Timing is everything sometimes, isn’t it?
Well, consider this equation:
Perfect Timing = Divine Alignment = PEACE
Today I want to celebrate the recent success story of one of our Lifeonaire Titanium coaching students, Scott Smith, who sent an email sharing an exciting turn of events in his life. Originally shared directly via private email group that his Titanium group shares, I got his full permission to re-share it here in a blog post, so we can all enjoy it, and be encouraged by it.
So, grab your favorite drink, and take a few to relive this moment where the heavens and earth aligned for Scott Smith.
Enjoy…
On a nice sunny spring day I decided to go driving for dollars. This is when you drive around neighborhoods looking for houses that look abandoned, need work, etc.
I decided to take a short cut and took a right. At the next stop sign I noticed a For Sale sign and took another right. Then I drove down this long circle driveway and peaked inside what appeared to be a vacant house. Since I am a real estate broker, I used my MLS access and went inside.
It was what I always wanted…
A grand entry with a breathtaking view out back. I walked the remainder of the property and drove home.
To be honest, the house made me cry. I felt it. Cautiously, I told my wife about it and even mentioned that I probably shouldn’t show it to her.
She loved it as well. And she gave me that look that said:
“You better get this house.”
We drove home.
I called my banker and discussed it with her. She rarely answers the phone. But she did today. And she approved me on the spot and sent me a pre-approval letter which was signed by the bank President within minutes of getting off the phone.
I wrote the offer up and, within an hour of seeing the home for the first time, I had an offer in the hands of the Realtor. She said, “I think I can make this work.” She had two offers at the time, but mine was better.
The brother who was working with his two sisters in the sale of their mother’s house would need to get approval from the two sisters. They grew up in the home. This was the only family who had ever lived here or owned this home. It was built in 1952.
In the meantime, the sellers were waiting on some test results from possible asbestos flooring that was underneath the carpet. This was taking longer than normal—much longer—and it stalled this entire process for everyone.
We also had our house under contract at the same time and it was still in the inspection/option period. So, all of this was fine with me. I wanted to drag this out a bit longer so that I knew we would have the down payment for the home.
Side Note:
We were unsuccessful in selling our home last summer in Austin. We moved from Austin to Waco last summer and the move was a success, but many of our plans were on hold because we didn’t sell our home. We moved into some free and clear rentals we owned, which allowed us the ability to pay a mortgage on a house that was vacant. But this was a huge disappointment for us because we were now carrying a mortgage and utilities in a house that was vacant and still putting money into the home to improve it.
Being a real estate investor, this was a big hit to my ego—I failed at selling my own home.
We went back and forth about doing a vacation rental, renting it, etc. We hit more roadblocks. In the end we decided it made the most sense to sell the house and pay off debt. It was our primary residence for the past 10 years. So between last summer and now we worked on getting it ready.
Within 2 days of putting the Coming Soon sign out, we had two offers. The one we selected was full price, short closing, and no requests for anything except $500 credit for the hot water heater. They really wanted the house. We accepted. Everything went as smooth as we could hope for. Last year everything we did to list our home and sell it was a challenge.
Back to the new house:
This home seemed to be a landing space and place that we had not been looking for but had always wanted. Until now, we were going to stay put in the duplex we owned, and make the duplex we also owned next door an Airbnb. As soon as we saw this new home our plans changed again.
However, we had a new problem. While waiting on the test results to come in, the seller got more offers.
One was substantially better than ours. But my emotional outburst when talking to the Realtor originally—and our obvious love of the home—really touched the seller. All sellers want to know their home is going to someone who really wants and loves the home.
So, the competitive offer was full price, but in the end this wasn’t enough of a motivation for the seller to accept their offer.
This home is perfect for us—plenty of space but not too much space. It sits on 3 acres surrounded by water and is 10 minutes from where we are now, but with a country setting.
To top this off, our offer got accepted on March 14, 2018. This is my mom’s birthday. Even though she is no longer with us on earth, I feel like she was rejoicing in Heaven because of this great miracle she helped happen!
So, our house didn’t sell when we wanted. Our plans didn’t go as planned. But in the end they are going to work out better than we could have imagined. The timing on everything could not have been better orchestrated! God’s Vision was bigger than we had imagined for ourselves!
Soooooo… Pretty cool, yeah? A really nice share. A shining example of seeing how “all things work together for the good…” even the unexpected obstacles and things that seem derailing… Are all part of a bigger plan for his life.
One person’s response to Scott’s original email:
Wow Scott! What an awesome story on God’s perfect timing! I felt your story as you described this experience! I hope you and your family have many joy filled years in this new home!
What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts or comments below. Fire away.
