Over the last few years a lot of my business has come from the internet, from my web site, representing people from out of town who would like to buy a home in Tucson.
This has been very good for me, really very rewarding and enjoyable. For me it's very gratifying when people put their trust in me. And I understand how difficult it must be for someone to put this very important transaction in the hands of a stranger.
In turn I do everything that I can to understand what's important to them and to educate and really help them understand the homes in Tucson, the market, and the pros and cons of everything involved in buying a Tucson home.
Usually what happens is I get a call or an email, but usually a call, from someone who lives somewhere else in the country and they're interested in buying a home in Tucson. And we talk for quite a while about what, where, and when they would like to buy.
And we talk about me, kind of sussing eachother out to see if we're compatable.
If that goes well we set a date a month or so down the road when they'll come to Tucson to look at homes. In the meantime I'll email them property listings and we'll talk about those listings and eventually begin to zero-in on what it is they might like to buy. When they arrive in Tucson we go out and look at homes, sometimes for a few days, and sometimes longer before we find the just right one.
One Saturday morning I got a call from Robert (not his real name) from Seattle (not his real city either) and after a brief introduction Robert told me that he and his wife Cynthia (you got it, not her real name) would like to buy a second home in Tucson in Ventana Country Club. They'd been to Tucson before and had spent some time in Ventana CC, so they knew what they wanted. We talked about the kind of home they would like to buy, the price range, timing and other details.
They were very candid, easygoing and confident. And right from the start they seemed very trusting, as if they somehow knew that I was their guy.
I let them know that there was nothing on the market at the moment that was right for them but that I would keep a sharp look-out and let them know as soon as something materialized.
As luck would have it two days later a home got listed in Ventana CC. And although it was a little larger and more expensive- about $100,000 more expensive- than Robert indicated they would like to spend, it was otherwise right on target, a bullseye.
I hemmed and hawed for a while over whether I should email them this new listing. While I didn't want them to miss out on the chance to make their own decisions about this home, I was also very leery about appearances. Might they conclude that I was trying to push them to a higher $$ bracket. Remember, we didn't know eachother, we'd never met. We had just one short phone conversation.
I decided that despite the newness of our relationship, that I should have faith in the trust that I sensed from them and let them decide.
With a big disclaimer about the price, I emailed them the listing.
There were NO pictures in the listing and I let them know that if they were at all interested I would go take pictures and email them ASAP.
Robert called within the hour and asked if I could get them some pictures.
Later that day I did that, and emailed them about a dozen pictures and a floorplan sketch that I did.
Soon Robert and Cynthia called me and as we reviewed the pictures we talked about the house. I answered their questions, described the house and filled in the blanks as best I could. I also emailed them a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) so they could see what comparable homes were selling for recently.
When we got done Robert said that they would like to write an offer.
'Well, when are you coming out to see the house' I asked.
'Can't do that' Robert said, 'too busy'
I suggested writing the offer contingent on the buyer seeing the property with 48 hours of acceptance. No, Robert & Cynthia didn't think they could get out here anytime soon.
From my pictures, my floorplan, my description and our conversation they felt confident that the home was right for them. Wow! Talk about trust, I was floored. And a little nervous.
We wrote the offer, counter-offered once or twice, reached acceptance and suddenly I was opening escrow. Robert & Cynthia still hadn't made any plans to come to Tucson to see the home they were buying.
I did all the inspections, emailed the reports to Robert & Cynthia, discussed and settled on some relatively minor repairs and a couple of weeks later we closed escrow.
All of it done long distance - internet, email, fax and phone.
I had never met Robert & Cynthia. They were not referred by a friend or associate or anyone. We were complete strangers. They found me on the internet, we talked on the phone briefly and they put the purchase of their home in my hands, just like that.
About a month later they came to Tucson arriving sometime on a Friday night.
Saturday morning I was on my way to the house to meet them for the first time, and as you can imagine, I was really nervous. By now they had seen the house and spent their first night in it. What do they think? Do they like it? Do they hate it?
Is it what they imagined based on MY pictures, MY floorplan and MY description?
They were delighted and delightful.
And I was awed by their confidence and trust.
