06/07/2024
**Story told with seller's permission**
This is Leslie.
When I first spoke to him, he was in a bad situation.
He had no family nearby to offer any sort of support and he felt like he was "stuck" with no options of improving his situation.
The first day I met him at the property and he invited me inside, I was shocked. There were no working appliances, no hot water, no heating or A/C, and the house was completely situated in rainwater due to the deteriorated roof. By some miracle, he still had working electricity to run space heaters during the winter months. In the video, you'll see where he could only live in the living room, using a chair as his bed each night.
He had been living in these conditions for several years. A retired 20-year Air Force veteran, Leslie was on a fixed income and didn't have enough money to make the necessary repairs to his house to make it liveable again. To make things worse, the county was pressuring him to make repairs soon or they would condemn the property and force him to leave. He was afraid he was about to lose his house.
Initially, Leslie was resistant to talk to me about the property. Come to find out, the more I got to know him and speak to him, what I learned was the resistance was due to him not believing that we would actually be interested in buying his property in this condition. He thought he had no options to improve his situation.
We get that a lot when we talk to seller about buying their "ugly houses". They can't believe that we would actually pay them a lot of cash to take the burden off of their hands.
One of Leslie's main concerns was where he would live if he sold his property to us. That's a common fear for sellers. They may want to sell their house fast but they don't feel they can due to a lack of options or solutions.
That's where we come in.
I assured Leslie that not only would we pay him a fair cash offer for his property but I would personally help him find his next home.
After meeting with him several times, he was ready to move forward and hear our offer.
Here's the crazy part, when I told him how much we could pay him in cash for his property, he was shocked and literally tried to negotiate me DOWN in price!! Repeatedly telling me that the property wasn't worth near what I was offering him. I explained to him that we are fair in our cash offers and that I wouldn't let him take a penny less for it.
He finally agreed and we got the ball rolling.
We were able to close in less than 30 days and we even offered him the right to remain in the property for 30 days after closing to allow him plenty of time to find a new home.
I met Leslie for several days and drove him around, looking at potential new homes, and we finally found the one that was just right for him. I helped him fill out the rental application, communicated with the landlord on his behalf and got everything squared away.
I even helped Leslie pack up his personal items and made several trips to his new home and helped him unpack.
I called Leslie to check in on him after his first night in his new home and he told me "I got so much sleep last night. I haven't slept on a bed in years. Thank you."
Leslie is now warm and dry. He has working appliances, can take a hot shower, and has a lot of cash in the bank.
Where his property once stood is now a beautiful brand-new home currently being built by Grand American Homes. The street/community is getting a much-needed facelift, property values nearby will increase, and Leslie is happy.
Now that's what we call a WIN-WIN!
When we say we buy properties for cash in ANY condition imaginable, that's what we mean.