Stories

Phyllis and Tom

A retirement-age couple faces the decision of leaving a beloved neighborhood and the prospect of having their home torn down.

I met Phyllis and Tom in 2015 when they were looking for a small condo in Arlington. We kept in touch over the years, and in the middle of December 2020 Phyllis called and said they were ready to make a move and wanted to know what their best options would be. 

They had already gotten several letters from builders offering to buy their property but something didn't quite feel right to them. The house that they own is a three-bedroom cape in Fair condition. The zoning in their area is a two-family zone which allows two townhouses to be built on the land. They weren't sure whether the builders were offering a fair price and they didn't quite trust them. 

They felt they needed a strong intermediary that would look out for their best interests so that they could use the proceeds for their retirement.

As I walked through their house I could see that it was well loved and that it was going to be hard for them to move as well as knowing that the house would most likely be torn down.

Part of the concern in our area is small houses being torn down and larger houses going in the place that may not be aesthetically pleasing. They were very concerned about how the neighbors would feel and wanted to be very careful. I suggested that they ask the neighbors what they thought — which isn't something I would normally suggest because most people come to the decision to sell privately — because they've been in the neighborhood so long and really enjoyed the family atmosphere. Perhaps surprisingly, their neighbors were very supportive of the selling the house to a builder. They felt that it would increase the value of their houses. 

Phyllis, Tom, and I spent quite a while talking about what it would mean to them to have the house torn down. They said they had come to a peace with it because the ability to add to their retirement was so much more significant with the tear down option.

The other appeal to them is that they wouldn't have to do any work to get the house ready for sale. While the house was well loved, there was quite a bit of deferred maintenance required. They also didn't like the idea of people coming to the house from a privacy standpoint.

They asked me if I knew of any builders. I work with quite a number of builders and they asked if I could contact a number of them to see if they'd be interested and also what kind of pricing they could get.

After making calls over a week or so I came up with two options for them. They wanted a faster closing and the smoothest possible transaction. So in considering who would be the best buyer for the house, I suggested that they work with a particular builder because he is very direct and is what I like to call no fuss no muss!

As I write this, today is closing day. While there were a couple of minor hiccups it has been an extremely smooth transaction for the sellers. They had a lot of anxiety going into this and are experiencing quite a bit of relief in being able to sell their house for the best and highest price as well as with the most ease. 

I know there's real meaning in people's lives to make this process as smooth as possible. We like to say that we're like swans on a lake gracefully gliding along... but you can't see our feet working furiously under the surface to give our clients their own smooth gliding experience.

— Mark Lesses