Passing The Torch

I’m really happy to share that our house has officially sold!! This last week escrow closed and not only did we get a very good price for our home but we got the added benefit of passing it on to someone who is a perfect fit.

When we first decided to sell our home I couldn’t help but hope that we might be fortunate enough to not only get multiple offers at or above our asking price but that we might also get to “select” a person or family that would be the best fit. A person that we would feel happy to take over the care-taking of our home that we have loved for over a decade. A person that would be a welcome addition to our lovely neighborhood and valley.

Well we actually found this person. Marc was lucky enough to be home when she first came to tour the property with her realtor. He definitely thought she was nice and showed a genuine excitement for our home. Later she admitted that within minutes of arriving she knew it was the home she wanted. She submitted her offer with a heartfelt letter expressing her love of our home, the redwoods, and the valley. Assuring us that she would care and love the home in the same way we had.

When we decided to accept her offer I immediately hoped that we might have the opportunity to meet her before we left. Not sure how we were going to swing it but hoping we could. Well sure enough, the universe intervened. The next day I was busily running errands and going to appointments. One thing on my To Do list was to head into the bank to close my business account. When I got there I sat down with the banker and she of course wanted to know why I was closing my account. I explained to her that I was moving abroad and when she asked where, I responded with France. Well no sooner did I say this then the woman standing next to me, working with another banker, leaned over and said “Excuse me, but would you happen to be Dionne?” Shocked that she might know me, I replied “yes”. She proceeded to tell me that she was Zoe, the woman who was buying my house!!! OMG. I immediately jumped up and gave her a hug. We were both a bit overwhelmed with emotion. The bank tellers immediately wanted to know the occasion and joined us in the celebration. Even the Manager came over to know what was going on and proceeded to make an announcement to the entire bank, that Bank of Marin has the best customers! Ha!! It was quite a moment.

We agreed to have her swing by the house on Saturday, before we were hoping to head out. She came by, bringing (much-appreciated) pastries, and we spent the next 2 hours together; sharing stories about the house, about each other, about the ins-and-outs of the house and property. We walked the property. She asked to know where we had buried our dog and actually took a moment over his grave to pay her respects. We told her about how our girls had been born in the bedroom and she got a bit emotional. We could tell that she loved our home, almost as much as we did, and that she really did want to move there for all the right reasons. I have to admit this eased some of my emotional turmoil and felt like a passing of the torch. I'm looking forward to taking her up on her invitation to stop by next summer and say hi.

With this incredible task behind us we can truly begin to look towards our future and the new home we will be creating in France.