Today I received one of the most heartfelt compliments I've ever received as a REALTOR®.  It came from one of my Miami home sellers.  "Thank you for making me homeless!" he screamed in glee as his wife and I spoke on the phone. 

I had to smile.  I had never been told that before.  But I knew it was coming from his heart.  You see, I was on the phone letting the out of town couple know that the closing had taken place on their short sale listing.  It had been a really long ordeal.  The bank had refused several offers in the past.

At one point, they had been worried with an auction date looming around the corner.  As the husband is in the U.S. Coast Guard, he had been concerned about his security clearance.  But we never lost hope.  I kept at it until we were able to obtain a bank approval and make this happen.

Their story saddens me each time I think about it.  They had bought the new construction home at the height of the Miami real estate boom.  They purchased it for close to $400,000 and had put 20 percent down.  This had not been a 100% financing-if-you-have-a-pulse-you-qualify type of loan.  They had skin in the game and eagerly settled down into their first home.

A couple of years later he received orders that he was being transferred and things changed.  Finding themselves in a new city, paying rent on their new place and looking for a tenant in the old, they hoped they could make things work.  But the rent wasn't enough to keep up with the mortgage payments and they realized they'd have to sell the house.

But the market had changed, and even with their 20% down payment, they owed more than their Miami house was now worth.  They approached their bank about a short sale and had me list the home for sale.  I submitted several very good offers to the bank.  Even all cash offers.  They had all been rejected and the bank seemed to keep flip-flopping back and forth about what they would or would not accept.

Well, today, after a really long struggle, we finally closed on this short sale.  The new buyer is thrilled with her new home.  And the sellers are thrilled that they have this problem behind them.  And I am happy that I made this couple "homeless."  =)