It's been a over a month since I received a call from a former classmate regarding one of my sellers who had also graduated with us. Apparently, no one had heard from this person for several days. An avid poster on Facebook, those in the group page had not heard any post or recieved any direct messages. The homeowner had posted that I had listed thier house and was their realtor so they contacted me.
Since I had seen my client on Saturday I was not worried. Although, like myself, my client lived alone, my high school classmate didn't have the family support system that I have. No children, no sister, brother, sister-in-law, neices, nephews etc. But my client/classmate had a network of friends from diverse groups, church, high school, grade school, and former work associates. Living less than 10 minutes away I got ready to go back out. Phone calls made, voice messages left. No response!
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Thus started a week long journey. From a wellness check it turned to a police/fire matter. Unfortunately, my client/ friend/classmate had died suddenly a couple of days before being discovered. Never crossed my mind that this would be the outcome...so I will just give you some of the lessons learned:
1. Get your financial life in order. Get a will, set-up a trust, leave a copy of your important papers with a trusted family member, friend, or financial advisor.
2. Contingency plans especially for those that have others depend on them. Pre-pay your funeral, make sure you write down the type of service, location, preferences. Don't leave this task to others. Hard to do but a blessing to those that are left behind who are the ones that benefit. Your last wishes will only be honored if you write them down and make it a legal option.
3. Sudden death brings our own fears regarding death out to the front of our mind. Those that were touched by my client have responded in such a varied way. Our personal demons, fears, strengths, weakness, spirituality, beliefs, have come to the forefront.
4. Life goes on. Banks don't care. The asset is still their only concern. The transaction must continue once the legalities are addressed. You have to continue dealing with the day to day things that are part of living for those that are still here. Despite my client being dead the bank still wants someone to sign the short sale affidavit on his behalf? Really? For what possible purpose? No probate estate was opened since he had no assets left. The other homeowner has a guardian that has signed on thier behalf so I don't understand why the bank insists on this before issuing the approval letter. Still fighting the battle on paperwork with the servicer!
Life is ironic...we were all preparing to attend our 40th High School reunion..my client/classmate was especially looking forward to reconnecting with his former classmates despite the fact that my client/classmate was bullied, made fun of and probably had more challenges on so many fronts that life was always a challenge, one that didn't seem to weigh on my client/classmate's shoulders.
The sudden death made a deep impresson on those that remain as we faced our mortality, as we heard about one or another classmate facing a health crisis, as we talked about our health, our aging parents and wonder about our own journey.
Hard way to lose a client, yet I have learned so much from this experience. That our idea of family can be larger than our blood family, as former classmates rallied to make sure our classmate had the proper funeral, which was attended by so many friends, former workers, neighbors that would have made our friend very happy.
I will continue the transaction until the very end and hope for a favorable outcome.
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