It was the best of times. It was the worst of— NO WAIT!

This was all the best of times, and a fantastic experience for all involved.

My Sellers are good friends I’ve known for many years. Jeff and Rosa live up in Mobile now, but years ago they lived on a 3 acre homestead on the eastern edge of Grand Bay, AL just south of I-10 and West of Boe Road while their Azalea Trailmaid daughter Stephanie and son Christopher grew up and prepared for college while serving the Lord in their family and church. The Banashaks as a family (including Jeff’s parents Brian and Kathy) are just good people and some of our family’s favorites. 

A short while ago, they made the tough decision to sell the homestead where they had raised their children. This was not an easy decision for Mrs. Rosa especially because– in her words, “I loved that place. The porch… drinking my coffee in the peace and quiet….” 

As emotional as selling the property was, it could not have worked out any better than selling to the Vises. 

Ryan and Jerah Vise entered the scene via some effective Facebook Marketing I was doing to market the listing. Ryan contacted me way back in October shortly after the listing went live and he picked my brain for details… every detail!

One thing I can tell you is that Ryan is definitely not an impulse buyer.

His research before buying was so thorough that I told him he should put down his fabrication tools and get his Real Estate License. He researched everything right down to checking the BBB Website for a title company to close the deal.

He researched flood plain, easements, tax records, and more. He even measured and flagged off the footprint of his future home “… to make sure it would fit right with the property.”

(His flags were pieces of tig wire with colored duct tape on them, but a country boy will survive— right?

Here’s what impressed me with Ryan the most: “Let me talk to my wife.” He included her in every step along the way. Anyone who knows me at all knows that Deirdre and I are like one person. It was encouraging to see a young man lead his family in such a way, so I told Ryan, “I understand. If it’s not two “Yeses” then it’s a “No.”

Here’s another great thing about the Banashak-Vise deal: Jeff and Rosa are the same way, so like they raised their two children on those 3 acres, Ryan and Jerah will raise their four children there as well. 

Ryan apologized to me a couple of weeks ago, “I’m sorry I’m wasting so much of your time, but I only get to do this once. I’ll live here forever.” 

Of course, he wasn’t wasting my time at all. I like pairing buyers with properties that they will fall in love with. I want to spend as long as it takes to make sure that they are buying what they truly want rather than hurrying them into buying something that will leave them with regrets because of me.

One thing that I love about the Value System of my broker Keller Williams Realty Mobile is that we demand “Win-Win” deals. It’s against our culture as a brokerage to focus on any one side taking advantage of, or exploiting a weakness of, anyone involved in the transaction.

It’s true that friends are friends and business is business. Occasionally though, the twain actually do meet, and I can sell my friend’s home and make new friends in the process with one family who loves one another and the homestead passing it on to a new family who will continue that legacy. 

Lucky me. I get to be a part of it all, and I would love to be a part of your forever.