I was sitting here thinking, ok, Laurie, what are you going to write about today and then I read Sally's post about the Angels.It made me remember what I call my first "real" sale. I think that I have mentioned before that I have held my real estate license for almost 3 years now, but just started Full-Time real estate in September of last year. My first client was my brother's best friend and the second was a gentleman and his wife that worked with my husband.
On this particular day I happened to be on Floor Duty and had a young soldier and his wife come into the office and they wanted to speak with an agent. Unfortunately they had been working with an agent from another company and were very upset with the service they had been receiving. In conversation I found out that they had not signed a buyers agreement or anything else for that matter. I mentioned a home that had just come on the market and we went to look at it. They fell in love with the house and we decided to put an offer in on it. How often does it ever go this well, first house, put an offer it? For me this was the only time.
Long story short, the offer was never accepted because the Seller refused to allow the Buyers a home inspection. Why? I still don't know to this day. We spent the next 60days looking at probably 50 houses. Nothing compared to that first house. When they were just about to give up the wife found a FSBO in the local newspaper. I contacted the seller to find out if she would allow me to bring her a qualified buyer, and if she was willing to pay a commission to me. After two days the seller called me back and said, and I quote, "I am only prepared to offer you $500," this was a $142,000 sale. I agreed, we signed an agreement to show the property, and then I presented her with an offer from my buyers.
In the end the seller really stuck it to the buyers. The appraisal came in a few thousand under contract price, but they wanted the home so they paid the difference. Then they paid a higher amount of closing costs as well. I tried to convince them to find another home, because I really felt that they were being taken advantage of, but they wouldn't hear of it.
The real pay off for me was that this wonderful couple got a house that they could call home. The day that the seller accepted the contract the wife found out that she was pregnant with their first child. They had been trying for a year and had suffered a couple of terrible miscarriages. The news of the pregnancy was wonderful. I was so excited for them. I not sold a home to a wonderful soldier and his wife, I made friends, and was there for 2 exciting events in their life.
Did I mention that the home they purchased was in the same subdivision as the first home that we put an offer in on and on the same street? It took that first homeowner 3 more months to sell his home.
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