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Well miracles do happen, even in the crazy world of real estate! It just takes experienced brokers, excellent communication and faith that it will all work out in the end.
My buyer Anita Austin really needed to buy a house before she sold her old one, so she would not have to move twice with two big dogs in tow, however she was not moving to Kansas, she was looking in hot neighborhoods in Seattle, so the chances of that happening were very slim!
She did have a great house to sell on Queen Anne but it was not on the market when we first started looking. We found the perfect house in a great neighborhood in West Seattle that she really loved, but it had been on the market for just under a week, so the chances of her getting it contingent on the sale of her house were slim.
However, a pleading letter and photo compiled by me were sent, and it worked! Anita had been a nurse for 30 years and that really swayed the sellers, as one of them had been a nurse. Who says letters don’t work?!
Anita’s Queen Anne house went on the market the next day with a Windermere Queen Anne agent, with the expectation that her house would sell quickly, given the amazing location and the Seattle Housing market.
Anita received two offers and one was over the asking price so we seemed all set. Two days later the buyer backed out. Of course it was disappointing and stressful for my buyer, but we still had a week to get the house sold. Three days later Anita got another full price offer, so once again we were all set. A week later, the second buyer backed out.
Now, this was getting stressful as Anita’s contingency was running out, but I had been in good communication with the listing agent on the West Seattle house, so I called her and explained the situation.
Luckily her sellers were not in a hurry to move — a miracle! So we extended the contingency for three more weeks, and a few days later Anita got three offers. One was all cash and over the list price with no inspection contingency and a short close date, even shorter than the original sale! So it was bit of a mad scramble and some short rent back negotiations, but in the end, everyone was happy.
“When I decided to downsize,” said Anita, “I wanted someone who was familiar with the areas I was interested in moving to. I was referred to Serena who was a perfect match; she knew just what I was looking for and I found the perfect house. She even wrote a fabulous letter to the sellers about me and my family and they waited until I sold my Queen Anne house. She arranged home and sewer inspections and kept me informed and updated; she was very reachable. Buying and selling a house is never easy, but Serena made the whole process smooth and I learned a lot from her.”
