20160809 (contract)

Can't stop now

The Witching hour is almost

Here. What? No, I meant the

Switching hour, as in the 

Closing date in real estate

In which one party (the

Seller) relinquishes title to

A property (in this case land

And the structures thereon)

In consideration of the other

Party’s (the buyer) giving him

A sum of money earlier agreed

Upon as the sale price, less

The seven percent of the total

Which is split equally between

The parties’ sale agents, each 

Of whom by now is deeply

Enmeshed in the intricacies 

Of their next transactions and

Who are grateful their payday

Finally arrives. Their lives are 

A matter of keeping numerous

Tires rolling down the avenue.

Each at a different stage so 

The process yields something

After all that work. I personally

Don’t mind their cut. The job 

Can get fairly complicated and

I wouldn’t want to be responsible

For it. You can meet some nice 

Folks along the way from people

Who traipse through your home

Appreciatively to bidders, agents,

Buyers, inspectors, appraisers,

Even bankers who have to decide

Whether your old wreck of a 

Classical manse is worth their 

Gamble of loaning the money.

We hope, no we pray, they all

Have a touch of restoration fever

Themselves and can understand

How some supposedly reasonable

People will tie themselves to these

Whipping posts of seemingly

Endless repairs. Sadly there 

Are some who expressed just

That wish for my property and

Had to be turned away for a

Better offer. I feel for them.

I know what they dreamed. I

Dreamed it too—to have made

An old house live again in the

Glory of its period. So much

Was richer then: colors, decor,

Design, flourishes. That’s not

To say that Bauhaus woodworkless

Doorways don’t have a certain

Appeal—they do, but the warmth

Of family life is so much more

Contained for me by the elaborate

Windows, stairs, built-ins, down 

To the muntins, the stained and

Leaded glass. Selling is a lot like

Leaving a lover whose just too

High maintenance has convinced

You, no matter how beautiful she

Is, you’re no longer the man 

For the job.

c. J.S.Manista, 2016