Before I was a real estate agent, before I was even a homeowner, I was a Parks and Recreation Director in the suburbs of Chicago. I loved my job. One of the best things about it was that I could help shape our community by acquiring land for public parks. Parks that would benefit the residents of our town for the foreseeable future.
My first land purchase took place in the 1970's. It was part of 80 acres located in the geographical center of our community. It was adjacent to a 34 acre par three golf course already owned by the Park District and an additional 80 acre wooded parcel owned by the county Forest Preserve District. If this land could be acquired, it would forever be the cornerstone of a fabulous open space park in the center of our growing community.
The problem was that the land was not for sale.
The two brothers who owned the land and farmed it were the "salt of the earth". They were older gentlemen, who had lived on it when they were growing up. Their old homestead was now disintegrated into rotting wood, but their love of the land still stood as strong as ever.
I remember the first meeting we had to discuss their property. To them I'm sure I appeared to be a young kid, wet behind the ears. Problem was, it wasn't far from the truth. I was in my mid twenties, but my Board members at the time preferred me to wear a mustache so that, as they said, "I looked more than 18 years old!"
Even though youthful in appearance I had landed on a strategy that made sense to me: Be honest, and appeal to the the lasting legacy that they could provide for the community. It became clear to me during our earliest talks they did not want their land to be developed into another subdivision. They proved to be tough negotiators (as one would expect), but over a period of time we came to a fair price for 33 acres.
I was extraordinarily proud of this acquisition. It did in fact become the certerpiece of our community as we eventually purchased the remaining acreage. It was developed with baseball fields, soccer fields, nature trails through the woods, and an incredible Community Center with an indoor and outdoor pool.
What did I learn? I learned that people sell their land and homes for many different reasons. Some for the money to be gained...others for the the love of their community.
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