When I posted a status update on Facebook last night that I got to sit on the HAPPY side of the closing table today, I received a comment from a Realtor friend asking if there was ever a SAD side of a closing table.
These days, so many of our real estate transactions involve distressed sellers. Until yesterday, my last three transactions were with clients short selling their homes and losing everything they had invested in them. Emotionally, as well as financially. Yes, those closings are good days in that they bring closure to a family who has been in extreme distress. But they aren't happy days. They are days full of emotion, but never a cause for joyous celebration.
On the OTHER side of the closing table from the distressed sellers of short sales and foreclosed properties, there are happy buyers rejoicing in their good fortune. Closings where there are happy people on BOTH sides of the closing table are fewer and farther between.
Yesterday I was privileged to witness Rick and Janis realize their dream!
They had worked hard for years and paid off their mortgage. They saved and they kept their credit scores sky high. The past few years they watched the housing market like hawks, subscribed to foreclosure alerts and started studying homes as they came on the market. They had a plan to find their dream retirement home. They were educated, prepared, patient, and a Realtor's dream clients!
When they called me, they knew exactly what they wanted in that home, and where they wanted it to be. They knew what they wanted to pay, and what they could expect to get for that amount of money. They knew the market was pretty close to the bottom, and interest rates were at historical lows. They knew the time was right for action!
In the end, we found them their perfect retirement home. Priced less than they were willing to pay, appraised for much more than they paid. Every single feature and amenity they were hoping for, and even more they weren't expecting to get! Their ideal location in their ideal setting on beautiful timbered acreage in the country. The icing on the cake is that Uncle Sam is going to give them the $6500 repeat buyer tax credit!
Yesterday, on the happy side of the closing table,
Rick and Janis saw THEIR REAL ESTATE DREAMS COME TRUE!
In a climate of so much discouraging real estate news and banter, I love to be able to share the happy success stories whenever I can. To have a part in making dreams come true for such hard working, deserving and delightful homebuyers is truly a cause for celebration, and the best part of my job!
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