A Hoke County home sat vacant while its owner lived half a world away. Getting it sold took locksmiths, attorneys, international paperwork, and 13 months of patience.
Not every home for sale in Hoke County, North Carolina is move-in ready. Some need paint and flooring. Some need updating. And some need an investor who can see past the current condition and understand what the property can become.
I recently closed on one of those homes, and getting it sold took 13 months from our first steps to closing day.
The owner had served in the U.S. Army and eventually made his home in the Philippines. The property had been rented for a period of time, but after the tenants moved out, the home became vacant. Being half a world away made overseeing the property extremely difficult. Over time, unauthorized occupants, weather and a lack of regular maintenance took their toll.
Eventually, the owner began receiving calls from the county and made the decision that it was time to sell. Through mutual friends, he contacted me to help.
First, We Had to Figure Out What We Had
There weren't even keys to the house.
A locksmith was one of my first calls, and I met him at the property so I could enter the home for the first time. It was difficult to see what years of vacancy, weather and unauthorized occupancy had done.
This wasn't going to be a traditional home sale.
The property needed extensive renovation. A future owner would be looking at a new kitchen, bathrooms, flooring, appliances, paint, HVAC, roof, water heater and more. Financing options were extremely limited, so we knew we needed to find a cash buyer or one with creative financing—most likely an investor who understood the scope of the project.
But before we could even put the home on the market, we had another challenge.
Selling a North Carolina Home From the Philippines
Because the seller was living overseas, there were additional steps required to verify identities and prepare the necessary paperwork.
That meant emails, phone calls, video calls and documents traveling between the Philippines and North Carolina. Attorneys and title professionals were involved to make sure everything was handled correctly.
It wasn't fast, but sometimes getting a property sold isn't about doing things quickly. It's about doing them correctly.
Finally, we were ready to go to market.
Three Days of Showings and Multiple Offers
Once the property was listed, the response made one thing very clear: investors were looking for opportunities.
We had nearly nonstop showings for three days and received multiple offers.
We selected a buyer who understood exactly what he was purchasing and was prepared to take on the renovation. He was also ready to close in about 10 days.
That was the plan.
The reality was different.
Additional verification was needed to make sure the attorneys and title companies involved were comfortable proceeding with an international seller. A closing that was expected to happen in days ultimately took more than two months.
During that time, the property was broken into and had to be secured again.
Another problem to solve.
Thirteen Months Later—Closed
After 13 months of paperwork, phone calls, locksmiths, attorneys, title work, international documents, property issues and plenty of patience, we finally made it to the closing table.
The buyer now has an investment property he can completely renovate and bring back to life. The surrounding neighbors can look forward to seeing the property cared for again, and the sellers can finally close a chapter that had become increasingly difficult to manage from thousands of miles away.
This wasn't the prettiest house I've ever sold.
But that's exactly the point.
Real estate isn't always beautiful kitchens, freshly painted walls and perfectly staged rooms. Sometimes it's a property with serious problems and an owner who needs someone locally to figure out how to get from “What do we do with this?” to “It's sold.”
Those are the transactions where experience, communication and persistence matter.
Experience isn't expensive, it's priceless!
Terry Nanney, Realtor®
Towering Pines Real Estate, brokered by eXp Realty
Serving Moore County, Hoke County and the surrounding Sandhills of North Carolina
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Written by
Terry Nanney
Local real estate agent in Southern Pines, NC, serving the wider Moore County Sandhills.
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