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Would You Buy Without Seeing The House?

Judith:[00:00:00] Claude is with us today, and that's appropriate 'cause we do the Verde Valley Humane Society. So he's in a, he's a rescue. And today I wanted to just share with you guys, my dear friend Jean and I helped her and her husband Roger move. And they relocated. They're retired and they relocated here from California.

And I know, and Jean can talk about it a little bit, is that Roger really researched where you were gonna move before you made the plans to move here. That's true. Roger, he's the researcher.

He is all about that. And I remember now I met you guys. Was it pre COVID or during COVID?

Jean: COVID was just starting.

Judith: Okay. Okay. Yeah. And I remember that there was a house that you wanted on the other side of the mountain over in Prescott Valley.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: And we tried to get you into that [00:01:00] one, but it didn't work out.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: So then COVID happened.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: But before we talk about COVID. You wanna mention or talk a little bit about why Roger thought this would be a good area to live?

Jean: Well, we wanted something that was kind of like the climate that we had in California.

Judith: Okay.

Jean: And so, roger researched all the documentation, went back in the years, tried the one thing we didn't, and he did check the temperature out, but it's become actually a little bit more extreme than what we had originally anticipated.

So, there was, when

Judith: you say extreme, you're talking about the heat in the summer?

Jean: Yes.

Judith: Yeah.

Jean: Yeah,

Judith: yeah.

Jean: But we've been able to manage that and we, and we love it here in Arizona. We love it here.

Judith: Okay. That's good.

Jean: Yeah. It's, it's good. Since you're

Judith: here,

Jean: I, the thing I would say really, that I hold dear to my heart [00:02:00] is, this is the house that we originally bought in Arizona

was a house that had been owned previously. We had never lived in a house that had been previously owned, and so we really were like two little children out in the middle of the forest at nighttime, we didn't know what way to go. That's a good like that. And the most important thing for us was that we needed someone we could trust.

And we just feel extremely grateful that we connected with Judith. I, and I think it was kind of an accident because I, I didn't know what I was doing on the computer, and I think I had two or three different companies and I didn't even know that. But, Judith was the one that

resulted in contacting us and it was just such a blessing for us because these two little kids in the middle of the forest needed some guidance and someone they could trust. Definitely. And, she has been faithful in that regard all the way through. [00:03:00] The purchase of that house without even seeing it.

And then, when we found out it was really too large for us finding the house that we're currently in, if it were not for Judith, we would be out in the forest in the middle of the night

Judith: still wondering. Oh, I would

Jean: still wondering.

Judith: I would've found you. And the funny thing that made that even more difficult was just the fact that COVID hit.

Jean: Yeah.

Judith: And a lot of people weren't traveling. And so it sort of was like the beginning of people starting to use video to actually look at houses. Yes. Without actually as the buyer walking through the house. So it really leveled up my skills in the sense of, I think you were my first. I'm pretty sure you guys are my first clients that I.

Videoed, I videoed every nook and cranny corner, you name it, of the house.

Jean: Yeah.

Judith: Because I wanted to be sure that it was gonna work for [00:04:00] you guys.

Jean: Well, another problem that we had was at that time that we were planning on moving, the market was so hot.

Judith: Oh God. Yes. That's

Jean: true. We, we, Roger and I both. Were like these little kids, and we'd never done this before.

And Judith was really good about sending us all these, houses that were on the market. But the thing of it is, by the time we really evaluated it, of course we were new, and got back to Judith. Someone else had already bought the house, so, there was even one time

Judith: keep talking

Jean: when, we finally thought we found a home that would work for us.

And so again, we had not seen it. And we just, we we had made so many offers.

Judith: Oh God. Yes.

Jean: And

Judith: the stacks

Jean: and, and no, and they would always be sold. We thought we have to take this house. So, we

Judith: told, oh, and we had, uh, you were the back. Oh, we had a bidding. More, remember? Oh,

Jean: I do remember that.

Judith: Oh,

Jean: yes.

Judith: I just remembered that that was, [00:05:00]

Jean: but on this one particular house.

