An unusual thing happened yesterday; we closed two sales in one day. In my 30 years of real estate, I don’t recall ever closing two transactions on the same day. While it was certainly rewarding for everyone involved, it was also stressful leading up to that moment.
Many people think real estate agents just put folks in their vehicles, show a few properties, then make the big bucks. That just isn’t so. To be successful it requires long hours, interrupting phone calls and text messages all hours of every day. I often tell folks, much of what I do is act as a counselor: working to bring two opposing sides together for an agreement. Things rarely go as planned or smoothly. All the while, I am under intense liability and responsibility to the client. Countless times, I’ve awakened at night thinking “Did I check on this or confirm that?” Its a fine line to walk. But it is never boring. No two transactions are alike, and if I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t still be doing it. A supportive and understanding wife is critical to this success. (“Thank you Honey!”)
Yesterday we closed on the 14 acre Sustainable Farm outside Old Fort, NC (one of our listings). This is a special property that has gardens, fruit trees, rabbit hutch, duck house, chicken house, etc. The buyers had already been making improvements to it prior to closing and I’m certain will have it blossoming in the coming days. This property had been under contract previously and as late as 48 hours prior to closing, there was serious doubt it would close.
Then we closed a totally different property encompassing 163 acres of prime land just outside Asheville for a client looking to build his private family compound on the 18 acres of pasture and custom home up on top of the mountain. This one should have closed in November, but five days prior to closing, it was discovered that there were some old covenants (not mentioned in the deed) that may or may not have encumbered the land. We spent the following months consulting with attorneys and title companies, and I had to personally sit down across kitchen tables with six adjoining owners to elicit their cooperation in resolving the matter. Fortunately, our client was satisfied (although I’ll still be working on a final resolution even after closing) and it closed. One interesting note is that the buyer client is a very high net worth individual, well known in the international world of finance and told me within 30 seconds of our first meeting, “I don’t really care for buyer agents. Have never had a good experience with them.” That’s not the most encouraging start. But soon thereafter, he realized he would need help in his broader search and engaged me as his exclusive buyer’s agent; and the rest as they say is history.
We are grateful to all those involved for allowing us to represent them and we are ready to help you in your search or sale of real estate. There are few firms in western North Carolina mountain real estate that specialize in land, and none that focus solely on homesteads, retreats and prepper properties. So call us today and let us know how we can assist you. We’d enjoy adding your testimonial to the dozens of those we’ve accumulated over the years.
