Several years ago I worked with a young couple who wanted to purchase their first home. They had a toddler and a new baby on the way and were anxious to move into their new home before the baby came. The husband's family was helping them with the purchase and they needed a house with a guest unit for his parents to stay in when there were visiting.
After looking at many properties over a period of almost three months we finally found the perfect property for them. The main house had three bedrooms and two bathrooms which would suit the family perfectly. There was also a large den where the husband could set up his musical equipment. Additionally, there was a separate guest house with one bedroom and a bath. The parents would be very comfortable there and everyone would have some privacy. The lot was on almost half an acre and the backyard was like a small park where the children would be able to play. The price was right and we opened escrow after a short period of negotiation.
On the day the escrow closed I took the couple over to the property for a final walk through with the sellers. This couple had moved out of the area so this would be the first time they would be meeting in person. They liked each other right away and I followed along with the listing agent as they shared information about the house. They told my buyers when they had installed the carpet in the master bedroom, what to look for when they moved a large piece of furniture in through the front door, and how helpful the gardener was when the weeds got too thick in the backyard. We went from room to room in the main house and then walked through the guest house. It was a Friday afternoon, a warm day in May, and I was thinking about how much I loved selling real estate. Bringing people together like this made the job worthwhile.
It was just about then that I saw the wife look a little pale. I thought maybe it was the baby kicking her or that she was becoming tired. I leaned in and heard the seller speaking.
"And the Hell's Angels across the street are perfectly nice neighbors. On Sunday they have the club over, but you can't hear anything if you stay inside of the house. Sometime they have 30 or 40 motorcycles lined up in front of the house. It's pretty loud, but we just stay in the house on Sunday afternoons. They are very nice people..."
I was frozen with fear and speechless. Hell's Angels? Thirty or forty motorcycles? I looked quickly to my buyers to watch for their reaction. My life flashed in front of me. They would want to cancel the sale. No, it had already been recorded earlier that day and it was Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day weekend! Hell's Angeles everywhere. My buyers would have to work around the motorcycles in the street to get their moving van into the driveway. I was in a panic but I maintained my composure and smiled sweetly. Could they tell that I was biting my lip? My reputation would be ruined. I began to feel faint.
My buyer's are still living in this house. The children are eight and five and there is a third child on the way. They love the house, his parents stay regularly in the guest house, and the neighbors, who happen to be Hell's Angels, are wonderful people. I had overreacted to the situation. Luckily, I did this inside of my head and not out loud in front of everyone. I did learn some important lessons that day that I will never forget. Don't jump to conclusions. Everyone has a right to be who they are. Be kind and accepting of other people. These lessons have served me well over the past several years and they apply to all situations in my life, not just to selling real estate.
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