My First Real Estate Transaction: I will never forget it!
I just came out of the Army and moved back home to my parent’s house in Waterbury, CT. I saw this great Old Colonial House about one mile from my parents’ home. It had so much character hidden behind twelve to fifteen layers of paint. There were beautiful hardwood floors underneath green shag carpets. There were four beautiful oversized bedrooms on the second floor hidden behind three or four layers of wallpaper.
This house was calling me to bring it back to life and to 1983 standards. Having never owned a home I bought my father along to help me either talk me into or out of the saleJ. Keep in mind my father bought a brand new home and he had no idea what a 1920’s home would entail without a garage but with a set of 55 steps to get to the porch. He just loved the home as I did.
We both loved the Realtor; she was a good looking successful woman driving a brand new Jaguar and told me this would be a perfect home for me to bring back to life. Keep in mind I have never been really handy so here was my chance to learnJ!
Needless to say there are many stories I could share about my efforts to bring back this great home to life that of course would be many future blogs. Now with that said the purchase was smooth, there was no home inspection, and there was no advice from our “hot real estate agent” about getting any inspections such as plumbing, roof, fireplace or any of the other important things such as the boiler or the heater.
I did not have any money for down payment, since I spent my money traveling all over Europe when I was stationed in Germany. Hence my father gave me the down payment and I got a CFHA Loan (this was the State of Connecticut’s version of an FHA loan). Needless to say, the Bank, the State of Connecticut, my father and I became Partners in the purchase of this great home. The sale was ‘smooth sailing’ we offered full price, no contingencies and everyone was happy. My mother was happy that I was near her after being away for the past ten years at colleges all over the US and being in the Military overseas. It was a happy purchase.
From this experience, I learned in retrospect to always look out for the interest of the buyer even if the buyer does not know what he or she is getting into it. So this experience clearly caused me to become a teacher and a mentor to first time buyers and many ended up not buying because of my education. Clearly I might make less money but I sleep well and those who buy become my clients for life! At the same time I learned to prefer helping and working with seasoned investorsJ!
If you are a consumer who is considering buying or selling a home, investment real estate, vacation homes, or beach properties in Southern California, Los Angeles, Century City, Westwood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Culver City, Playa Vista, Marina Del Rey, Venice or Malibu. Feel Free to give me a call at 310.486.1002 or email me at homes@endrebarath.com or visit one of my websites athttp://www.endrebarath.com Your Pet Friendly Realtor. I contribute a portion of my commission to Local Animal Rescue Organizations.
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