10/01/2021
BEST SALE OF MY CAREER
Not a million dollar listing, not some cool thing on the water, its this nearly falling down boring split level that closed yesterday.
I first met Cliff 3 years ago as a man in his 60's who randomly walked in the front door after riding his bike to my office. He was living in his childhood home up the block, and after the recent passing of his mom, needed an appraisal for the estate.
When I arrived at the home it was clear it had been neglected for many years, and once inside my heart sank to see the terrible conditions this man was living in. Structurally it was eh, okay, but cosmetically it was a 0/10. It was very clear that Cliff was in over his head, and as the first human to see behind that front door in years, I knew I needed to get him out of there.
Cliff wasn't yet ready to leave the house that held so many memories, so I did as he asked, provided the opinion of value, and left.
Fast forward to 6 months ago. The other side of the estate wanted to cash out, and was pressing him to either buy out their share, or sell it. He was capable financially of paying off the other half, but that would drain his savings, and he would still be living in terrible conditions. I pleaded with him to consider a condo, a rental, anything to get him out of that house, which at this point was genuinely a health concern. I drove him, in the height of covid, to see some options that would be nicer right off the bat, and also would require less maintenance than a whole house all on his own. Cliff began to see a future somewhere else, and reluctantly admit to himself that his current home was no longer where he belonged.
To prepare for the sale I instructed him to empty the house as much as possible, and forget all the random touch up projects he had been meaning to get to. He enlisted the help of a friendly neighbor and began to unload 70 years of the family's belongings.
Once the dumpster arrived, things got tricky. The sharks started circling. A rough house in a prime neighborhood in this wild market is admittedly a great target for anyone looking to make an aggressive play. People were randomly walking up to the door and making offers; everyone saw an opportunity and fought for it. And although Cliff is a bright man, he was vulnerable, and not equipped to defend himself against the pros. Even the attorney for the other side of the estate made an offer himself for 385 all cash and was pushing, very hard, for him to take it.
Luckily, I had Cliff's back. I've heard all these plays before, I've made them myself. We stuck to the plan. We finished the preparation and properly presented the home to the open market. We highlighted the strengths of the property, provided access to get everyone in the house, used our proven marketing plan, and stayed extremely organized with the offers we received. I got 40 offers in the first week, and in the end, with the competitive environment we created, the house closed yesterday for $475,000, all cash.
I got the estate $90,000 more than they would have if they listened to their crooked attorney, but most importantly, I protected Cliff from being taken advantage of. And Cliff, is very proud to show his family that with him steering the ship they were way better off. This is easily the proudest real estate deal I've ever been a part of.
I do this same work for all of my clients. This business has been good to me, and I don't need to force a transaction one way or another for my own good, I can objectively guide my clients into what is best for THEM. If you or anyone you know needs someone they can trust with the biggest business deal of their life, give them to me. I promise when the house closes, they'll be just as happy as Cliff!
