I have a confession to make: I am a real estate stalker.
As I mentioned before we are in the early process of looking for another place to call home within C-U. It’s no secret to discover who lives in a house. There are names on diplomas in offices and other signs. Or you can just look up their property in the Champaign County Property Record Search.
Names are one thing. I want to know more. So with the help of my good friend google.com, I usually find out who these people are when they drive out of their garages in the morning. Of course, in this town it’s not that difficult to fish out. Most of the houses we have looked at are owned by people affiliated with the major land grant institution in our midst.
In a couple cases, I was able to find out not only what these people did for a living, but why they were moving – to take jobs at other universities away from here. Why does this matter? Because I want to know why someone is leaving a house. If a family is leaving town to take a better opportunity, somewhere in my brain I feel that the house has better karma than if it was being sold because of a divorce.
Mainly, though, I’m just curious. Mr. lbotp has a different adjective — nosy.
11 responses so far ↓
Dwat // March 25, 2008 at 11:51 am
Nothing wrong with scoping out a house that way
What happened to our C-U celeb story, you have me curious.
oobreeze // March 25, 2008 at 11:57 am
Maybe you could tell us what type of celeb it is?
athlete
politician
movie/music star
etc.
Leeanthro // March 25, 2008 at 12:16 pm
Yeah, tell us about the celeb already!
Actually, several of our friends have gotten much better houses than they could have afforded because the people were divorcing and dropped the price. Maybe it’s good kharma for you to bring happiness to the home!
My husband stalks the real estate market, too. But in a different way. He looks through those local real estate magazines week after week even though we are three years from even thinking about moving.
He does this with cars too. He does so much research. He’s already researching the minivan that we may or may not buy 18 months from now!
Me, I like to wait until something is actually in the works to start thinking about it. No sense in wasting precious energy fantasizing until it can actually become a reality.
Misc // March 25, 2008 at 12:35 pm
My sister’s mother-in-law is a realtor. Before we were even thinking of looking for the house we’re currently in, I called her to see if we could go looking.
I love going to open houses, too, even though we have no intention of buying another house.
Mrs. Chicken // March 25, 2008 at 1:10 pm
You can take the girl out of the newsroom, but you can’t take the newsroom out of the girl. Nosy is a job requirement.
Rayne of Terror // March 25, 2008 at 1:14 pm
Ha, when we got our freecycle piano I was totally googling the folks who were offering it to see if I thought it was a good piano or not sight unseen. And I always check out nearby homes for sale and then check on hud.gov to see whether they are in bankruptcy or forclosure.
Catch Her In the Wry // March 25, 2008 at 2:51 pm
I ask the owners or realtors why they are moving to see if the answers are the same as my research revealed. If I get contradictory answers, I know I can’t trust them and move on to more reputable owners/realtors.
Amy // March 25, 2008 at 4:33 pm
I just closed my shades and put on a robe and sunglasses.
Although who gives a crap what or who I am. And if they do…more power to em. I am holding out for you and peanut to move closer to me. I am holding her sippy cup hostage until then.
Stephanie // March 26, 2008 at 8:32 am
Well I am in agreement on knowing who owned the house previously. When we came here in 1998 we bought the house of a divorced couple, who as it turned out, the man was in my husbands department. Two years later, my husband left the family for another woman, hence, i am single at 50!
prairie biker // March 29, 2008 at 5:24 pm
Should I mention that I am a private investigator?
amanda // March 30, 2008 at 7:49 am
One ought to know everything they can when buying a house. There was one lovely home we looked at, but when the realtor said it was on the market as a result of a bitter divorce, “The second to come out of this house, actually,” I shook my head. Saddness lived in those walls.
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