Sometimes you don't know where it leads...

Sometimes it is the little things that we do that lead us to uncharted territory. Sometimes, although the intentions are good, the end is disastrous.

This is not some commentary on our current economic or political condition.

I was reading a post this morning by Laura Gray entitled You want me to pay for what. And it brought back memories of when I sold my town house in Maryland.

About 15 years ago, after I retired from the Navy, I was leaving Maryland headed to Rockledge, Florida - new job, warm weather. I had a 3 story townhouse, nice two years old.

We had already moved and had been in Florida a couple of months when I get the call from my real estate agent.

I just knew I had an offer. Nope.

Apparently my house had a forced air heat system or something like that. The hot water heater on the first floor circulated hot water up to the second and third floors and blowers blew over the pipes...something like that.

All I know - the pipes burst on the third floor. Water was coming out the front door.

What happened? My real estate agent thought he was doing me a favor by turning the hot water heater off and saving me money. It must have really gotten cold in Maryland that January!

Bottom line: Insurance repaired it all, off the market a couple of months, a trip to Maryland. No, I did not sue the agent. My new agent sold the house a few months later.

Lessons learned:

• Buying a new construction home in a development where the builder is still building when you need to sell is not good.
• It hurts when you have to bring cash to the closing and you are the seller!
• Sometimes even the best of intentions leads to disastrous results.

The most import lesson I learned - Bumps in the road are just that - not the end of the road!

Gary Waters, Florida licensed real estate agent, Century 21 Baytree Realty, Rockledge, Florida, serving buyers and sellers all along Florida's Space Coast!