This weekend we moved the first wave of "stuff" into our daughter's new rental house in Champaign/Urbana. She's a Junior at the University of Illinois studying Industrial Design in FAA, Fine & Applied Arts.
The marathon move-in is going to spread itself over a week-long period with the finale scheduled for next Saturday. It's amazing how much one "needs" to go away to school these days.
She and three friends found the house last fall after spending the last two years in the dorms. The rental tradition at U of I mandates that the search begin almost as soon as classes start and the best properties are snapped up by October. Leases run from August of the next school year to the following August.
The girls found this house without any parental help and given the condition of some properties in the area, it looks like it's going to be fine -- after the landlord addresses some remaining issues.
Why am I blogging about this? Because this weekend was another example of how a Realtor's job is never done.
Most parents were shopping for white goods, stocking refrigerators and saying their goodbyes. What was I doing? Checking for mold, testing the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, fretting about peeling paint and vacuuming ducts. I was looking for potential electrical problems, questioning the soft-feeling subfloor in the lower level bathroom and making sure the bedrooms' egress windows actually open as they're supposed to.
It's probably hard for restaurateurs to dine out without turning a critical eye toward to meal and it's certainly hard for a real estate professional to move their kid into a house without giving it an extra once-over.
(By the way, the Swiffer Wet Jet -- worth its weight in gold.)
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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a REALTOR with the GoshenRealtyGroup at RE/MAX Preferred Partners in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs with special emphasis on homes for sale in Madison County and the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville, Troy, Bethalto and surrounding areas.
Goshen Realty Group takes its name from the earliest nickname for Madison County, Illinois -- the Land of Goshen -- coined when the region's first settlers compared their new home east of the Mississippi River to the biblical land of peace and plenty.
For more information, visit GoshenRealtyGroup.com or e-mail Nancy at Nancy@GoshenRealtyGroup.com. Text or call Nancy at 618-791-8007. REMAX Preferred Partners is located at One 157 Center, Edwardsville, IL 62025.
Please note that individual listings periodically mentioned in this blog are accurately described in terms of availability and price at the time of the posting. Because properties are constantly coming on and off the market, please contact Nancy for the latest information on those that are of particular interest to you.
