Claude, Des Moines
Claude had a beautiful brick 1-½ story home. This is the home that he purchased 53 years ago when the home was only 1 year old. He and his wife raised their two boys in the home. The half story was a great place for the boys. It gave them a large bedroom and the dormers provided great space for a desk and couch.
Claude had heart bypass surgery 10 years ago. This made it very difficult to maintain the house. He could no longer mow the lawn, something he had always enjoyed. When Claude lost his wife of 61 years to cancer a short 14 months ago, he made the decision to sell the home. This was due to a couple of reasons. Claude stated that the maintenance had become too much for him. He wanted maintenance free living. The family home also contained too many memories of his beloved wife. It was time to start a new journey in his life.
Claude had maintained the house very well and did not need to do anything to get it ready for the sale. He had installed new carpet and a water heater. He had also added a recreation room and bar area in the basement.
He called Tom Franklin to help with the sale of the home. He had known Tom for 15 years, and had promised Tom that he would get the first chance at selling his home. Claude was very impressed with the service he received from Tom and Next Generation Realty. Tom completed all of the paperwork, took care of updating the abstract and ordered the termite inspection. Tom also provided Claude with 15 comparable listings in the area to assist in setting the price for the property. Claude was impressed with how thorough Tom was.
The home was listed and the first open house was held the following Sunday. Claude stated that he had 30 people at the first open house. He attributed these great results to the advertising that is done by Next Generation Realty. The seller also stated that he liked hosting the open house because there is no one else that knows more about the house than he does. Claude believes the prospective buyers asked several questions of him that they would not ask a real estate agent. Just four short weeks later, he was presented with an offer that was very close to the asking price. The transaction was closed four weeks after that.
Claude now resides in an apartment complex in Des Moines where several of his very close friends live. One of his friends lives next door and sings in the shower. He has asked her to sing louder so he can hear her better. After just three weeks in his new home, he is relieved that his home is sold and is very happy to be where he is. Not maintaining a large home allows him to continue to work part time and volunteer at Hospice.
Claude stated that the integrity of Tom Franklin stands for itself and he would not be reluctant to recommend his services to others.
