Where to even start? I had the good fortune to meet Ben during what was probably the darkest time…read moreof my life - only two years after my stepmother had passed away, my father ended up following her, after many months of a brutal and unwinnable battle against ALS, throughout which I was by his side as much as possible. Having been long-term chronically ill since several years before that, I was left both emotionally and physically broken.
After slowly getting some of my father's affairs settled, I eventually recognized that i finally had start tackling the big one, the one I had been desperately pushing off - selling my father's home. The central nexus for all my memories of my father and stepmother for the past decade, it was the absolute last thing I wanted, and just the idea felt like desecrating their memory, but there was simply no feasible way for me to have kept it.
I needed a realtor, and, with the house being my greatest remaining link to my father, I was not prepared to compromise in any way - they would need to be as respectful of his home as they would be handling his ashes, and it was not going to be sold to just anyone. My father and stepmother had put a great deal of effort into their home, and whomever was going to live their needed to appreciate, love, and care for it as much as they did. This may sound unreasonable, but I was not in the most reasonable state of mind at the time.
Yet, aside from scouring the internet, much as you are likely doing this very moment, I had no clue where to find someone not only willing to take on such a difficult client, but actually able to meet my expectations.
In a stroke of good fortune, my lawyer, who had been helping me work through the many complexities of life insurance, inheritance and estate law, mentioned that he knew someone who might fit the bill. And that's how I met Ben.
From the very beginning, he made sure that I knew that everything he would be doing would be about me, and how I wanted to handle things. He was incredibly considerate, empathetic and kind, and everything he did was very clearly done with the sole goal of making sure that the process would be as painless as possible for me, and that, despite the emotional pain involved in selling the house, I would be able to look back knowing that we reached the best possible outcome.
From beginning to end, he went above and beyond, hosting an elaborate get-together for the area's realtors to introduce the house to the market, complete with food, drink, a raffle, and even homemade cookies, baked by his wife, with pictures of the house on the icing, taking it upon himself to have some damage to the roof tiles the inspector found repaired on his own time, fixing up little issues that had been missed, ensuring that the furniture I was unable to take with me due to my home's smaller size was donated to a good cause... I could go on and on.
That time is now all a bit of a blur, due to both the emotional stress and the physical toll getting everything settled and all their belongings ready to move (due to my condition, my doctors had long strongly advised to refrain from any physical exertion - I had been effectively bedridden for several years before my father's illness). But I clearly, and fondly, remember how Ben always looked out for me, regularly checking in to make sure I was ok, dropping by with some subs and just talking for a while, and always making sure I was completely in the loop on everything, and every decision had my stamp of approval.
We received a number of offers on the house, but I was very firm on the price, and on making sure they were the right people for the house, which would probably have driven most realtors mad. But Ben was 100% on my side, just like he promised he would be. Even after we finally found the right family for the home, they had hoped to drive the price down a little, or have me help them buy down their mortgage rate, we continued to stand firm, and, after a lengthy series of offers, we finally sold the house at the exact price I wanted, to a nice family with several children who truly seemed to love the house as much as I did. And, despite my rather difficult demands and record-high interest rates, the house was still sold within just a few months.
I honestly can't imagine a better realtor, and am so very grateful to have found him. He is honest, hardworking, caring, funny, and, perhaps most importantly, his work isn't just a job to him - he is helping people, and puts in every last bit of himself to ensure he succeeds. I don't know how I would have made it through everything without him.
If you are looking for a realtor, I can't imagine finding anyone who will fight as hard as Ben Luebke to see that you get exactly what you want and deserve. And if you happen to find yourself in similarly heartbreaking circumstances as I did, you can rest easy knowing Ben will do everything in his power to make these hard times even just a little easier.
