Every real estate transaction has a story. Some are pretty straightforward. You list the house, find a buyer, get through the inspection & appraisal, sign the paperwork & everybody goes home happy.
Then there are the ones where just about everything that can happen… happens.
This was one of those. But it’s also one of my favorite recent transactions because of how completely different it was from a traditional home sale. So, let’s back up.
It All Started With ChatGPT
My seller originally found me through ChatGPT. He was preparing to move out of the country in a little over a month & reached out because he needed to figure out what to do with his house. His original plan was to move out of the country first & then list the house after he was gone.
That would have meant trying to sell a vacant home from thousands of miles away. Showings, buyer questions, inspections, repairs, appraisal issues, negotiations, paperwork & eventually closing — all while living in another country.
So before he listed the home, I suggested that I should come over & do a quick consultation. I walked through the property with him & we talked about what selling the house might look like. I always do this before ever suggesting a price. Because just like Zillow, I don’t know the condition of your home. Then I told him something he wasn’t necessarily expecting.
I might already have a buyer.
I had buyers who had been working with me for about six months. They had originally found me through Facebook after seeing a closing photo I had posted with someone they knew.
Before we ever started seriously looking at houses, we did a standard buyer consultation. Something I try doing for all of my new buyer clients. I wanted to understand what they were looking for, what their financing looked like, what was important to them & what they were realistically trying to accomplish.
They had already lost out on several homes — they were being outbid or sellers weren’t willing to cover their closing costs. They were starting to get discouraged.
So when I walked through this seller’s house & realized it could potentially be a fit, with the seller’s permission, I immediately sent the information to my buyers & asked if they wanted to come & see it before anyone else had the chance to. And what do ya’ know? They loved it. Long story short, the seller accepted their offer.
Sold Before It Hit the Market
This was a pretty unusual situation for both sides.
Again, the seller had originally been preparing to move overseas & then try to sell his house from another country. Instead, we had a buyer before the house ever needed to be listed publicly.
That meant the seller didn’t have to worry about preparing & marketing a vacant house from thousands of miles away. He didn’t have to leave the country wondering when a buyer would come along or how he was going to coordinate everything remotely.
It also meant he avoided the traditional listing process & potentially saved money on commissions.
But honestly, I think the biggest benefit was the peace of mind.
He had a buyer. He had a contract. We could work through the transaction while he was still here.
Now of course the buyers benefited, too. They didn’t have to compete against a bunch of other buyers again in a multiple-offer situation & they didn’t have to worry about losing another house after spending months looking.
But then there was another pretty incredible part of this deal: they put $0 down toward the purchase price.
Their inspection costs were literally their only out-of-pocket expense before closing.
That doesn’t happen in every transaction, obviously. But in this particular deal, it was a pretty great outcome for buyers who had already spent months getting discouraged by the home-buying process.
Of course, getting an accepted offer was only the beginning.
Then Came the Appraisal
The inspection went fine. But then came the appraisal.
It was… a lot.
The first appraisal came back with several issues that needed to be addressed. There was peeling paint on the back deck, the front porch needed repairs, trees needed to be trimmed away from the house & a handrail needed to be installed going downstairs.
At that point, I wasn’t interested in simply forwarding the appraisal report to the seller & saying, “Here are the repairs.”
I was in frequent communication with the appraiser, asking questions & getting clarification about exactly what needed to be addressed.
That was important because when you’re working on a tight timeline, the last thing you want to do is waste time & money fixing something that isn’t actually required while accidentally overlooking something that could hold up the transaction.
So we figured out what needed to happen & got to work.
Six Hours on a Friday Evening
One of the issues we needed to address was the paint on the deck.
I helped coordinate my buyers coming over to start painting the deck. Then we quickly realized we needed more supplies, so I went & purchased an entire additional gallon of paint along with extra rollers & brushes. I also brought my paint sprayer. Fresh in the box, in the same condition it showed up in from Amazon, more than a year ago. I gladly spent more than six hours that Friday afternoon & evening helping my buyers paint the deck.
This wasn’t me stopping by for a few minutes to check on things. I was there working alongside my clients because we needed to get the repairs completed & keep the transaction moving.
It’s one of those moments where the line between “REALTOR®” & “whatever needs to get done” gets a little blurry.
But that’s just real estate sometimes. For me at least.
The 8 PM Lowe’s Run
Just when we thought we had everything handled, I caught another issue.
The night before the second appraisal, I realized the newly installed steps coming off the back deck didn’t have a graspable handrail. It was already around 8 PM. We had no time to spare.
So I grabbed my husband & my daughter to run to Lowe’s & bought the materials myself.
Then we brought them back to the house & my husband cut the wood to size before installing the graspable handrail around 9 PM that night all underneath the glow of a flashlight.
Again, this probably isn’t the part of real estate school they spend a lot of time talking about.
