...And Then Along Comes Mary....

"Mary" as I will call her - dear "Mary" decided to buy a home. She and her husband prepared for this purchase. Yes, they had a house to sell, credit to repair, but they wanted and needed a bigger house with some specifics not easy to find.

They looked for 18 months. Through the snows and the heat, all over Central New York. "It doesn't exist!" I'd complain to Bob. "They will never find it!"

But I kept looking and kept checking things out. Once I even told lovely Lisa in our office I was going to drive about 40 miles one way at night to not sell a house. "Where's your confidence?" she asked. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because they want me to - but this isn't the house."

But then it came on the hotsheet one day. Just what they wanted - exactly what they wanted and where they wanted. I called them and we hustled out there. They put in a full price offer and won out over the other people who wanted it.

The key was that they were prepared. They had done their homeowork, not just for the house but for their credit. They had a pre-approval in the bag and could buy without selling.

And good things come to those who prepare. While they searched, their own home was going through a transformation to make it highly marketable. They did what they needed to do - they had a home inspection so they knew the flaws, they took out piles and piles of junk, they decorated for the new buyer. They priced it right, too. After two open houses, it was sold.

Everyone closes in a couple weeks. "Mary" and her husband will have their new home, their buyer will move in soon after.

Key to this great tale is a willingness on everyone's part to be flexible - the sellers of the house "Mary" bought priced it to sell, "Mary" and her husband knew they had a good deal and were willing to make a concession or two, the buyer moved rapidly. Everyone delivered papers on time to attorneys and mortgage people and we will have a happy ending.

This is not a fairy tale. "Mary" is real. And she's not alone - there are many people out there doing the same thing, thank goodness.

So while I rant a bit about things not being easy, I must also speak glowingly about the successes - the deals that balance the hard ones.


Postscript - If you want to laugh and laugh, go to the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse's eastern premiere of "Church Basement Ladies." It stars the incomparable - and Skaneateles native -Maureen Quigley.