Below is a post I wrote over two years ago — the fifth post on this blog. At the time, the Phoenix Real Estate Guy had maybe 5 readers (including my immediate family). While I was out with a buyer recently, I had a strange sense of deja vu. Reminded me a lot of this experience (except this time it was 112, but what's four degrees?).
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Showing homes in the Phoenix area in the summer time stinks.
It’s hot in Phoenix in the summer. This summer has actually not been so bad. We had one week where it hit 114, but other than that, 105ish has been the norm. But I digress…
I was showing homes a few days ago in the heat of the afternoon. It was 108 degrees. That means that after about 15 minutes in the sun, the interior of a parked car reaches about 900 degrees. OK, it’s not 900 degrees. But it’s really hot. I put a thermometer in my car once when it was 118 outside. The thermometer pegged out at 240 degrees. Keep in mind that water boils at 212 degrees. And it probably was hotter than 240. It gets **REALLY** hot in a car in Phoenix in the summer. (Tragically, there are people–usually kids–that die every year when they are left in cars in the summer.) The summer that Phoenix hit its all-time high of 122 degrees, I cooked a roast and some potatoes inside my car (seriously! Email if you’d like the recipe. It was fabulous. You could cut it with a fork.)
But I digress, again.
So anyway, I’m showing homes to an out-of-state investor. This client, a super nice older man, was having a hard time with the heat. I rolled down the windows every time we stopped, and after a couple of houses, I just left the car running with the AC on. But he was still struggling. During the summer, I always carry a cooler in my car full of water and Gatorade. But I could not get this guy to drink anything! At one point, I honestly thought he was going to die. I actually started mentally planning our route so that we stayed as close to an emergency room as possible.
Finally, with my client gasping, wheezing, sweating and whining, I told him that either he drank some water or I was going to take him to the hospital and have them hook him up to an IV. So drink he did. Like about 8 liter bottles. I haven’t seen someone drink like that since my college roommate went on a three-day bender. Of course, he visited the facilities in every house I showed him after that. I don’t have a problem with that, most people looking at homes flush the toilet anyway. I’ve never understood that. Like a functioning toilet really means anything. But that’s OK; most people incessantly flip light switches and invariably open kitchen drawers too. It’s just something people seem to do.
The day finally winds down. We’re both hot, tired and the client is cranky as hell. All the way back to the office, he’s saying, “How can anyone live here?!? It’s SO DAMN HOT! It makes no sense!” Well, he may be right. Problem is, by the time we get back to the office, he’s convinced himself that in the next 5 years, there is going to be this mass exodus out of the desert. That Phoenix will become a ghost town. He’s so convinced that he’s decided that investing in Phoenix real estate is insane. So he gets back in his car, points it west, and heads off to California.
I can only hope he stops for water…
Originally posted June 17, 2005.
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lol I’ve thought that same thing, you should have held him there till the sun went down to show him how frosty it is at night!
Jay,
You made me laugh out loud! I like the roast idea. I will have to try that.
Funny and amusing story. I live in Louisville KY, and we start complaining whenever the temperature is in the 90s.
People like to use the rational of humidity and that its a “dry heat”. Hot is hot! No 2 ways around it.
But, at least you have a sense of humor about it. Great story.
Hi Jay, that was a great article with humor. Sorry to hear you lost a client, maybe next time be sure to tell your out-of-towner to come during the cooler months of the year.
Hilarious. Every summer I ask myself why I live here too. Your comment at the beginning about only having 5 readers gives me hope for a future with my blog.
Thanks for the laugh.
Very funny. I can’t believe nobody commented…”But it’s a dry heat.”. I was in Phoenix a couple weeks ago. It was not dry. Something about monsoon season. I don’t like hot weather at all but I do really love this post.
Actually, if you scroll up, I did mention the “dry heat”.
Regardless, dry vs. humid only accounts for so much. Hot is hot!
Yikes! I even read your comment and missed that. I must have been having a hot flash.
Heh heh. No worries. Happens to all of us.
Ok Jay, That was very funny. I was just laughing and everyone looked over at me to see what I was doing.
“Like about 8 liter bottles” - Too funny.
Hi Jay,
What a unforgetable moment you had in the summer.Not bad to have new roast’s idea.
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myproperty
I can just imagine the heat..Arizona!!!
I remember a joke one of the other agents used to love was that when going on a listing presentation, he would sell himself by saying, “Other realtors won’t break a sweat when listing your property… As you can see.. I already have!”.
He was a broad-shouldered guy so walking from the car to the door he’d usually have a spot somewhere from the sweat..
We have had 2 complete days without rain all through the summer. We have to put down papers to walk on to keep the carpets clean.
At least it gives us something to talk to propspective buyers about dont you think?
Jay, I strive to write like you. Love your style! Great post and I do not envy you and hope that poor guy made it to the gold rush but… Nashville would have given you a run for your money with Humidity versus Temperature. June, July and part of August were some of the most humid months I have experienced since being here and it was PAINFUL to show properties in it. It was instant sweating when you walk outside, and that is NOT attractive. It’s not usually that bad here, but this year was insane! I think the whole country experienced unseasonably high temperatures this year. Ugh!
Thank God we are starting the transition toward fall though and the weather here is now amazingly awesome…. it was worth the
sweatwait.Holly and West End,
You guys are right on the money there. When folks tell me they wanted to move to AZ I sort of give them a questioning look, but when you think about what humidity does to hair and how it adds to the sweat factor for those of us that already are fairly porous, even HOT dry heats are thankfully, still dry
Holly - thanks for your kind words. Having family form southern Middle Tennessee, I certainly understand the humidity factor!
Edge - yeah, it’s a dry heat, but then again so is your kitchen oven…
London - You’re right. We jsut have to deal with what we’ve got!
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