When it comes to real estate, sometimes your “friends” can actually be your enemies. On this latest episode of Story Time With Gary, you’ll see what I mean.
This latest episode of “Story Time With Gary” tells a story of a real estate deal that blurred the line between “friend” and “enemy.”
It all starts with an older couple I was representing who wanted to sell their house. The husband was always telling me, “I’m going to go before my wife does,” and that I needed to watch over his wife after he died to make sure she sold their house and moved back to the country she was from.
Sadly, the husband eventually did pass away, and as I was talking back and forth with his wife about selling the home, one day she told me that she had good news—a friend of the family was going to buy the home. When I asked what this friend would pay, I was shocked at the answer. She said he would pay $425,000, but their home was worth about $600,000. I then told her that offer was a little bit low and I recommended that she not do it.
“Well,” she replied, “he’s telling me that’s best for me, and he’s a friend of the family, and I’ve known him a long time, and he’s meeting with me tomorrow.”
“Instead of selling the house to him for $425,000, I ended up selling the house for her for $605,000.”
I asked if I could stop by for this meeting, she said yes. When I arrived at the house they were meeting at the next day, this “friend” was none too pleased that I was there. I insisted that they continue with their meeting, though, and he eventually suggested that they put the $425,000 offer down in writing.
“Well that’s interesting,” I said as I interjected, “because I have comps here that support a value of $600,000.”
He told me that my value was much too high, though, and there was masked hostility in our ensuing debate about the home’s worth. I didn’t like him very much because he was trying to rip this woman off, and he didn’t like me very much because I was standing in the way of him making an extra $150,000 from this sale. As we went back and forth, he wasn’t making his case very well, but unfortunately the owner didn’t know real estate at all.
That’s when I suggested that he leave so I could talk to the owner in private. After he did, I told her that he was trying to rip her off, and thankfully she finally realized this. Instead of selling the house to him for $425,000, I ended up selling the house for her for $605,000, which put much more money in her pocket.
As always, if you’re thinking of buying or selling a home or you have any real estate questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’d be glad to help you.
