In the Trenches – A Snow Day in Scottsdale!

By Buying, Mike's Articles, Phoenix Metro Real Estate News, Selling February 25, 2019

Days like this past Saturday remind me how much I love my career!

Saturday however, did not start out to be very promising. Due to the amount of snow in North Scottsdale’s premier Desert Mountain golf community, one of the key homes I was going to show my client couldn’t be viewed due to a leaking roof. My client flew in on Thursday from the SF Bay Area and had a grueling all day Friday interview with his possible new employer in Scottsdale. He could only view houses on Saturday and was heading back to the Bay on Sunday. Though we stressed to the seller’s agent that we can see past the issue, the seller still refused us access to see this near million-dollar home. Get this – the property has been on the market for 678 days

Now we’re down to three homes to view and because of the snow (unbelievable, right?) we were warned at the guard gate that some of the higher up neighborhoods were having issues with cars getting stuck.  “Be prepared to call a tow truck,” they said!

Well, being a former snow country resident of Lake Tahoe and Truckee for almost 20 years, I thought, not a problem, right? Wrong. I had long abandoned 4-Wheel and All wheel driving. So, following our second showing, we got slightly stuck in the driveway. My rear wheel Genesis came with a lot of accolades, but snow/ice conditions weren’t apparently not one of them. Fifteen mins of tracking back and forth, and help from the melt off, we got out.

The good news is that my client loved two of the three homes we saw that day. I have to say it sort of tugged on the old heart strings to see all the white stuff up there on Sonoran Desert foliage.

– Mike Bodeen

 

About the Author
Michael Bodeen, Associate Broker

     I was born and raised in San Rafael, California, from the mid 50’s to the early 70’s. I had super parents who worked hard to provide 5 kids with a good Catholic education – despite my best attempts to overthrow the knuckle-cracking regime of Sister Mary Anselma. My dad worked as a self-employed butcher until his retirement at 65 and enjoyed many wonderful years until mom passed away in 1992.

     Dad passed away in the fall of 2006 having lived a great and full life into his early 90’s! In California, I attended college in Chico and Sacramento as a “Sosh” major, but like many of my contemporaries, I did not have a clue what I wanted to do when I grew up. Because of my age, I missed the Vietnam War and into my early 20’s I had many typical youthful indiscretions.

     Thankfully, that was a brief period of my life, and with greater thanks, not too much damage was sustained in those early and rebellious years. And by the way, those thanks are due to the answered prayers of faithful relatives who prayed for years that a wayward Michael would turn his life over to the Lord, and in January of 1982 that’s what happened.

     I lived in Sacramento, California in the mid 70’s, and later moved to Truckee, California, which is near Lake

Tahoe and Reno, Nevada. Truckee’s often labeled the “coldest spot in the nation.” Why did I move there?

My father-in-law was a real estate broker in Donner Lake, California, and despite his cantankerous disposition, he seemed very successful in his real estate endeavors. I joined him in sales in July of 1976.

    The Truckee and Lake Tahoe area was a wonderful place to raise a family, but a difficult and cold environment to live in, but we did so for 18 years. In 1994, my wife, Karen, and I visited Scottsdale at a friend’s request, and within 8 months, our family of 5 had relocated to “the valley” – or is it a desert? Whatever it is, it’s warm. At any rate, 24 years have gone by since we made the break from the late great state of confusion, uh, California, and it’s turned out to be a great move.

     As for hobbies, I enjoy family, friends and travel. My kids Robert, Kendra, and Jonathan are now 40,

34, and 31 respectively. I recently became “gramps” for the 4th time as well. It’s a nice time of life. Karen remains as lovely on the inside and outside as the day we were married. We continue to wonderfully grow together as the years advance. As an ordained Christian Chaplain, I volunteer Preaching at Florence Prison with Along Side Ministry. The ministry helps make the formerly incarcerated able to function, even thrive, on “the outside.”

     Should you choose to have me represent you in the sale or purchase of your home, you’ll be receiving my 40+ years of real estate knowledge, counsel, and experience (including negotiation experience).

    Beyond the transaction, I’m always available to you, should you ever need my real estate advice.