I have to admit it is a little scary being on the other side of a real estate transaction. Yes, it is very hard to give up control….or at least it is for me.
It took me a year to convince my son to purchase a home. My son and his wonderful fiancée are getting married in June. He was thinking it would be better to wait until after the wedding to get a home. This would mean he would be renting an apartment for a third year.
The first apartment he had was an upper unit in a building with two stories. The stairs that led up to his apartment were narrow, old, metal, rusty steps. They had a coating of black gravel type stuff that came off on the bottom of your shoes when you walked on the stairs. It left a puddle of black in the entrance way of the apartment. It was easier to remove your shoes before you entered the apartment.
The inside of the apartment had a pretty cute little layout. Beyond that there was not much to recommend it. There must have been fifty coats of white paint on the walls. There was a mouse that lived in the walls and would peek out in the kitchen. The master bedroom ceiling had the start of mold that manifested itself into a full blown monster in a year.
Location, location, location….that was another issue. Now I live in a small town surrounded by corn fields. There are larger cities and towns within a 15-30 minute drive. Maybe part of my insecurity was my being unfamiliar with city type settings. His apartment was on the east side of Indianapolis.
There was the one morning he woke up to find his new truck up on cinder blocks because someone had stolen all his tires. There also was a shooting at the apartments and four people were killed randomly through out the complex. This happened a couple months after my son moved out. I might not have been too far off on that gut feeling!
I have to admit I was absolutely heart broken to think of my son living at that place the first time I saw it and had to leave him there. On the other hand, he was thrilled to have his own apartment. When the lease was up he decided to look for a new apartment and it was on to apartment number two.
Apartment number two was really a nice place. I suppose I’m an over protective type mom, but aren’t we all? I hated the thought of renting, not investing in anything, and paying off a property for someone else. I also wanted him to have a garage to put his vehicle in as he was not far away from the old apartment.
Fast forward - a year in apartment two is nearly half over. My son informs me that he may be interested in looking at houses. I line him up with a lender and get that in place. We waited a couple of months, watched the market and then decide it was time to start looking in October.
Enter – Wonderful... amazing... patient... knowledgeable... efficient... friendly... funny...
PAT HADDAD!!!
I can’t tell you how excited I was to meet a fellow AR member! I chose Pat because of her blog posts on the area. I had previously commented on her posts and she would comment on mine. I called and asked if she would be interested in a referral. She graciously accepted.
I then had to break the news that it was my son and she may have to tell his mother to back off at times.
We absolutely LOVED working with Pat! She was so knowledgeable about all the Indianapolis area and surrounding cities and towns. Pat was always available to show homes even at short notice.
She showed a great amount of patience with us on their home search making suggestions and helping them narrow their search criteria. In a little over a month, they were under contract. It was interesting to learn the difference in how real estate is done just a couple hours away.
My son moved in to his home just after Christmas. He loves the house and couldn’t be happier. I know that when he hears someone talking about buying or selling a home he will not hesitate to recommend Pat! I also have a Realtor that I know for certain will treat my referrals like family for Indianapolis, Carmel, Fishers, Zionsville and surrounding areas.
We also got a chance to meet Pat’s husband, William Haddad. William is a mortgage lender and was also very pleasant. I’m sure the Pat Haddad Team will have many prosperous years ahead of them with their friendliness, efficiency, knowledge and positive approach to helping buyers and sellers.
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