If I Knew What I Was About To Do For This Client, I May Have Made A Different Decision

Fate has an interesting way of bringing people into my life. I’ve told you about a few celebrities I have had the pleasure of working with–many luxury homes that were soooo much fun to sell. But it is not always an easy ride. 

Let me introduce you to Mary… the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

In Sept 2018, Mary walked into my office after business hours & spoke to my boss.  My boss looked around the office & I was the only agent at my desk, still working away.  Mary was your typical walk-in, or so I thought. She was from St. Pete, shopping in Tampa, and was looking to relocate sooner than later. It was a typical start to a real estate conversation.

Mary said she had a waterfront home in St Pete on Big Bayou, and was thinking of selling the home.  We made an appt, & I went to visit her & see her home.   

When I got there, I could tell the home needed a complete renovation. Mary had been living in the home for several years and had inherited the home from her father.  The house was going to need a new roof, a new kitchen, and a new a/c. In reality, the home was a complete remodel or a teardown. 

Mary was retired; I could tell she had no money, barely surviving on social security.  Mary had no flood insurance on the home. She wasn't running the a/c. My experience as a Realtor told me she couldn't afford this home.  

The plus side for Mary, the home had no mortgage. But the cost of upkeep was too much. She needed to sell this house & buy a less expensive place, off the water & have some cash leftover.  Mary was equity rich, but cash was not as readily available.

This was a family home, which always makes pricing more difficult. Mary wanted to list the house at a much higher price than the sold comparables would allow. I explained the home wasn't going to sell, unless it was priced within reason.  I wanted to help Mary & knew I had to let the real estate market speak.  

Sometimes, though, you need to start high, so a client can better understand the market. We put the home on the market for $500,000. I knew we were about $150,000 over the market, but sometimes a high list price still pulls in some market realistic offers. Little did I know the other bombshell that was about to drop.

Our strategy started to work. We received a few offers over 4 months, all much lower than what Mary wanted. Mary finally understood the home was worth what the market "the buyers" were willing to pay.   Mary agreed to a much-needed price reduction.  

And MUCH-NEEDED is an understatement! It was about this time that I learned Mary owed back taxes on the property. When you owe back taxes, you risk liens and even risk losing your home, equity, and investment. Anxiety doesn’t even begin to describe what I felt for Mary. But Mary was, well, Mary. 

Fortunately, we eventually received another good offer. I went to Mary's home & sat down with her going over the most recently sold comparables, and we finally came to a contract agreement.  

Now the real work began.

I had to find Mary a less expensive but nice home for her to live in. And because I’m the star in my own Shakesperian comedy, Mary's car broke down; she couldn't afford to fix it, so I had to pick her up, show her homes & drop her off.  

Selling a home with 0 cash isn’t too hard, but buying one with no cash on hand–that can get difficult.

After a few times out, we found her new place. Again, Mary did not have any money, and I’m a Realtor with a big heart, so I knew I had to personally make the escrow deposit, from my own savings.  

I value this unique real estate experience. 

Mary closed on her old house in the morning & we closed on her new home a couple of hours later the same day.  Mary ended up with just over $125,000 left to put in savings. She could get her car fixed, I could get my escrow back, & get paid a commission, I worked very hard for.

I’m not sure if I would want to do this again, but I truly love getting my clients into their ideal home and overcoming the inevitable real estate challenges that accompany every deal.

If you would like to talk to a real estate agent that has experiences, both typical and unique, an agent that will work through any issues that arise, and an agent that will work with you at all times, give me a call, (727) 410-8599.