Even though we hadn't seen it, we were willing to buy it. And Judith and her husband, who has a lot of skills, went out and looked at the house for us and actually found out there was a, a pretty significant leak in the bathroom that went all the way down. There was a, a lower room and there was a lot of damage.

The wood and the structure of the house. And I think so many times, oh my goodness, thank God for Judith and Dennis, because if, if it weren't for them who went out on their own and checked it out and found that we would've probably. Never known and then gotten stuck with a lot of repairs that we weren't really prepared for.

Judith: Right.

Jean: So, I just feel like Judith has really gone the extra mile for us, not only once, but twice.

Judith: And I sold your house

Jean: and, and in addition to that, she sold the house that [00:06:00] we bought in Clarkdale. Yes.

Judith: And that went really well too. Yes. You got multiple offers when you went to sell it and when you bought the house.

The first one, not the one they're in now, but the first one, it, the yard needed a lot of work. And I think that's, if I remember correctly, that's part of the other reason that you wanted to downsize was the yard was just so much.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: And you had made it beautiful. We have, we had a peach tree, unfortunately it died.

Jean: Oh.

Judith: Or the apricot tree. We called it the gene tree. 'cause she would take seeds. From the apricot tree.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: And plant them and grow little saplings. So you had them all over the, it was awesome, but you made the yard gorgeous. The front yard, gorgeous. I should pull those pictures. We'll put those pictures up because they did so much work.

We'll put before and after because again. You trusted me to go over there and help you pick a property that was gonna work for you. There was no [00:07:00] HOA and that was important.

Jean: Yes, very.

Judith: And there needed to be room to park your little trailer rv.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: And, there were other stipulations that you and Roger had.

If I remember the patio, we needed to make sure that that could be made into a, a screened in patio for the cats. They're cat lovers just like me. , so, so many things, you know? But there were just a lot of little details that I wanted to attend to that would make the house work well for you.

And not only things that Dennis and I noticed. But we also had the home inspector go in and noted other things. So there was a lot of stuff that, needed some attention. It had not been well taken care of for a long time.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: And you guys were brave enough to take it on? And Jean's husband, Roger is a perfectionist.

He's very handy, but he'll [00:08:00] also hire when he needs. And he just did so many upgrades to that property, so much work. So I'm not surprised you were exhausted. And we put it in the market and they got multiple offers when they put it on the market to sell it. And that was. Three years ago now.

Jean: Just about three

Judith: years

Jean: ago.

Judith: Yeah. Yes,

Jean: Uhhuh.

Judith: Yeah. And so then it was still kind of a busy market and we found the one you're currently in and kind of went through the same process all over again.

Jean: Yes, we did it. The market was still hot. We would make a bid. For the a home. And by the time we got back to Judith, it had been sold and, in fact, and

Judith: you needed a house to sell your house.

Jean: Well, that's true. When we, I had seen the advertisement for this one, Judith is very good about sending us all the different properties that are available [00:09:00] and I, but it was very close to what we could offer and so I, I just said to my husband. Let's not. I mean, it's a wasted effort. And one Saturday morning I got a call from Judith and she said, oh, I just looked at this little house with another couple, and it's too small for them, but I think it would be ideal for you.

And I said, Judith, I don't know. You know, we really, we've gone to this so much.

Judith: I remember, I remember you were so like, no,

Jean: no. Yes, but there was an open house and it was 45 minutes left. And so I said to Roger, let's go over and just take a look at it. Well, we loved it. I mean, it was just about the size we needed and, it, it, it had been pretty well taken care of.

The lady who lived here before us, everything was neat and clean and

Judith: totally not like the previous experience.

Jean: No, no.

Judith: Much better. Much better.

Jean: Yes. So, I think Judith said, well, I, I thought. $300,000 Was not the [00:10:00] limit. I thought you could squeak out a little bit more. So I went back to Roger and said, can we squeak out a little bit more? So, we went on it and bid on the house. And

We, we got it. I couldn't believe it. It was like a miracle. And the lady who lived here at the time was delighted too, that we got it because she knew we would take care of it too.

