I have always had a love for older folks. They have such interesting stories about life before cars, telephones, washing machines, internet, and cell phones. I remember going to church once and asked my 8-year-old daughter to call her dad from the church office phone and she came out of the office saying, “I don’t know how to use the phone!” I went in and there sat an old black rotary dial phone on the counter. We were high-tech back then using the touch-tone phones of the day where you pushed the buttons on the receiver.
When my girls were very young, they played the violin and I would take them to the assisted living centers to play for the residents. They always appreciated listening to the old songs and some would sing the words to the songs they would play. The residents would ask my daughters to come close to them so they could gently stroke the back of their soft little hands.
As a young mother, I had an 80-year-old friend that I would take to doctor appointments, mow her lawn and take her grocery shopping. She owned a small 700 square foot home on a 50′ x 100′ lot that originally was a 100′ square lot that she bought in the 1940’s for $1500. She had a 3-year mortgage of $20/month and when her husband worked long hours in the summer, he would double up on their payments and they paid it off in 2 years. In the 1960’s, she sold half the lot for $1500. Those were the good old days.
One day she called me and asked if I would come over to her house and be there when a salesman arrived who was selling living trusts. I knew that she only owned her humble little home and a 1967 Chevrolet car. She had previously told me that her friend got a workbook at the store to write a living trust and he helped her fill out the forms to leave her house to her grandson upon her death. They had it notarized to make it legal.
I was there when the gentleman arrived with his outgoing personality. I was sitting next to her when he told her he would write up her living trust for $1,000. I told him she already had a living trust and he said, “I know, but it’s not enough – it needs to be this thick” as he pointed to his 1″ stack of papers. I asked, “why does she need one that thick? What would go in it?” He started naming a variety of assets that would go in there and I told him that she didn’t have any of those assets, just the house. He ended up leaving without a sale and I was glad I could be there for her.
Another experience I had was when I was investigating the fix ‘n’ flip business. In this business, people buy houses at a deep discount that need significant repair. They typically find those houses by sending out letters to home owners asking if they want to sell their home. While I was investigating this business, I joined a Facebook group specifically for this industry and one day I was reading the posts and a man posted, “elderly women are a goldmine to me.” I was infuriated when I read that and shortly thereafter, I realized this was not the industry for me.
I have already shared another story about an experience that I had in my Tales of Interest entitled, ” Don’t Let This Happen to You!”
These experiences are the reason that I am genuinely and passionately interested in helping seniors with their real estate needs. They need someone they can depend on that will ask questions if unclear about details. They need someone who will explain things to them in a clear way. They need someone who will treat them with patience, care, honesty and respect and someone who won’t lie to them and work on their timeline and not the agent’s. They need someone who is resourceful and will refer reputable business partners that they have personally interviewed – ones who also work with honesty and integrity.
If this is the type of real estate professional you are looking for, give me a call at 530-566-5085 or email realagentcarla@gmail.com and we can set up a time to have a conversation.
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