The Sale That Almost Wasn't: A Nashville Real Estate Story

When a title issue threatened to kill a deal one week before closing, our team tracked down seven heirs and held the sale together for a Nashville charity.

One of our favorite things about real estate is that we're invited into all of our clients' stories. Some of them are just beginning. Some of them are ending. And this is a story about a neighbor who helped a neighbor, a charity that almost lost out, and a sale that nearly didn't happen.

When someone passes away or moves into assisted living, they have to name someone to take care of things. Usually it's a family member, an executor or power of attorney. But we often help people who don't have any family left. In those cases, it has to be someone they know, a friend, or in this case, a neighbor.

This particular neighbor had a lot on her shoulders. She had already helped a friend as her power of attorney, and now she was stepping in as the executor of her neighbor's estate. It's a tremendous amount of responsibility to put on one person, but luckily for her, she knew about us. We had helped her in the past, and when this gentleman was passing away, she was the one by his side.

On his deathbed, she got him to write a will by hand, leaving the proceeds of his estate to charity. He didn't have a will before that moment. She knew enough to get him to write something down, and that decision is what made everything that followed possible.

So now the job was to sell the house so the charity could receive the proceeds. That's what he wanted. The home needed a lot of work, but we found a buyer who was excited to take it on. Everything was moving forward. And then, about a week before closing, we hit a wall.

The title company was not satisfied with the handwritten will. Whether it had been probated or not, they needed actual signoffs from everyone who could possibly be considered an heir. Long-lost cousins, distant relatives, anyone who could have a legal claim to the property. We've been through this before, and in our experience, tracking down heirs can take months and often leads to the sale falling apart entirely.

“We don't just sell homes. We step into our clients' stories, no matter how complicated they get, and we find a way to make it work.”

But in this case, we didn't have months. We had one week. The buyer was willing to wait a little, but not indefinitely. It was a ticking time bomb, and if we didn't get it done, the sale, the charity, and everything this neighbor had worked so hard to protect was going to fall apart.

With the title company, our real estate team, and the neighbor all working together, we were able to track down all seven heirs. Every single one of them signed off without demanding anything. They understood this is what he wanted to do with his property, and they weren't going to stand in his way. We had about a week's delay, but the sale closed.

What we love the most about this story is that in the end, the charity received what this gentleman intended for them. And the neighbor, who had taken on so much stress and responsibility to make sure his wishes were honored, was finally able to let go of that weight knowing we had handled it and brought it to closing.

This is what we do at FYKES Realty Group. We don't just sell homes. We step into our clients' stories, no matter how complicated they get, and we find a way to make it work. If you or someone you know is going through a difficult real estate situation, whether it involves an estate, a title issue, or something else entirely, we would be honored to help.

Call or text us at (615) 315-9223 or email us at homes@fykesgroup.com. You can also visit our blog at fykesrealtygroup.com/blog for more stories and insights from the Nashville market.