Big Deal? No Big Deal? You be the judge!
In my first year or two in the business (late 80's) a young couple wanting to buy their first home walked into our Country Club Office looking for an agent to help them. That was my floor time day so I was happy to talk with them. They looked and seemed so young - and they were - not even twenty yet. They were expecting their first baby and were such a sweet young couple. The young man was such an earnest guy wanting to find a home for his wife and soon to be 1st child. We talked for some time and it was clear to me they couldn't afford much. Our normal sale was at that time between 200K and 400K+ or so and I knew they were not going to be able to afford living in the Country Club. They loved the area but it just wasn't possible, by a long shot. But I didn't want to burst their bubble at that point because maybe they had some folks that could help them out.......
I set the young couple up with a lender to get qualified and suggested they call me once they knew what their budget was going to be. Several days later the earnest young man called me back and was as proud as he could be to say they could afford to buy home around $30K. I had no idea where to find a home in that price range in our area since it just didn't exist in our market. The young man said he drove by a home in a mobile home park some miles away and saw a home priced at $28K, could they see it today? I was a bit taken back as I'd never sold a mobile home before and wasn't sure at all what that was all about. I took a moment to talk with my broker and he assured me we could handle a mobile home sale.
So off I went to look at this tiny mobile home with the couple! The young couple fell in LOVE with the home and saw it as their 1st castle! I remember thinking - how sweet is this! We wrote up a contract on the spot and proceeded to move forward. But....all heck broke lose as it wasn't so easy to find financing for a mobile of this size and age. Somehow we made it all come together and the sweet young couple bought their first home and were so grateful to have somebody care enough to see it through with them. And over the year this sweet couple as bought and sold many homes and referred many clients to us.
That couple and that closing day I was so aware that it didn't matter so much as the price of the home but rather helping a truly sincere couple find their 'dream' home. It was a big gift to both of us. To this day I've never run across quite such another scenario like this one but I've never forgotten it. As our Phoenix market took a dive in 2008 to 2010 I've helped countless folks through some pretty tough times and I'm glad that I could regardless of whether or not the big checks followed at close. I knew I had the skill and experience to help folks in need at this time with short sales. Many clients asked why I was willing to do this for them and all I could say is that THEY mattered to me and I could help out - if they were willing to do all they needed to do on their end. I know that young couple - way back in the late 80's - were the gift that kept on giving all these years. And for that I'm grateful to be able to be of service after all this time! Big gift - Big Deal.
So it started as a 'No Big Deal'....but ended up being a 'Very Big Deal'!
Big Deal? No Big Deal? You be the judge!
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