REALTORS® will often tell you there is a hushed rule in real estate that buyers and sellers should NOT meet when a deal is still being negotiated. Case in point, an agent in my office stated the following when I told her about my current transaction,”I do not like when buyers and sellers meet, and most of my clients don’t want to ever see the other side. You need to remember that the seller is wanting as much as possible for their house and the buyer wants to pay as little as possible for the same house. They are adversaries, they are not equals. “I would normally agree with this statement except when it comes to my current seller Cyn and a buyer named Elle. They threw all caution to the wind in our current sale. I call what we have going on right now a “unicorn” deal in real estate. It’s such a rarity in this industry when a seller and buyer were meant to find one another. It’s not just a “house fit” it’s more of a relationship fit.
I’ve been known to say that Cyn Martino is the one good thing I’ve ever found on Craig’s List. Rather, she found me, in the Housing Wanted section on that site years ago. Cyn used me as her agent to purchase of a small footprint house near Laurelhurst. Since then, it’s been good times. She is from Santa Cruz CA (that’s right folks, she moved from California. No booing aloud.) Cyn is like water. She drives an old Volvo, is a farmer’s market guru, raises chickens, walks everywhere and cares about the planet. She is very cool. I mean like very very cool (hint hint to you single men out there that like nature and good food).
Elle, our buyer, was born and raised in Portland Oregon and looking to buy her first house. Her grandparents happened to live only a block away from Cyn’s house on SE 30th and Ankeny, which is also where her father grew up. How do we know all of this, because Elle included a personal letter with her offer. Elle wrote about appreciating the original details of the home such as the retro cabinets and counter tops. The icing on the cake was that I was able to meet Elle and her real estate agent at my open house. She walked through the home quietly, taking it all in, but her eyes were smiling. I knew that if she decided to submit an offer, my seller would like this young woman. I had that gut feeling. Elle wrote an offer, it was a strong offer, but not the highest in the pile. But when you have a Cyn as seller, you know the ‘fit’ means as much as the money.
Here they are: My seller, Elle, Elle’s mom and her Auntie. They stopped by the house to give my seller a gift over the weekend and invite her to a Korean dinner. Before the deal was negotiated. Before the repairs decided upon. Why — because there is this thing out there called good will and kindness. I see it only occasionally in my industry. It feels SO damn good to witness. It makes me like what I do.
This is what a real estate unicorn looks like -:)
