It was one of those really whacky transactions. The purchaser wanted to acquire the house but not occupy it for about 9-10 months. His family had a trans-attlantic move planned and he really wanted it all nailed down ahead of time. To make the deal go, we fortunately found a seller who was happy to sell and didn?t care if it closed in 2 months or 10 as long as he was holding a huge deposit and was also able to rent the property in the interim period. It was in 1989 and I was a brand new realtor and I was just happy to sell a house.
This was a corner parcel. The address was #8 Unknown Lane (I really can?t say the actual street). Little did I know, two blocks away, there was also #8 Unknown Court.(Same street name, just a Court not a Lane).? Both of these are two story houses, on corners and to this day they share similar exterior appearances.
Anyhow, I?m running tight on time as I used to do too frequently and arrive about a minute ahead of schedule. I bound out of the car and begin walking up to the wrong house. ?Interesting?, I say to myself as I observe the 3 little kids looking at me from behind the screen of the front door of the house. The other realtor said to just go ahead and use the lockbox for access. Alarm bells are going off in my head as I am walking up to the door, ?O no, I?m thinking, somebody ?didn?t tell the tenants they had to move? ——-#%@ *?? Was I supposed to do that ?? no, it was clear in the contract, the seller was responsible for that ? I remember typing ?Vacant at closing.?——-#$@&+——–Whatever got screwed up here, I knew this long closing thing was going to be a problem? . I get to the door and I ask the kids, ?Is your mommy home??? They smile and giggle and in a heart beat, Mother Bear pounces on the scene. ?You bet I am home, what are trying to do? Who the hell are you? Get the hell of my property? Are you trying to steal my kids?? Sometimes I?m not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I got the idea fairly quickly that I should leave.
I get in the car and start driving down the street. Within a few blocks, there is a police car with the flashing lights in my rear view mirror. ?Can you step out of the car sir?? The bright side is, he helped me figure out where I was supposed to be. I think once in a while the universe really keeps us on our toes.