The phone was ringing early at 8:20am on this Saturday morning. Unusual because it was 8:20 and the phone typically doesn’t begin to ring before 9:00, but also because of it being Saturday. Putting his coffee down, Andy hit “answer” on his cell phone., brought the device up to his ear and said “The House of Pasadena, this is Andy. How can I help you?”

There's more to real estate than contracts and escrow

“The House of Pasadena” was the name of Andy’s real estate brokerage. It was a clever name he thought, because it played off of a couple of scenarios associated with selling residential real estate in the City of Pasadena, California, and it let people know  his office location and along with it, his area of expertise.

The voice on the other end of the line said..”Andy, you don’t know me, but my name is Trish Johnson and last year my cousin Billy bought a home with you”.

“Sure, I remember. How is Bill”? ask Andy.

“Billy is fine”, Trish said, “he wanted me to give you a call because he has a couple of questions”.

Andy thought this was strange that she was calling for Bill. Bill and Andy hadn’t really clicked back when Andy was asked to handle the sale of a lady’s home. It was a For Sale By Owner and this woman had been approached by Bill who wanted to purchase the property. Bill and Andy had met on several occasions to proceed with the transaction, but no matter how Andy had tried to help Bill he just didn’t see it that way. At one point it had even deteriorated to the point when Andy told Bill to get out of his office.

The two were eventually able to put their differences aside and close the transaction. A closing can make the parties forget about their personal differences and at least allow the two individuals to be pleasant towards each other.

“Andy”, the voice continued. “Bill has received a Notice of Default on the property and he ask me to give you a call and to see what could be done about it” said Trish.

Andy began asking the usual questions of a homeowner when they found themselves in this situation.

“Does Bill want to try to keep the house or does he want to sell it and get out from under it”? Andy asked.

Trish’s voice hesitated for a minute before she began to speak. “I might as well tell you Andy, Bill is in the county jai,” she continued.

“He was arrested last week because there was a death,” she said tearfully.

Andy had an immediate flashback. He remembered reading in the paper of a man being arrested for killing his girlfriend. The newspaper account stated the couple had been arguing and the man was arrested and charged with murder. The article stated that the  suspect had thrown his girlfriend out of the second story window to her death.

“Andy, Andy…are you still there”, Trish ask.

Andy’s mind was racing remembering the volatile temper that Bill had sometimes displayed. Then Andy regained his composure and said “Trish, this is an important question, did the victim die on the property or en route to the hospital. Depending upon how you answer will determine what we have to disclose if we sell the property”.

Andy could barely hear her as her voice was still trembling. He could hear the sounds of police sirens in the background as the irony of this entire telephone call continued.

“I think she died on the way to the hospital. I have to go now, they are calling me. I’ll give you a call later this week”. And with that Trish hung up the phone.

Andy’s mind raced to one of the intense arguments he had with Bill and wondered if he was capable of being a murderer. Andy quickly thought next time he enters a hostile situation he needs to try and diffuse it, not heighten the argument to win his point. Certainly not throw someone out of the office as he had previously done with Bill.

It could be life threatening, he thought.

 This is a fictionalized account of The Pasadena Real Estate Market and the life of one of the agents. Any similarities to actual events or individuals are strictly coincidental.