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Some years ago, in a very slow market, I got a call from
a woman who said she and her husband had to sell their home and would I please
come over to talk to them about it. They were very close to falling behind in
their mortgage payments. They were separating, the bills were piling up and
they felt trapped by their very high mortgage payments.
They called a number of real estate agents, including the
agent who had sold them the home just a couple of years before. When they told
him how much they owed on the mortgage, he told them he couldn’t help them and
wished them luck. He told them they owed more than they could sell it for
(which was true). I was really appalled at their interest rate – it was a good
4% above the current rates. This is one of those instances where both the real
estate agent and the lender really took advantage of naïve buyers.
When I went over to their house for the listing
appointment, I could see the strain on their faces. It was obvious that they
felt their lives were just out of control. They told me that they they loved
the house, they loved having a yard for their kids, but that their marriage was
dissolving and they felt their only
option was to move on. After listening
to them for a while, I asked them if they would prefer to stay in the house if
they could find a way. Apparently no one
else had asked them this question. They said yes, they wanted to stay but
didn’t see how.
I was able to arrange a new mortgage for them, with MUCH
lower payments, and they were able to keep their family home. Best yet, they
called me a couple of months later and said that they had patched up their
marriage because the financial stress had been lifted.
Some things
are better than a paycheck and some days I really love my job.
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