“Not at all.” Wendy gathered the photos, watching as Sandi shot the room from various angles, primarily focusing on the view of the beach and the fireplace. “They’re going to like this.”
“And this is the kitchen.” Wendy stepped aside, explaining how they discovered original wood floors beneath the old vinyl.
“Nice, but this kitchen countertop is certainly dated,” Sandi said. “And the space is pretty small. But that won’t bother the buyers.”
“I know it’s old and small, but I think it’s kind of charming, you know, in a cottage sort of way.” Wendy tried not to sound too defensive. “But maybe that’s because I grew up with it.” She waved to the turquoise cabinets. “What do you think about this color?”
“Well, it’s certainly fun and cheery. I personally like it. And I love those Fiestaware dishes. However, the buyers probably won’t like it.”
“Oh? I suppose it could be repainted.”
“Yes ... or something.” She went to the back door. “What’s out there?”
“The laundry porch.” Wendy pulled back the curtain. “The dog’s out there right now and I haven’t really had time to do anything to it ... yet. But I’ve been wanting to paint it the same color as the bathroom and—”
“No, no, don’t bother with painting it. I’m sure the buyers won’t care.” She took some more shots of the kitchen. “I love that the kitchen window has an ocean view too. This house is really well placed on this lot. The buyers are going to love that.”
“Oh, good.” Wendy led her to the refurbished bathroom, explaining about fixing the dry rot.
“This is cute—and it’s a nice big bathroom.” Sandi took some photos. “But that shower needs to be upgraded. And the floor, well, Carrara marble would’ve been a good choice.”
“Albeit expensive.”
“These buyers have deep pockets. And they’ve been looking for a lovely vacation property for about a year now. This just might work.”
Wendy felt confused. If there was so much wrong, how could it work? But she continued the tour just the same, waiting as Sandi took photos and made comments—both good and bad. Good that the house had three bedrooms. Bad that they were so small. “Although I think a master suite could be created on the second floor,” she told Wendy. “That would be a great improvement.”
Finally they were back in the living room and Sandi looked quite pleased. “I really think this is going to work for them.”
“But so much is wrong.”
“Yes, but those were fixable things, Wendy.” Sandi pulled a contract from her briefcase. “I got this ready—just in case. It’s not a sales contract. Just a contract for my agency. Should we go over it now?”
Wendy told her they’d have to finish before Jackson got home, and they sat down and went over it. Wendy was keeping one eye on the clock and trying to pay attention. She was pleasantly surprised by the price Sandi felt was reasonable. “And your buyers are comfortable with that?” she asked. “I mean, in light of all the improvements you think they’d want to do?”
“Absolutely.” Sandi smiled. “It’s a bit unusual to sell a vacation house in the winter, but these buyers have been looking for a while. I’m sure they’ll be delighted to get this purchase tied up in time for Christmas.”
Wendy felt a little uneasy as she signed the Realtor contract. But she reminded herself this wasn’t the same as selling the house. It was simply the first step. “When do you think the buyers will come see it?”
“I’m hoping this weekend or early next week.” Sandi put her copy of the contract back in her briefcase. “Although I hear the weather is going to be rather nasty and they’ll be driving from Portland.”
“Oh.”
“But I’ll send them the photos and information—and we’ll see what they say.” She stood. “Perhaps they’ll trust me enough to buy it sight unseen.”
“Really?”
“It’s entirely possible. The most important thing to them is getting a great location and a solid home that can be improved without changing the footprint. This fits the bill perfectly.”
“It’s really a sweet old house.” Wendy felt a lump in her throat.
“Well, hopefully we’ll have it sold within the week.” Sandi shook her hand. “How does that sound?”
“Good.” Wendy forced a weak smile as she thanked her and walked her outside, waiting as Sandi took yet more photos. “I don’t want to rush you,” Wendy told her, “but my son will be here soon, and he still doesn’t know we’re selling this place yet.”
“Well, you better tell him by Thursday.” Sandi smiled brightly. “Because I’m 99 percent certain this house will be sold.” She waved to Wendy and hurried to her car. Wendy watched from the porch as Sandi drove away. She knew she’d made the right and responsible decision, that this was the grown-up thing to do. But why was it so hard to be an adult sometimes?
She was about to go into the house when she heard the hiss of the school bus brakes. Relieved that Sandi was gone, Wendy waved to Jackson as he ran up to the house. He held up his phone. “Caleb sent me a text, Mom.”
