The Story Behind The Deal - 4 Units in Westminster

I met the seller at a coffee shop on a Saturday morning and spent time with him discussing his family’s history and how he only had one relative left alive – his daughter. He hadn’t seen her for several years and wished he had developed a stronger relationship with her.

He didn’t want to formally list his property for sale but said he would sell it if I brought him an acceptable offer. I asked him how much he wanted for the property and he asked me what I thought the property was worth. I told him based on recent closed sales it was worth approximately $950,000. He said if you bring me an offer at $950,000, I’ll accept it.

I emailed the property information to my database of buyers and within a couple of days I found a buyer who wanted to purchase the property. I wrote up the offer, the seller accepted and we set up a property inspection.

The seller worked most of his waking hours and occupied one of the units but hadn’t kept up with the maintenance on the property.

The kitchen in the owner’s unit was not in a condition that allowed him to cook his own meals. Therefore, he ate all his meals at local restaurants or fast food. The other units had some deferred maintenance but nothing extraordinary.

When the buyer did their inspection, they were surprised at the overall condition but not discouraged so much as to not move forward with the purchase. But they did request a sizeable reduction in price.

We closed escrow 45 days later. Since the seller did not have a loan on the property, he was able to use the sale proceeds to purchase a mobile home park in El Centro that he could manage on his own. The cash flow from the mobile home park was better then what he was receiving on his 4 plex.

The best part of this transaction is that seller’s equity also allowed him to purchase a single-family home that was much closer to his daughter and rekindle his relationship with her.

I’ve encountered a few scenarios like this throughout my career and it always reminds me that each transaction is not just a sale or a closed escrow. Each transaction has a personal story and reason behind it for each client, why they wanted to sell and how it affected their life. Real estate sales are a life changing event for everyone involved. For some clients more than others.