“Goin’ crazy, Wanna Come?”

That's what we used to say when somebody asked, "Where ya' going?" 

I’ve been going and going to because of deadlines this week. Income tax returns and finding property to buy were big challenges. Taxes are done now. And I submitted an offer on a condo today, because today was the deadline for identifying a 1031 exchange property. That’s a tax deferment strategy for people who sell a rental property and buy another one. 

I sold my rental townhouse at the end of February. Finding another property turned out to be even harder than I expected. A house would come on the market one day and be "Pending" the next. That means there was an acceptable offer that was pending an inspection or financing and it happened before I even had a chance to tour the house. I've never seen a market so crazy!

Now it is finally slowing down but just a little. Interest rates have gone up a bit. Still, most of the homes that don't sell right away have a drawback. I tried to drive up to one on a mountain road that turned out to be impassable. I had to back down for a few minutes, very carefully. 

Frank was a real estate broker for 30 years and never saw a market like this. I worked as an agent for a little while and have followed real estate values ever since, and I think an awful lot of homes have sold for more than they are worth. Still, people need to live somewhere!

Although I've been busy, I found time to take a snapshots, like this collapsed house I passed yesterday. It's not for sale, but I couldn't help imagining a listing for this property: "Nice setting but home needs TLC."

Other views were more serene. 

And some were unexpected.

The "Left Aid" sign was on a building next door to a former "Rite Aid" Drugstore.

Today I stopped at a library to send a fax and noticed a cute sign on the book return box. 

Below that we see a barn quilt that is on the wall of a hardware store, and then a dental office with some giant toothbrushes.