Do you remember the first house you bought? Or sold? Or brokered?

One of our Agents had Her First Closing Yesterday . . . caused me to look back!

Heather, one of our newest licensees at RE/MAX Top Realty, is working on her third listing now, and yesterday, she closed the very first one!  What a fun time for her and her young family.  It made me think back to 1975 when I sold my very first house.

I was working with my mother at Peden Real Estate at 6477 South Park Blvd. before they renamed the street to Martin Luther King Blvd. after the death of Dr. King.  That was a long time ago so I don't remember all the details; but what I do remember is that I made $800 and for a 17-year-old boy, that was a LOT of money in 1975!  I was a senior at Conroe High School.  My "Aunt Jean" and "Uncle CV" had a Chevrolet dealership in Coldspring, Texas, and I'd just bought a new Caprice Classic from them and it was shiny!

Interestingly, "Aunt" Jean was not my real aunt, but was one of my mother's best friends.  She was, however, Christy Buck's "real" Aunt, as Christy's grandmother, "Aunt Sybil" or "MoMo" to Christy, was another of mother's best friends.  So, Christy and I are "like" cousins!  Actually, her Aunt Nelle and I were grown before we realized we weren't really cousins!  But, again I digress with these "side" stories.  (Another unreal relationship was "Aunt Mae" Peden, the broker for Peden Real Estate.)  I miss ALL of these ladies, as MoMo was the last one to go.  RIP, girls.  I am certain that Christy will agree that God "threw away the mold" when these gals died!

Oh well, I had this young couple who were both janitors at hospitals in the medical center.  Probably neither had finished junior high school.  But they were sweet and appreciated working with someone young who was nonjudgmental and treated them with respect.  His name was Willie.  What I remember most was giving them directions to get to the office around Loop 610.  I told them to take the "Calais/South Park" exit off 610 . . . stay on the feeder, then turn right onto South Park.  The office was 2 blocks down on the left.

I was sweating bullets waiting for them to come in and sign and pay for their assumption in cash . . . and they were late.  The phone rang and I hastily answered it, "Peden Real Estate!"  I knew through the mumbling voice on the other end, speaking low and slow into the phone, "can I speak to Mr. Calous South Park?"  Yes, he was asking for me by the exit's name!  I knew by his voice who it was.  "Willie?  I asked?"  "Yessir."  "It's me, Mr. Sam (I didn't use Ferreri in those days because no one could spell or pronounce it . . . they still struggle to this day!)  "Are you coming?"  "Yessir, I just needed directions to your place."

Sheesh, Willie . . . ok, here we go again.  Take Loop 610, exit "Calais/South Park . . . ."  He made it, paid his money, signed his papers, got his keys, and moved into his house.  I never heard from them again, except that he sent his mother to buy a house from me.  And her other son.  And my life as a Realtor began.

That was 38 years ago this summer, and my business continues to grow the same way.  And now, Heather's will grow, too.  In the real estate business, once you "get it," you've "got it."  And so it goes.

Now my baby girl and my baby mama work with me as the torch is passed to the next generation.  I was struck by the Wendy's Hamburger commercial on TV last night where the daughter/heiress of the chain, actually named "Wendy," promises 50 cents toward homes for foster children from every Frosty sold over the coming Father's Day Weekend as a tribute to her dad who founded the organization and named it after her.  The beat goes on . . . . . . . .

Do you remember your first closing as a Realtor, buyer, or seller?  How did it go?