Aligned: prompt

Soul Whispers

Synchronicity & Real Estate

It was January 2017. My daughter and grandchildren moved into an apartment after spending six years living with my husband and me in the home we’d been renting since 2004.

Ben advocated for a move. Our landlord was an SOB, the house needed work he wouldn’t do, and we no longer had need of the extra space. But, our rent was low for the size of our house and yard and we were in a great location. Even a smaller home in a less desirable neighborhood would be more expensive.

Ben suggested an apartment. But, in a college town, apartments are pricier than most homes. A decent 800-sq-ft apartment with 2 bedrooms and one bath would cost much more than our 3/2 with 1,800 sq ft and a large yard.

What about buying? he asked. One of my clients is the busiest real estate law firm in our county and all the prices I’d seen for the past two years were out of our range. Nope, we were staying put.

A few days later, I was opening real estate closing files for that same client. Unable to read an address on a contract, I googled my best guess. Zillow confirmed my guess was correct, and in the lower right corner of the screen, I saw a small ad for a townhome in the same area of town, a neighborhood I like. Without thinking ( soul whisper), I clicked on the ad and cruised through the poorly-taken photos. The price was very reasonable.

Again, without forethought (soul whisper), I entered my phone number to be contacted by the real estate agent. Moments later, my phone rang. I immediately regretted asking to be called. We were in no shape financially to buy, and I was working 7-days-a-week with no time for house-viewing.

I apologized to the agent for bothering him. He shooed aside my concerns and insisted I see the property. However, the carpets were scheduled for cleaning so our appointment was set for two weeks in the future.

I forgot about it until the agent called 13 days later to remind me that we had a date. I met him there on a Sunday afternoon. The townhome community consisted of four circles, two on each side of the street, with 7 to 10 units in each. The unit I visited was owned by an older man who planned to move to the Bahamas.

The 2/2 townhome was dated and dark and crowded with massive furniture that must have once been in a large house. The owner didn’t know if the oven/stove worked because he hadn’t used either in his 10-year residency there. The kitchen was dingy and obviously hadn’t been updated since the place was built in the 80s.

I shuddered at the cream-colored carpet. With two dogs and two cats, a light-colored carpet was not an option. The master bed and bath were painted midnight blue, making it impossible to see well as we passed through.

Adding the work to be done to the price and considering my long work hours, I thanked the owner and the agent and said it just wasn’t the right time for me to consider buying or moving (soul whisper).

I didn’t bother to tell Ben about my fruitless real estate venture.

The next day, I took my best friend Gina to lunch for her birthday. My schedule kept us from getting together very often, so we caught up on our recent activities over our meal, talking more than eating.

After Gina asked if there was anything new, I told her about my wasted trip to see a townhome (soul whisper). Curious, she asked where it was. When I explained the location, she asked what realty company had it listed. When I told her, she said:

I know that place. I have a client across the parking lot. I was working on her computer the day the agent put up the For Sale sign.

What a coincidence, I said.

Oh, it gets better, Gina replied (soul whisper). She opened her phone, scrolled through some emails, opened one, and handed the phone to me.

This is an email I received from that client this morning. Read it.

The sender of the message was a woman named Kathy. She wrote:

Thanks again for taking care of my computer problem. Don’t know what I would do without you! By the way, I just signed a contract on a house. My dog really needs a yard to run around in and I’m tired of living in an attached home. Closing won’t be until May because the owners of the house can’t move until then. I’ll be listing my townhome on May 1st. If you know of anyone who might be interested, send them my way! (big soul whisper!)

I started asking questions about Kathy’s townhome, but Gina cut me off.

I’m not answering any questions but will connect the two of you.

Gina contacted Kathy and gave her my number. Kathy called that afternoon and we agreed that I’d visit her place on Wednesday. I went home and told Ben. He was skeptical and uninterested in going with me.

You don’t even know how much she wants for her place. And, you probably won’t like it. You go and tell me about it afterward.

Kathy was waiting outside when I arrived. With her dog — ah, a pet-friendly abode! I admired her garden spots, introductions were made, and she said:

You know that I haven’t listed my place and don’t plan on doing that until May. But, I have a friend who is a realtor. She advised me that no one will like my color choices for accent walls. So, know, in advance, that the colors will be painted over.

I replied:

I love color — lots of color, so the walls may not be a problem at all.

And, they weren’t. In fact, everything seemed to be perfect — the kitchen with yellow cabinets and a peach accent wall, the yellow hallway, the second bedroom with a purple wall, the very bright green guest bath, the dining room with a coral wall, and the sky blue master bed/bath. There was color and more color and I loved it all. Kathy was delighted. Also, no carpeting!!

Patio doors led from the living room and master bedroom to a screened porch with a large storage room.

But, the best, the very best, was the lake. I didn’t even know there was a lake in the area!

Outside the porch was a concrete patio and beyond that, a stone pathway that led between pines to the lake.

I was in love (soul whisper).

Friday, I brought Ben. He loved the place and Kathy. In fact, through their conversation, we discovered Kathy once lived in New York City. Ben used to live in New Jersey across the Hudson and visited Manhattan often. Soon Ben and Kathy were talking about all the places they knew in the city (soul whisper).

The following week, my daughter and grandchildren met me at Kathy’s to see the place. Turns out Kathy and my daughter knew each other from my daughter’s job at a grocery store. They squealed and hugged while I stood by in amazement (soul whisper).

After touring the house, we were standing on the patio, when a gray-haired lady walked around the azalea bush from the townhome next door. Kathy previously told me that a Cuban couple, Rosa and Carlos, owned that unit, and their adult daughter and her two girls lived with them.

Before I could introduce myself to Rosa, my grandchildren shrieked, Miss Rosa! Miss Rosa! Mom, look, it’s Miss Rosa!

Kathy and I stood in shock as Rosa hugged my daughter and grandchildren. Turns out that Rosa’s son was their dentist, and she worked in his office until he hired staff. And, Rosa’s daughter teaches at my grandchildren’s school and I had spoken to her many times when dropping off or picking up kids. Plus, her oldest daughter was in my grandson’s class (soul whisper).

At the end of that week, Kathy and I met to discuss business. Previously, she had a price in mind based on listing the house and paying a realtor — a price I did not know. Now, without those additional costs, she was unsure of what would be a fair price. She said:

Here are two pieces of paper. I’ll write down the adjusted price I have in mind and you write down what you’re willing to pay.

We wrote down the same figure (soul whisper). We shook hands on the deal.

That weekend Ben was talking on the phone with his daughter in San Francisco, who had once lived in our city. He told her about the townhome. As he described it, she asked the address. When he told her, she said:

I know Kathy! We were friends when I lived there. When I visited last year, we had dinner at her place!

Another soul whisper.

I won’t keep you longer except to say we bought the townhome.

No wall colors were changed. In fact, I added an aqua accent wall in the living room!

We could not be happier. Our home is perfect for us in every way.

And, we have a lake,

and ducks,

and we eat breakfasts and spend quiet evenings on our porch (soul whisper).

© Dennett 2020

My second response to Jean Carfantan’s Aligned prompt:

And, this was my Shadow response to Jean Carfantan’s prompt: