The moving company was scheduled by the sellers, Janet and Mark, upon hearing the news that the appraisal had come in ‘at value and with no conditions.’ They had been preparing for weeks and they were ready to move from the big family home in the hills to easy-living new construction. It felt good to know that their home was going to a family who would again use every comer like their family once had.
What appeared to be smooth sailing ended with a thud when I received an email that took my breath away. The loan documents were not at escrow! The underwriter had called for a review on the file.
Unfortunately, this is not entirely uncommon as lenders, like the rest of us, are trying to balance their risk at a time of uncertainty. Loan requirements are therefore a bit fluid these days. However, this was truly eleventh-hour notice!
My first call was to the lender to understand specifically what ‘red flag’ had caused concern. Time was of the essence. The sellers had a commitment to purchase a home simultaneously with the close of escrow on this house. And the buyer had packed her moving van and was preparing to caravan from California to her new home.
The second call was to my sellers. Janet and Mark were good about both getting on the phone when we spoke which made it easy to keep us all on the same page. I told them that there was a delay and walked them through the concerns the underwriter shared. Next, I explained to them how I saw us getting over this hurdle. Mark asked clarifying questions, while Janet remained quiet on the other end.
What happened next is noteworthy. After a pause, Janet asked, “So what can we do to help?” Janet did not ask who was to blame for the circumstance. Mark did not say “someone is going to pay for doing this to us”. Instead they wanted to participate in the solution.
Stuff happens, in life and most certainly, in real estate. And when stuff happens, we are given a choice of to respond. Mark and Janet had done everything right. They were the victims of the circumstance. And if they are victims, there must be a villain. They could choose to put their energy into being victims and finding villains. However, it was clear to me that these two had made a choice not to react with a negative response almost instinctively. They responded with grace and tenacity.
By choosing to keep their positive, “Let’s roll up our sleeves and engage” focus we were able to break down the steps to optimize the outcome. Each of us got off the phone with our focus on our role in making this work. This attitude that Janet and Mark chose reaped its just reward: bringing out the same “can-do”spirit in others.
Soon enough we had the lender zipping us updates right through the weekend. the moving company offered to work on their (typically) day off. The buyer jumped in her car and headed north to sign in person to shorten the extension. The builder of Janet and Mark’s new home said, “No problem, we want to sell our homes to good people, we will wait for them!”
In the end, the house sale closed. Good things happening to good people, and for good reason.
Marcia Edwards, MBA is a Principal Broker at Windermere Real Estate of Lane County. Marcia offers expertise to homebuyers and sellers in the Eugene area. To learn all the steps to selling smart, contact Marcia at me@marciaedwards.com or 541-221-1454. RealEstateSmart.org.