Page 38 - Senior Link Magazine Summer 2017- Online Magazine
P. 38
The Wisdom of
the Elderly
It’s not often I see home-buyers hug a seller with tears in
their eyes. I’ve been to many closings where tension was
high — where everyone was upset because everyone felt like
they had lost something. But on this day , everyone won.
Joseph and Amanda contacted me last year eager to buy a
house. They lived in a tiny duplex, and were ready to become
homeowners. She started telling us stories of the house
They had attempted to buy a house a year earlier, but it that had been her home for so many years.
had been an unpleasant experience. A low appraisal and She told us details about the neighbors and
an incompetent lender had led to frustration and anger. the schools. She told Joseph and Amanda
Eventually, Joseph and Amanda were forced to back out of when the pecans would be dropping.
the contract and forfeit their earnest money. For this hard- She even handed them a bag of owner’s
working, honest young couple, it was devastating. manuals.
But Joseph and Amanda decided to try again. I was happy I knew the escrow agent was pressed
they called me, so I could help them develop a “battle for time , so I attempted to wind down
strategy”. They’d been pre-approved with an out-of-town the conversation, but Mrs. Talley still
lender, but I didn’t want to see them lose their earnest had stories to tell . She expounded about
money again. They followed my advice to go with a lender I how she always made pecan pies from
knew had a trustworthy reputation. the pecans on the property. There was a
We found the house they wanted to call home. We lifetime of stories collected in this little
made a modest offer. I knew the owner had turned down lady, and she seemed to want to share as
many lowball offers, but I explained Joseph and Amanda’s many of them as possible. We could all tell
situation to her agent. Miraculously, the seller accepted. Mrs. Talley wasn’t quite ready to let go.
But then, the appraisal came in $10,000 short. It was Emotion was building and the elderly
11% lower than the already-agreed-upon price. I’d never woman began to tear up. She looked
seen an appraisal be so short. It seemed the dream of home intently at Joseph and Amanda and said,
ownership was slipping away from Joseph and Amanda “I hope you enjoy the house”. That’s when
again. everyone else’s tears began to flow freely.
What happened next surprised everyone. The seller, after It was a special moment to witness. It was
much consideration, accepted the short appraisal. Normally, as if Mrs. Talley had shown us a beautiful
a seller would scoff and walk away, but this was a unique painting of all her family memories, and
situation. A closing date was agreed upon, and everyone then handed a blank canvas to Joseph
hoped there wouldn’t be any conflict. and Amanda, so they could paint their own
When I arrived at the closing, I saw a petite elderly lady. family memories.
(She reminded me of my great-grandmother Lottie.) After She could have been bitter about the
Joseph, Amanda and I finished signing the documents, we situation, the low offer, the short appraisal.
came back to the lobby to visit with Mrs. Talley, the seller. Instead, she chose to bless Joseph and
38 Lubbock Senior Link