But when you have another appraisal coming up the next day, you don’t always have the luxury of saying, “We’ll get to that tomorrow.”
Sometimes you go to Lowe’s at 8 PM.
Sometimes your husband is installing a handrail at 9 PM.
Sometimes the REALTOR® is paying for the materials out of their own pocket because the goal is to solve the problem & keep the transaction moving.
Finally, the Second Appraisal
After the repairs were completed & we had clarified the appraisal requirements, the second appraisal went well.
We had cleared the issues.
We were finally heading toward closing.
We were originally scheduled to close on a Friday.
Then underwriting threw us one more curveball.
A simple, overlooked issue on the underwriting side was going to delay the closing.
At this point, the seller was preparing to leave the country, the buyers were ready to take possession, & we’d already spent weeks working through repairs & appraisal requirements.
So, once again, we adjusted.
The seller officially handed over possession to the buyers the following Monday after we completed a pre-occupancy agreement so the buyers could get utilities transferred.
That very same Monday, once the seller arrived in Cincinati to catch his flight the next morning, the seller was able to sign his documents & deed online at the very last minute from his hotel at around 9PM giving the buyers the opportunity to sign the very next day.
After everything we’d been through with this transaction, we finally reached the finish line.
What This Transaction Reminded Me
There are a lot of things I love about real estate.
I love finding the right house for a buyer. I love helping someone sell a property they’ve owned for years. I love negotiating. I love the strategy involved in putting a deal together.
But some of the most important work happens after the contract is signed.
That’s when problems show up.
That’s when timelines get tight.
That’s when an appraisal can suddenly come back with a list of repairs nobody was expecting.
That’s when a seller may be preparing to move to another country.
That’s when you find out whether your REALTOR® is simply managing paperwork or is actually helping you get to the closing table.
I don’t think my job ends when the contract is signed.
If something needs to be figured out, I want to be part of figuring it out. If there’s a problem, I want to know about it. If there’s a repair that needs to happen, I want to help find the solution.
If that means spending six hours on a Friday evening painting a deck, buying another gallon of paint & extra brushes, bringing my paint sprayer, communicating directly with an appraiser, paying for a handrail, or making a late-night Lowe’s run before an appraisal…
Well, apparently that’s part of the job too.
What My Seller Had to Say
“I can’t say enough good things about Devin & how much she helped me through the process of selling my house. This ended up being a much more complicated sale than I expected, especially once the appraisal came back with a list of repairs that had to be completed.
Devin went far beyond what I would ever expect from a realtor. She didn’t just make phone calls & handle paperwork—she actually showed up & helped. She helped with painting, stayed late into the night, & she & her husband even helped cut & install the graspable handrails required for the porch. When I was dealing with a tight timeline & one unexpected issue after another, she was right there trying to get everything across the finish line.
She was also consistently available whenever I had questions or concerns & helped me navigate the appraisal, repairs, buyer, & all the little problems that came up along the way.
Selling a house is stressful enough under normal circumstances, & I was also preparing to move overseas at the same time. Having someone willing to put in this kind of effort made a huge difference.
If you’re looking for a realtor who genuinely cares about getting the job done & isn’t afraid to go well beyond what you’d normally expect from an agent, I would absolutely recommend Devin.”
What My Buyers Had to Say
“It’s describing what actually happened.”Absolutely amazing to work with! Great with the kids and our needs and making sure we understood the process! She was constantly going above and beyond to make buying our First home as easy as possible and our family is so grateful to her.”
“Words can begin to describe the amount of work she does to help people find their home. Shes to me and our family a blessing.”
Reviews like these, knowing I made such a big impact, are why I love what I do.
Selling a Home in
Berea, or Richmond?
If you’re thinking about selling a home in Berea, Richmond or anywhere in Madison County, Kentucky, your situation may look completely different from this one.
Maybe you’re planning to move out of state.
Maybe you’re moving overseas.
Maybe you have a vacant property.
Maybe you’re not sure whether you should list now or wait.
Maybe you’re worried about repairs or what an appraisal might uncover.
Or maybe you simply don’t know where to start.
You don’t have to have all the answers before you call a REALTOR®.
Sometimes the first step is simply having a conversation about your options.
I’m a lifelong Berea, Kentucky native & local REALTOR® serving Berea, Richmond, Madison County & surrounding Central Kentucky. If there’s one thing this transaction reminded me of, it’s this:
You never really know where your next client is going to come from.
Sometimes it’s Facebook.
Sometimes it’s ChatGPT.
Sometimes the two end up meeting in the middle.
If you’re thinking about buying or selling in Berea, Richmond or Madison County, I’d be happy to talk through your situation with you.
Because sometimes the best time to call a Realtor isn’t when you’re ready to list.
It’s when you’re just starting to figure out what your next move is. Click the link below to schedule a no-pressure & most importantly, no obligation consultation. What do you have to lose?
