I am the type of person who becomes interested in my buyers lives. They talk, I listen. Whitt and I became so much more than client/broker. Almost immediately we became friends. He was fun and silly and I miss him so much. When he passed away just months after his father's passing and his mom just wasn't ready to list the house at that point. Too much loss, too soon. I am glad I didn't go over to do a CMA then either.
Not only had I been his broker through the building process, I'd been his friend through the furiture shopping process. I gave him a framed map of the lake to go in his new lake house 19 years ago next month. We shared a lot of laughs. He was even with my family when I whacked Donald in the head with the mini-van tailgate once. He started calling me a widowmaker after that.
His house went pending recently and I don't know and haven't met the buyers. I hope they will love and take care of it like Whitt did.
Maybe I shouldn't be as involved and become as close to my clients as I do. But it's who I am. And every time I ever pass this house on Lake Sinclair it will forever be Whitt's house to me. I had a few pizzas and Dr. Peppers on that deck. I went for boat rides from that dock. He was a buyer the day I met him. He was a friend later that same day. I will always miss him and I will never have a Nu-way hot dog without thinking of him.
It made me really happy when his brother said to me that he was going to list the house with me because he knew that's what Whitt would want. I cried almost every time I went to show the house and to check on the listing. I have tear filled eyes as I write this, and I'm sure I'll cry as I hand over the keys to new buyers at the closing. It's made me miss my friend so much again as it comes time to close. But I'm also happy that I know Whitt thinks I did a good job for him.
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