Selling & Buying: At the Same Time!

Selling & Buying: At the Same Time!

When There’s a Will, There’s a Way | A Case Study in Success

When Linda hung the phone up, she looked over at me and began relaying the conversation back to me that she had just had. One of our previous clients was referring their cousin to us. They needed to sell their home and purchase a new one, but only a few miles (if even that) away. Their daughter Emily would be starting school soon and her parents wanted her in a specific school that was just outside the boundary of their current home.

Some weeks later, we pulled up in front of Dakota and Jessica’s home. It was still winter, dark and cold out and as we walked up to their home, we prepared to sit down and be interviewed to potentially sell their home and help guide them toward the successful outcome they needed to secure the future they wanted for their sweet daughter.

That evening was a father/daughter dance and Dakota was dressed up and ready as was Emily. They would soon be heading off so we all had to make the best use of our time. Dakota and Jessica showed us around their cute home that they had painstakingly remodeled over the past several years.  

When we sat down, they outlined their plan to Linda and I and we quietly sat and listened to them. I recall thinking what a nice young family this was. We needed to help them and, I knew we could. We’ve done it so many times before, selling and buying, at the same time, that is.

I gave them the visual of a well-coordinated tango where both partners had to be perfectly in sync. That was what was needed, two escrows and two separate transactions to be perfectly coordinated for the dance to be pulled off successfully. Linda and I then walked them through our process of preparing their home for the market so carefully that we were in essence engineering the outcome we wanted, in advance of the sale. Removing buyer objections up front and pulling on the heartstrings of their prospective buyers. Describing what was needed to make a contingent offer for their replacement home attractive to that seller. All the while, putting Dakota and Jessica into the financial position they needed to pull off upgrading their home for the next chapter of their family’s life.

The next day Jessica called Linda and said they wanted to work with us and they were ready to get started. With that, Linda got to work looking for their new home while I consulted with Dakota and Jessica on the things we needed to do to sell their current home. We coordinated various inspection reports and then sat down to review the items that were of strategic importance to repair well before we hit the market. During this time, Dakota and Jessica were also very busy with getting the inside of their home show-worthy. They had rented a storage unit and were removing items from their home at a rapid pace in order to accomplish our “Less is More” philosophy for selling.

A few weeks quickly shot by that were filled to the brim with repairmen, furniture moving, cleaning, touch up painting, and gathering some documents that I had requested of them. Professional photography and videography were completed, and marketing collateral was all wrapped up. Meanwhile, Dakota, Jessica, and Linda had zeroed in on the home they felt could be the one they wanted to make an offer on. There was excitement in the air and an offer was made and accepted. The seller of that home gave us a very short time frame to get Dakota and Jessica’s home into escrow or that escrow would be canceled.

Here's the Listing Video for Dakota and Jessica's Home!

It was now time to go live and this is the part where I will always be a bit anxious about with each and every home we sell. This time, the pressure was especially high with the time constraints we were now under, and all of this in a real estate market that is less than ideal. With each transaction, we invest in the lives of people who trust our guidance and both Linda and I take that vitally serious. Success is the only option for us, ever and this was absolutely the case for Dakota and Jessica.

The next day, I made their listing go live and it was now time to allow all the preparation that was completed as well as all the marketing efforts to go to work. By the end of day 3, we had 4 over-asking offers; the best-case scenario. This allows us to be discerning and even picky and that’s exactly what we did. We opened escrow on the 4^th day their home was on the market.

Now, I’d like to tell you it was all smooth sailing from that point on. I’d like to, but it wasn’t. We had multiple hiccups along the way on both sides of the transaction. But, I’ve learned to stay calm and not overreact, even when I want to. These little hiccups were just problems that had to be creatively solved. And we did, with Dakota and Jessica’s help. They were just fantastic too.  They navigated some stressful situations that I won’t go into with poise and grace and I’m proud of them, deeply.

When Linda and I joined Dakota and Jessica for the final walkthrough of their new home, Jessica’s face was lit up with excitement. Their painter joined us to measure the home as well and our flooring contractor to measure for new carpet in the bedrooms and new craftsman baseboards throughout. The stress had faded away and was replaced with an elated joy.

You see, those are the moments Linda and I live for. Mission accomplished and we’ve made new friends in the process. We’ve gone to battle together now and we have each other’s backs.  We are invested in their family!

Dakota and Jessica, you guys are the real deal and we are so grateful for the opportunity to work alongside you both!

All our love,