San Francisco Real Estate: Escrow Out Loud

Britton’s mum Micki joins us this week on Escrow Out Loud, our San Francisco Real Estate podcast. Similarly to Matt’s parents, Micki and her husband Bill moved across the country on several occasions to explore interesting opportunities at work. In part one of Matt's interview with Micki, she shares their home ownership journey from Marin, to Austin and all the adventures in between.

[01:02] We start the journey back at the beginning. The year was 1971 and, after looking at some options in San Francisco (SF) - their preferred location, Micki and her husband decided to venture out to Marin County where the housing was more affordable. They met a fantastic agent at an open house in Gough Street and he recommended another great agent who worked with them in Marin. However, after an exciting job opportunity beckoned Bill to Anchorage, Alaska, they decided to do the unthinkable and sell their house without an agent!

[04:34] With two full-price offers on the very first day, they had no trouble selling the house. In fact, they found the perfect buyers. Not only did they love the house, but they also bought their car and even adopted their cat, Sebastian – who would have hated Anchorage. What a great story! With things moving so quickly, Bill moved to Alaska ahead of the family and Micki entrusted him to find their next home with just these simple instructions: “You know what I don’t like”. Some years later, the family was on the move again, this time to Larchmont, New York. They spent many years here and Britton attended high school, grammar school and middle school in Larchmont. But soon enough another job offer called and Bill moved out to Austin ahead of Micki to look for their next home. He found a house according to the same instructions as he had previously.

[09:45] For most people, buying a house can be an overwhelming and somewhat scary experience. A great agent can make the whole process less stressful. What’s more, the best agents take interest in their clients as individuals and often friendships can develop. So how did Britton go from being a high school English teacher to a real estate agent and what role did Micki play in making that happen? Also, is it true that former teachers make the best real estate agents? Because the focus of a great realtor is to help people, the theory/philosophy that the best realtors come from helping professions such as teaching, and nursing makes a lot of sense.

[15:09] It is unsettling to see, that sometimes, as people get older and go through significant changes in their lives, it can leave them vulnerable to being taken advantage of. A trend we often see in SF is people downsizing and moving back to the city, looking for smaller homes with better access to amenities, most importantly because human interaction is so important at any age and it can rejuvenate people who were lonely and living alone once they are surrounded by people again.

Thank you for joining us for this week’s episode. We hope you enjoyed part one this interview and join us again next week for part two!