I first connected with Charlene through a mutual love of the Golden Girls. She is a member of my church and we had gotten to know each other well when Charlene’s husband got sick. Keeping up the house by herself and taking care of her husband were too much for Charlene on her own, so she decided to move in with some family members and sell the house where she and her husband had lived for years.

Charlene was understandably overwhelmed by the process, so she and I sat down and broke the process down into baby steps. I handled the major details; she basically handed me the keys and I took care of her! With the help of her awesome family, I got the house staged and cleaned and photo-ready. This was right at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, so we weren’t sure what showings would look like, but we adapted. Lots of gloves and sanitizing wipes.

After about a week on the market, a lovely family made an offer on her home, and Charlene was happy to accept. We talked through inspection items and made sure the family was happy with what would be their new home. Our closing was the first closing I had ever done in my car with a clipboard! I remember vividly standing in the parking lot of the title company on a windy day, talking to Charlene through the window of her car.

Charlene is loving living with her family, and I still see her often; I usually bake her cookies and she supplies me with diet coke, so it’s a nice trade-off! If you or anyone you know no longer want to take care of a huge house and want to down size, reach out to me and I’d love to help!