Being afraid of hard work has never been in my DNA. As it turns out, it wasn’t in Alfredo’s DNA either.
I met Alfredo, his (VERY) pregnant wife Sonya, and adorable children: Jose and Camila, in November of last year. I was showing a home near MLK and Jensen to another client who turned out not to like the home very much. As she and I said our goodbyes, Alfredo in very broken English, asked if I would show the home to his family. Of course I agreed. As it turns out, they didn’t like that particular home either, but they knew they liked me and the feeling was mutual.
I sent them to one of my favorite prestadora’s (lenders), Lizette Hurtado of Premier Home Loan Group. At every point in this sale, she helped me communicate with our clients, encouraged me not to give up, and managed to give the Ayala’s a great rate and loan product for their first purchase.
I talk a lot about helping first time homebuyers through the process of finding the right home, the loan and escrow process, and then keeping up with them after the close. This was the first time I’ve ever had to prove my worth and intentions in a language I could not speak and could hardly understand. Finding the home was the easy part. The hard part had just begun.
Alfredo tried to back out of our deal twice. He was understandably scared and nervous with such a big transaction. I knew and understood his hesitance, but frankly, this home was everything we’d been looking for: it was on a quiet street, was a 3/2 over 1800 sq ft, and most importantly, it was in a significantly better part of town. He could not give me a solid reason why he wanted to back out other than he was “unsure”.
On his final attempt to bail, I asked him to meet me at the home we had an accepted offer on so we could walk through it before he made a final decision. I instructed him to bring his padre (church priest) to the home so he could give his blessing. When the priest, Alfredo, and Sonya showed up, their priest, Father Juan, really liked the home and from what little I could understand, was telling them to move forward and what a good step this was for their growing family. I prayed with them in the backyard, over the purchase and life in their new home. I grabbed Alfredo and Sonya’s hands, and in the most broken Spanish I could muster, explained to them that I was here to make them homeowners, help them make a good decision, and that I cared about their family. I wasn’t going to steer them wrong.
From that point on, there was no more attempts to back out.
I will forever be thankful for the persistence and trust of my clients, the tremendous and unwavering help of Lizette, and the accomplished task of making my intentions known in a language I can’t speak. This transaction made me a firm believer that seeing into someone’s heart is significantly easier than speaking someone’s language.
This last weekend I went and checked on the Ayala’s after their first week in the home. The interior was painted, new furniture had been purchased, Sonya was still pregnant (but she’s due this week guys!!), and the kids were having fun with the chalk, nerf guns, and outdoor games I’d brought over. As Alfredo handed me a note with two names and numbers on it, he briefly explained to me that his brother from church and biological sister were looking for a home. They don’t speak English either, but he suggested they use me and Lizette to help them with this important purchase. I took the note, feeling a little emotional, realizing that in this business of uncertainty and uneasiness, the connection that I make with others is the greatest blessing that I have in this World.
