L.A. Realtor to the Rescue

It’s an outrage. Centuries of superheroes, and not one realtor among them. I can’t tell you the number of times I swooped in to rescue a client from the jaws of disaster. The only thing missing was a cape.

Case in Point —

Once upon a time, I had a choice L.A. home for sale listed in Hancock Park. Was price-tagged at 1.2 million. In no time at all, the offers poured in, ranging from 950 grand to 1 million. Uh-uh. Nothing doing. I told my client, the seller, that the home was worth 1.1, and not a farthing less.

Lo and behold, we get our 1.1 offer — from a doctor. Absolutely adored the place. Then the funding fell through. Seems the buyer’s aunt was going to provide some of the down, and through some sort of stock market mishap, the cash dried up.

To soothe my jangled nerves, I considered a high-intensity shopping spree on Rodeo Drive. But I soon opted for a more client-friendly solution.  I tapped into my ‘network’ and through a series of strategically-placed calls, secured a perfect loan that covered half the down payment.

To paraphrase Al Jolson – ‘Was Everybody Happy?’

Darn tootin’.  The seller got the 1.1(even though the entire RE community scoffed, “You’ll never get more than a mil). The doctor got her gorgeous L.A. home. And the person lending the down payment dough got a better interest rate than any bank account would offer. So smiles all around.

All of which goes to show two things –

1. Heroes don’t always wear capes (although I’m thinking about repurposing some old bath towels.)
2. It Takes a Village

And my village is the delightful network of friends, relatives, and business associates who’ve formed a kind of cooperative that helps each other in a kind of favor exchange system. Mix and match as needed. I know exactly who I need to call to get a loan, mortgage advice, a great turkey sandwich. So I guess in the end, L.A. real estate is all about problem solving. And sometimes being a hero.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I hear a cat in a tree.