For those of us who are homeowners, the people who came before are shadowy figures.
During the transaction of buying and selling, the only people we ever see – if any - on the other side of the table are the sellers’ real estate reps. We’ve owned four homes before the one we’re in now, and never caught so much as a glimpse of the previous owners.This was true once more with the condo we now own. The closest I ever came was hearing the wife’s voice over the phone of my agent as she admitted to never liking the fridge they’d left behind in the basement. (Her instincts were right – it died a year later.)
I knew the couple we purchased our home from (they moved to an assisted living facility up north to be closer to their kids) were well-regarded, even loved, in our condo community, but even though we’d only moved from the other side of our small town, I didn’t know anything about Rudy and Betty.
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| Rudy's astilbe |
I also knew that he carried the name of a well-known bakery in the next town, but not only his obituary, but a separate article in our local paper told me that he was the co-owner of both that and the family’s farm. He also had been a supervisor overseeing a Massachusetts soldiers’ retirement home for many years. And how had I not realized he’d been in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, beginning in 1969 (the year I was married, so perhaps I was pre-occupied) and serving 7 consecutive terms?
It was an odd feeling sitting in what had been Rudy’s house for 20 years and reading about his passing.
I think we’ve met most. The only one I can’t remember right now is the home that we lived in the longest. That was the third house. We’re on our fourth.
ReplyDeleteI guess that might have felt odd, thinking about times and people in the past.
ReplyDeleteWe had a volunteer in one of my groups whose obituary was a lovely eye-opener. We have angels among us and sometimes never know.
ReplyDeleteI met and befriended the woman who purchased my last house, but never met the couple who bought my first house, that I can recall.
ReplyDeleteI have lived in many homes and never given a single thought to those who lived there before me. In three of those homes we were the first occupants.
ReplyDeleteWhen I sold my co-op apartment in New York, I attended the closing along with the buyer, so I actually met her. I took great pains to tell her that I'd just replaced the kitchen faucet and it was brand new. She probably thought I was very weird, but I didn't want her to throw it out if she remodeled! (Which she did, as I saw when she sold the apartment again a few years later. No idea if she kept the faucet. Doubtful.)
ReplyDeleteWe sold our first "starter" home to a young couple back in the 90s. I was a bit shocked to learn they still live there. Our current house was a rental for several years, and we bought it from the landlords after renting from them for a few months. It's the most intimately I've ever known a seller. She and I work at the same place, but different departments, and I've yet to run into her at work.
ReplyDeleteI suppose it would be odd to read the life summary of a previous resident. Rudy sounds like a good guy.