Judith: Right, right. I remember that. She was very sweet and she took care of things that needed to be repaired or whatever. I mean, it was a much, I would say from my experience with you guys the first time, it was a much better house.

Much better negotiations. Yes. I mean, everything went so much more smoothly.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: And I, you never complained about the house you were in. You weren't unhappy with the house.

Jean: Yeah.

Judith: You liked the house. And it was honestly portrayed. I didn't, you know. Present anything that wasn't truthful? No. As far as the video, I mean, [00:11:00] I'm gonna tell you if it, if I think you should run.

Jean: Yes, yes.

Judith: I'm not gonna, oh, yeah, I'm gonna, and I always tell that to people,

Jean: you're very honest.

Judith: I, I'm not gonna try and sell you something that you don't, isn't gonna work for you. Yes. Or you aren't really interested in. My job is not to sell you on a house. I need to help you. Make sure you're making a good investment with your money because you are a guy.

They were buying with cash. It was a cash purchase. Yeah. I, again, I look at everybody that's buying a house and I look at that as that is an investment.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: That's a huge investment. And for people to go, well, I think it'll work. We'll make it work to you. You just don't do that. It's kind of like saying, well, I think I'll try the stocks.

Yeah, I think I'll try the market and see if that works. Yes, don't do that. This is, this is your home and it's a huge investment and at some point if you take care of the house and you do the things you guys did, you walked away with a lot of money at the other end. 'cause you put so much in. And I'll look up and see and [00:12:00] have on the, video.

What they bought the house for. The cats are doing little kitty zoomies, what the house was bought for their first one and what they sold it for. So you'll get to see before and after pictures and things. So what, basically I'm saying you invested time and energy and some more money doing the fixing, into your home and you got a nice ROI on that.

and that helped you to be able to eke out that little extra that you needed. Roger, her husband's all about dollars. He's all about that stuff. And I have to sit down with him someday, have that conversation. I need help. I need, I need to be educated about real, you know, other investments besides real estate because I'm good with real estate.

Just don't know a lot of the stuff. But, we have stayed in touch, Jean and I Yes. And Roger over the last, almost six years now. Yes. I can't believe it. I'm sorry, I, I COVID feels like it was just yesterday for most of us, [00:13:00] but it's literally been almost six years.

Jean: Yes,

Judith: it's been six years actually. 'cause it's middle of February, so it was March of 2020 that all hell broke loose.

Yeah. And that's when we started. We connected just about the, at that time,

Jean: very last part of 19.

Judith: Oh

Jean: yeah, that's 2019. That's right. That's right. Yes.

Judith: When did you move? August. I have to look it up. Okay.

Jean: August of

Judith: 2020. No. 19. Yeah, we connected. But you bought the house during COVID. I have to look, because there was so much going on.

COVID

Jean: was just starting.

Judith: Yeah. Yeah. So it just wasn't feasible for you guys to go back and forth?

Jean: No.

Judith: You know, no. You know, it's, it's not always easy with people's health. Finances, abilities to travel, all that kind of stuff, and I really. I always tell my clients, I did property management before I started doing real estate as [00:14:00] far as buying and selling.

So I look for the problems. I know it sounds terrible.

Jean: That's a, that's an asset,

Judith: but I look for issues versus, oh my gosh, look at how beautiful it is. Yes. I go, oh my God. See that leak over there? That looks like it was a leak in the ceiling. You see that over there and point out drawers that aren't, you know, I pull out the drawers, the drawers fall apart.

You need to know that, you know, so I'm looking at it not just as a realtor, like it looks nice, but like, is it nice? You know? And, so relocating here, you've been here six years.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: You are not going back to California anytime soon?

Jean: No. No.

Judith: You like it here?

Jean: We, we do. The people down here are very special.

I don't know. I just, I don't feel like I can, like, I can go anywhere and not see people smile or say a nice thing, like have a good day. I, I mean, it's just, I. I think we need those things in our, in our lives.

Judith: Mm-hmm.

Jean: I mean, [00:15:00] all of us have struggles, but if you've got something to balance that out, you have enough energy to go all the way around.

