Mrs. Thompson* is a planner.  She is the type of person who spends a lot of time considering all of the aspects of a situation prior to making a decision that is best for her and her husband.  Her husband, Henry, admits that she has done well for them and he always trusted her decisions when it came to major changes in their lives.

The Thompsons lived in their large Neshaminy home since 1965, raising their family in this typical, family-oriented suburban neighborhood.  They had taken care of their home meticulously (“Please take your shoes off when entering, thank you.”).  Retirement time had come, and they realized that their large home was more than they needed or wanted at this time of their lives.  Mrs. Thompson had her eye on a new 55+ community that some of her friends where considering.  The prospect of a big life change was exciting at first until the daunting realization that they would have to sell their current home, deal with 40 years of accumulated stuff and time it all with the completion of the new home. The new community had just broken ground and the exact completion date was vague.  Adding to their stress was the fact that they had to make a decision before the community sold out.  If they sold their existing home to a conventional buyer they would have no way of controlling the settlement date, and they were concerned about what would happen if the deal should fall through at the last minute.  (They had heard horror stories.)

Mrs. Thompson heard Piedmont’s radio ad KYW News Radio.  The company’s program sounded intriguing.  The next time it aired, she wrote down the number and, after discussing it with her husband, phoned Piedmont to learn more.  What she heard on the telephone sounded good, so she made an appointment with Rich Shermer to visit her home and complete an evaluation.

Mrs. Thompson knew what the approximate retail value of her home, and Rich provided even more information about the market value of the house given recent comparable sales in the region.  He also was up front about the fact that Piedmont’s offer would be at a discount to the retail price.  However, the appeal of walking away with only the possessions they wanted (Piedmont would clean out the house), the ability to time the closing exactly to coincide with her new home’s completion (Piedmont signed an agreement to purchase the home in February, although the settlement would not take place until sometime in August when the new house was ready), and the freedom to live in the house without having to show it all contributed to the Thompsons’ decision that selling to Piedmont was in their best interest.  Being Mrs. Thompson, she had her attorney review the agreement of sale.  With his blessing, she and her husband entered into the agreement of sale with a sigh of relief.

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* All names have been changed, but the stories are factually accurate.