Anticipation...Tales of the Giant Green Balloon

I have recently realized that Carly Simon was not entirely correct in that well worn track that all of us from a certain era remember so well.  (And those not from our era likley caught snippets of it on a catsup commercial, which is a bit of a travesty but probably fodder for a different blog). Anticipation does "keep us waiting;" however, I was given an epiphany on the topic...yes given not had.  It may keep us waiting but sometimes the wait is vastly more exciting than the reality.  We have a tendency to build things up in our minds, and the longer the wait the more glorious the imagined outcome until they become prodigous events.  In my experience seldom does reality match that anticipation.

For those of you that don't really know me I am one of the myraid of dreaded real estate brokers in Denver.  My team and I have been working frantically or perhaps even frenetically to market and sell a townhome project which we have listed in North LoDo at 34th and Larimer.  Recently, Susan, who works for the developer on a Nevada rental project as well as in Denver, mentioned ordering a huge helium balloon for the Nevada project.  Instantly I was enamoured with the idea...I went on line to take a peek and they looked even more amazing than I had imagined.  Well, needless to say-I had to have one.

We scraped and budgeted and talked to our developer partner and made the arrangements to purchase a ginormous lime green helium balloon (10' in diameter) emblazoned with the words "FOR SALE" in giant purple letters, for the mere price of $900. Within about 10 days my prize arrived, on a snowy cold day.  And for days and days after it arrived, Colorado gave us a dazzling display of its unpredictable weather with temperatures shifting from a sunny 70+ degrees to a miserable 30 degrees or less with bouts of spring snow, spring hail, spring rain and everything in between. Helium doesn't like cold and snow and harsh weather is not all that conducive to ballon flight so my balloon sat forlornly in its box.  And like a kid at Christmas I behaved until I couldn't stand it any more and I ripped open the box only to see a mountain of green plastic or rubber; it was so big I couldn't even find the lettering so I had to content myself with knowing it was there.

Finally the day came that we could raise the ballon.  My husband Greg, Susan, and I convened on the rooftop deck of one of our townhomes and after some debate about logistics we attached the tubing for the helium and opened the valve on the tank.  Slowly we saw our very large beautiful balloon come to life. She lifted herself off the pavers like a sleepy green giant just waking up from a long hibernation.  Once she was filled, we moved her about a bit until we were certain she was in the very best spot for maximum viewing.  Satisfied with our labors we drove around the block afew times like proud parents and then went back to our office for what was left of the day.  (Who knew it would take 3 hours to raise a helium balloon?) I planned to check on her on my way home; however, it wouldn't be even that long before we were summoned back up to the Upper Larimer Project.

Around 4pm that same day Greg received a phone call from one of the neighbors saying there was a problem with the balloon. So we raced up to the project only to discover that despite what we had estimated from the ground we had raised her too close to a power pole and she had wrapped her "leash" around the top of the pole.  We called the power company and asked them to come and free my balloon.  Of course they couldn't tell me when someone would get there, so I helpfully called them every 20 to 30 minutes to remind them I was still waiting.  During those calls we were able to clarify things like- "the balloon is 10 feet in diameter and contains well over 200 cubic feet of helium."  "No I didn't put her there on purpose," and so on. 

After several hours Susan decided to call a friend, who referred us to a tree trimmer.  The tree trimmer came out with the tools of his trade including some very nifty boots that allowed him to climb the power pole.  He retrieved our beauty and inflicted minimal damage to her in the process.  We placed her in one of the units to rest and await some minor surgery.  Needless to say after all of this I realized that I maybe didn't even like my giant ballon that well.  In all of those weeks of waiting to fly her I hadn't really considered the work of getting her in the air and keeping her there.  And why would I since the directions for inflating her consisted of one typed page no pictures and no diagrams?  I inflate small miniatures of her every week by the dozens right in the comfort of my own office...As I ponder my experience I suspicion that much of life is like this- just not nearly as dramatic or as much of a pain as my balloon.

My husband and I will make a reservation at a restaurant that we have been waiting to try and then get there and think- Hhhm we really like one of our old favorites just as well. But while anticipating going there we are some times certain that it will be the best ever. Likewise, buyers come to me wide eyed and innocent in their excitement to buy property.  Those that have bought before know it's hard work for the buyer as well as the agent but nothing really prepares the first time home buyer for the amount of work that goes into buying a home...the media doesn't tell them that and certainly the American dream of owning your own home doesn't come with an addendum reminding them that this could be very hard work.  Nope it's just anticipation- anticipation of buying the home, moving in and starting a  family or having that first dinner party, or barbeque or inviting the guys over to watch a game on the old flat panel. 

But nothing has really prepared any of us for the real estate market in which we now find ourselves.  I often tell my agents that every deal is a new deal, the banks have turned their backs on condo projects so that in new projects only the lucky last 30% who buy get the benefit of conforming loans.  (We were fortunate to get our Upper Larimer Project approved at Wells Fargo before they completely turned their backs on condos, so we are able to offer conforming products to all qualified buyers) And of course the guidelines for various loans seem to change daily if not more frequently.  Lending programs come and go, as do mortgage brokers and realtors.  But as I have said before if you have the energy and perhaps just the plain old gumption there are definitely bargains to be had, so don't toss in the towel at the first sign of a quagmire.  Work with your broker to find a creative solution, there are some out there if you dig. And if you need a creative city broker don't hesitate to call us or email us- we are a great downtown resource.

I leave you with an invitaion to be a part of our second attempt at flying my prized balloon.  Weather permitting we anticipate raising her for our beer tasting on May 22nd at the Upper Larimer project.  Even if you don't want the beer it might be worth the adventure to see if we can actually keep her in the air this time.  So join us under the giant green ballon.