Judith: Exactly. Exactly. And I have to say that's one of the 10 top 10 reasons. That I say you should move here is that it's a small town. Yes. But it's not small town snob. It's,

Jean: yes,

Judith: very welcoming. It's as you just said. Thank you. That's perfect. Everybody smiles, they say hello, how are you doing? Are you, and you get to know the shop owners?

Yes. And the businesses. 'cause the one thing that's very unique about living here is we don't have a lot of big box stores.

Jean: Yeah.

Judith: We have a lot of businesses that are. Local small business owners. So we have a few big box things. But most of it really is small business owners here. Yes. So you want to get to know the people that run the businesses and you see them and they're, it's personal.

The restaurants, the little shops, the, it's, it's, it's like what I grew up with and I like that.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: I [00:16:00] like that. So what else would you like to tell people about living, relocating to, Cottonwood, Arizona?

Jean: Well, I think one thing to keep in mind, most of the time people are going to buy into homes that have been, already, lived in.

So when they go, they need to, first of all, before they ever come, they need to decide what is important to them because if they do that, there's going to be. Issues or projects that are gonna be in store for everybody. Okay. But there, I, I feel like there has to be a give and take in your decision to buy.

the important things to you are the things you may not want to, to give on. right. And then maybe you could help negotiate a price, for them if they're willing to. Own the home with that problem until they can get it repaired or fixed or replaced.

Judith: Mm-hmm.

Jean: If, if it's not that important, if it's something that you can live with, if it's something you [00:17:00] can, fix without, expending a lot of funds

Judith: mm-hmm.

Jean: That I think that's important to know.

Judith: Yes, I would agree. And I would a hundred percent support people in knowing what it is that you need. What's a need and what's a want when it comes to buying a house? And I think you're right in the sense that I think it's important for me to caution people with fixer uppers, so to speak.

Yes. Because if you don't have the money to do the repairs. They are needed or wanted fairly early on in living there.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: You need to keep looking. We'll find the right house because I don't want somebody to move into a house and not be able to fix things that need to be fixed to make it more livable.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: And And I would definitely, even negotiating down the price isn't gonna help you if you don't have cash to fix it.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: You know? But those are really good points. So thank you so [00:18:00] much for sharing that. I wanna thank Jean for being willing to talk a little bit about her experience, relocating from California to Cottonwood and working with me.

Thank you. And working with me three times. So apparently I did something right. I'm a three time winner with these guys.

Jean: She is definitely.

Judith: So if you are thinking about relocating to Cottonwood, Arizona. Please watch my top 10 video, that talks about the top 10 reasons. I think living here is a good thing.

And then my other videos on relocating into the area. You can also, subscribe or, not subscribe, but there's a, link below that you can click on that will give you, you can sign up for our relocation guide. That'll give you more information.

Jean: The other thing that's interesting about Cottonwood and it's kind of unique, is that we're in the middle of the state.

So that, if you want you, I don't

Judith: pay her to say this.

Jean: Go. [00:19:00] No, you can if, if you're really interested in the big. I don't know what to call 'em. Entertainment things or ball games or things like that. Phoenix. And the area is just about an hour away. On the other hand, on the north side is, is Flagstaff. And again, they're just about an hour away too.

So I mean that. It kind of makes you in a convenient place. If you want to do something without spending a lot of time and travel.

Judith: Exactly. Exactly. I did not pay her to say that. I did not clue her in. That's one of the other top tens is how centrally located we are. Close to, you know, you can get to the Grand Canyon in two hours.

Jean: Yes.

Judith: Two and a half. Two and a half.

Jean: Mm-hmm.

Judith: Williams and two Liman in two. But yeah, we are very centrally located. All right. Thank you. And thank you, Ms. Jean.

Jean: Oh, you're very welcome. And I hope all of you have as good a positive experience with Judith, with Judith as Roger and I [00:20:00] have. We just we're really grateful for that.

It was an amazing gift to us.

Judith: Thank you.

Download my " relocation guide" here: https://jbsellshomes.net/the-real-life-relocation-guide-to-cottonwood-arizona