I had a closing on one of my listings yesterday that held a lot of meaning for the season, the current real estate market, and for my business model. It didn't really hit me until this morning, the day after the closing, when I sat down and was reading an article in the WSJ regarding the housing market.
This listing was one of the least expensive listings that I have had this year, but it probably holds the most meaning. Isn't that usually the case in everything. The 80/20 principle, I guess.
This listing was a nice 3/2 single family home in the low $200K's. The buyer is active military and is being shipped to Gitmo in a week or so, and has a fiancee and 2 small children and this is their first Home that they can call their own. So, from a real estate standpoint, this was the case where a buyer was thrilled with his purchase. He is buying a home at well-below the appraised value of the home, it is a lot of the home for the money and is in a nice neighborhood. At the closing table, he said something like "I just bought a 1/4 acre piece of American soil". How exciting! After a hurried weekend of moving in, he can enjoy a happy Christmas with his family in his own home. One of his goals was to find a home that he could be comfortable that his family would be safe and comfortable in while he was overseas. I was happy to be a small part of that.
From a business standpoint, this was important for a couple of reasons. First of all, this listing was with a seller who originally listed with an agent in our office and was unhappy with his agent. This can happen to any of us for a variety of reasons, but is never the goal at the beginning of the listing, I can assure you. Our broker had agreed to end the agreement but asked that he speak to me about what my team may be able to offer. I met him, found him to be a pleasant and most importantly (to me, at least) a straight-shooter. Because of the price point of this home, I would use our team approach to give it a bit more local exposure and that is what we agreed to do. The previous agent has since quit real estate, by the way. Lots of that going on, thankfully. It took a lot of time, conversations, strategy, and trust in each other but the house is now sold and all parties are pleased with the outcome. Service always wins out regardless of the business.
The most important part of this transaction to me, however, was that this buyer was an active soldier who is part of the force defending our principles and freedom. Say what you want about the current administration or your party affiliations, but this young man is one of thousands who are defending our lifestyle with their lives. Imagine being so excited about buying your first home, but knowing that you are leaving in 7 days for an entire year. My wife and I have been watching the series "the war" that was on PBS a month or so ago and it was eye-opening. I studied history as a kid, of course, but watching this series showed how much we have to be thankful for and how much of a sacrifice our young men and woman offer for our freedoms. It angers me to see the way that many of the war protesters target the actual troops. Again, part of the greatness of this Country is being able to disagree with the administration (or anything really), but to target the soldiers who are doing what they are told to do bothers me. The series also makes me appreciate the lifestyle we have daily. If you watch that, you will see what everyday citizens lived through during that war. Almost every citizen was impacted by the war daily. We can't say that today. God bless our troops, each and every one of them.
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