Being a Realtor means wearing a lot of hats. You’re part salesperson, part financial advisor, part legal expert, and sometimes part therapist. Occasionally we get to be matchmakers too.
One example is a transaction that Ron Sitrin Team agent Ruth Berg and I recently put together. Ruth’s client Carol decided that it was time to downsize. Carol invited us over to her Westchester co-op. She currently lived in two units that had been joined together to make one large and exquisite space. The room dimensions were huge and felt more like a house than a co-op. During the visit, Carol mentioned that her friend Walter had suggested that she take a look at a new condo development called the Perla.
Two days later we visited the Perla on O Street, NW. Carol invited Walter to join us since he was the one to suggest it. Why not have him tag along.
The Perla at O Street is a new condo development in the Logan/Shaw area. The location is excellent and the finishes are really nice. At the time of our visit, the building was almost sold out and only two of the larger units remained.
Walter was gushing over the units. He really loved them. However, the floorplans were just a bit shy on space for Carol. She was coming from a much larger home and had beautiful furniture she wanted to keep. No matter how hard we tried, her stuff just wasn’t going to fit.
So there we were, still trying to figure out how to make it work, when Walter suggested we take a break. He invited us over to his place. It was only a few blocks away and we could discuss things over a glass of wine. How could Ruth and I say no to that?
As soon as we walked into Walter’s unit it hit me, and my Realtor mind went into overdrive. Walter’s place was exactly what Carol was looking for. But was Walter thinking about moving? He really loved the Perla….was there a win-win opportunity here?
As Walter went on about the Perla, I just had to ask “Walter, do you want to buy one of those units?”
He did! The problem, he explained, was that the timing was not right. He was going on a big vacation with Carol, didn’t have time to get his home on the market, didn’t want to buy unless he had already sold, and at the current rate of sales, the Perla would sell out before he could get everything into place.
Then I had to ask the delicate question: “Carol, if Walter wanted to sell his unit, would you be interested in buying it?” She said, “YES!”
So, if Walter wants to sell before he buys, and now we found a buyer, Carol (who happens to be one of his close friends) how can we make this work? See the timeline below.
There were a lot of moving parts, people, rent-back agreements, and money that all had to dovetail for this to go right. We nailed it. Everything worked out perfectly. I realize this is nowhere as complicated as Lee’s job (see accompanying article) but everyone felt great about how it all came together.
So did we get to play matchmaker? Carol and Walter both fell in love with their new homes, and Ruth was the Cupid that made Good Things Happen.
