.

Long story short, I spent the rest of the day pretending like I was yawning with my arms in the air while I non chalantly turned my head to the side to smell myself. I definitely smelled for at least 2 hours and I'm pretty sure my fake yawn didn't fool anyone. That being said, who wouldn't want this professional selling their house?!

The Premise

Hello Everybody!

My name is Conor Dunn, and I am a real estate agent. 2 months ago I made the leap into the unpredictable world of selling and buying houses, and I could not be more excited about it. I work in Danville, CA at Coldwell Banker on a team with my father Mark, and over the course of the year, I will be keeping a diary of my experiences, both good and bad (hopefully more good than bad.) With my introductions out of the way, I will share a quick story from a few weeks ago and be on my way...

Tuesday, October 7th.

I got up early on a Tuesday to make my way out to Antioch, CA. The reason for the visit was to check on a bank owned property (REO) that had been through a foreclosure a month earlier. Our job, as a real estate team, is to try and sell this property on behalf of the bank. I was there on that particular day to check the status of the house and just get a general feel of what we would be trying to sell.
As I pulled up to the property, I noticed some tape on the windows and a yard that hadn't been kept up in quite sometime. I have since learned that when owners know they are about to get evicted, they suprisingly stop caring about the house the live in. As I opened the door, I was treated to the wonderful smell of cigarrette smoke combined with rotten milk and cat pee. As I tromped through the house holding my breath I almost slipped out of my shoe because it was stuck to the floor. Did the owners have a maple syrup fight in the entry way? The world may never know. After that, 3 bedrooms, 3 disasters. Bedroom A had writing all over a blue walls that had been half heartedly painted recently. Bedroom B had a matress in it and clothes thrown everywhere. Lastly, there was some sort of explosion in the Master Bedroom. It appeared that a chicken had exploded in the Master Bedroom. Well either that or someone put an M80 into a pillow, because there were feathers everywhere, floor to ceiling feathers. I made my way out of the bedrooms and into the kitchen. I ran through the kitchen as I covered my mouth guarding from the rotten food smell. I thought I had escaped nausea until I ran into the garage. There was a water leak that had soaked every piece of junk the tenant had, and the smell was overwhelming. As I fought the urge to pass out, I diligently finished up my inspection of the home and headed to my car,but not without almost stepping on a dead rat in the driveway. Apparently the smell of the garage was too much for him. Being a real estate agent is the best.

Conor