Loving The Deal That Wasn't - What I Love About My Business

LINK to MAKE SOMEONE HAPPY TODAY

A continuation of "It Feels Great To Make A Bad Situation Better"

The father's (soon to be ex-husband's) living situation solved, we began looking at the options for mom and the kids. They were hoping to stay relatively close and in the same school system. At the same time, we began to market their present home with repeated consultations and consoling sessions - mostly with the mom, (soon to be ex-wife) but on a few occasions I had lengthy discussions with the oldest child, who was in high school.

During these talks it became clear that neither the children nor the mom wanted to leave the home; which is understandable, but in this particular case seemed exceptionally distressing to them all. The children had NEVER known another home and seemed exceptionally tied to it for different reasons.

The youngest child was very concerned because they had buried her beloved dog in the backyard, and she was very worried that no one would remember her or put a flower on her grave now and then. The middle child was absolutely torn-up about having to leave his tree fort behind. (It was impossible to remove from the tree because the tree had grown around it.) The fort meant a lot to him because, as you may have guessed, his father had built it for him. The oldest daughter was a sophomore in high school and had a picture of herself and her date to every school dance taken in front of the living room fireplace. She was hoping that this tradition was going to continue through her Senior Prom.

The property had been on the market for about 3 or 4 weeks when an offer for the house came. While I was reviewing the offer with the mom, she absolutely broke down in tears. She hated the idea of moving, of making the kids leave the home they loved. While there were some complications I won’t reveal here, the end result was that I helped them find a way to stay in the family home and make the payments, while tighter, still affordable.

What I loved about this non-transaction? Although I did effectively help to talk myself out of not one but two commissions - the one on the sale and the one on the new home they would purchase - I loved finding a family that was so completely entrenched in the family home. I also love that the family stays in touch with me from time to time, and I have even received a few family photos - including a few pictures of the daughter and her dates in front of the family fireplace. The best rewards of this profession are not the commissions.