Three Ladies
Three Ladies, Three Different Sales
I had the pleasure to work with three different ladies recently who all needed to sell their homes. All three ladies were widowers. Each one had a different story and I loved hearing about all of them. My 25 years of volunteering at Kobacker House (OhioHealth’s free standing hospice facility) has given me the patience and empathy to meet people where they are.
When you reach a certain age in life, you have the right to not care about what anyone else thinks. There is a confidence that comes from life experiences, and none of these women were afraid to show that confidence but also knew to ask for help when needed. These three strong women are all very confident, but all had that need for help.
All three have one thing in common, a solid family who loves them dearly. This is the first thing I noticed when I met them. Needless to say, I have to get it right or the kids will never have faith in me again.
Mom #1 was referred to me by a friend of a friend. She had interviewed another agent but all that agent wanted to do was get the condo listed ASAP, and the daughter was not ready for her to move in for four more months. My first thought was how sharp this 80-year-old woman was. Her condo was meticulous and she asked what I needed her to do to get it ready to sell. I could have put a sign up right away. Her biggest concern was the timing, what she would do if there were showings, where would she go and how she would be contacted. I was able to premarket the home, sell it during a planned open house and get a delayed closing (three months later with a month free possession). She is now living in Michigan with her daughter.
Mom #2 was a neighbor and her family lived the street over. She was moving in with her daughter and her family. She pretty much only used the bedroom and a couch in front of the TV and a table as her “office”. She didn’t need much else. Her son in law and family had the job of figuring out what to do with her stuff. She didn’t much care, and said to get a dumpster, but much of it was very nice so the son figured out where to put and store everything. No emotion involved at all, she just said tell me what I need to do.
Mom #3 is someone who has lived in the house for over 60 years. It has 60 years’ worth of memories and she and the family were not quite ready. They need to sell, but they have to go through the process of what to do with all the memories. My meetings were mostly listening to the wonderful stories about her husband and family. He collected antique radios and I got to hear about the family holidays. I can go at whatever speed they need and they need a lot of time to get through it in their own way.
The house itself is straight out of the 60’s but I told them we are selling “as is”. They have enough on their plate with the emotions of selling. They don’t need the burden of renovation or staging the house.
If you need someone who understands your special need for selling, I have experiences for any situation. If you need to sell in a week, I can do that, and if you need someone to listen and sell when YOU are ready, I can do that too.
Let’s talk, whether its for you or for your special Mom.