She was one of those clients that was truly a pleasure to work with. Her peristence, patience, & steadfast pursuit of a dream ... became a magic moment in my Real Estate Career. Though young, she was not living an unencumbered life. With great motives and responsibility, she emerged from a struggle ... with a dream realized.
The name has been changed to protect the admirable.
Lucy came to me with a bundle of burdens in her credit history. Her passion was simple, to sell the home she currently lived in and buy a new one. She had made leaps and bounds in her career after schooling and the income was coming in. It was now time to upgrade. But the demon's of credit past were still lurking ...
In a tougher (somewhat rightfully so) lending environment, I knew we had work to do. Actually, she had the work to do. I could only guide her in the right direction.
After reviewing her credit, I let her know exactly what needed to be done to get the financing to buy that new home that she so had her heart set on. I was fully expecting to call her back in a couple of months and find that little progress had been made. Perhaps that is just the cynical side of this Mortgage Broker's cruel self ...
About a month later, I got the call. Lucy was on the other end of the line and exclaimed, "I'm ready!"
"To buy a home?" I cautiously asked.
"Yes Jason, I did what you told me and paid off all the negative debt I had and I'm ready to go!"
I recall a slight birth of silence on my part. While I believed her, I was a bit taken aback. After all, I've dealt with folks for years for whom we've put together a game plan and it never reaches the sweet ides of fruitation. Yet, she had worked her keister off to put herself in a position of qualifying for that which she so desparately wanted ... that home.
Lo and behold, she was right! I gathered all the documentation that she kept for her records after paying off her creditors and we re-visited her file and got her pre-approved. She didn't need or desire to go searching for a home though, she already had one in mind. It was the same one touting the 'For Sale' sign a month earlier.
An agreement of sale was reached and we were off!
What transpired was a wrestling match commonly known and encountered these days in our Industry. At times, we were coming up against odds from parties having little to do with the transaction ... other than complicating it. Every obstacle was hurdled, though a foot got caught now and again. A Pre-approval turned into a Committment to Lend which turned into scratching for every inch to reach those three magic words from the Lending Side of Things ... Clear To Close! I called Lucy and heard the satisfaction in her voice, the relief in mine. She did good, damn good. I was just a guide in the ride.
After the ink dried, she was given the keys to her new home. She clenched them in her hands like a nostalgic piece of jewelry passed on through generations. Her eyes, welled up, began dripping tears down her cheeks at a rapid and glistening pace. Lucy then got up of from the closing table and came over to where I was standing. By this time, her tears were a downfall. She reached her hand out to shake mine and said words that so simply define the very reason I'm probably even here, "Thank you Jason, thank you so, so, very much." Her tears persisted and mine were about to follow ... but I held back.
I knew right then that humanity had surpassed financial gain, one more moment in our time.
Thank YOU Lucy ... and welcome home.
Jason
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What a great experience for you, Jason! I'm sure that every agent out there has a similar story of helping someone that they didn't hold out a lot of hope for - those hard ones are the most rewarding when you get that thank you at the end and realize that you really, really, really, really (get it?) helping someone reach for a dream and catch it.