I think I learned the meaning of "full-service" real estate broker today!

I had a closing yesterday afternoon, which was the culmination of a couple of months of work for some friends of mine from church.  I sold their previous home very quickly (about three days on the market), and everything went smoothly until they were trying to resolve an IRS tax lien.  Needless to say, this took a bit longer than we had anticipated to clear up, even though everything was paid well in advance.  I called the Memphis office for IRS myself more than once in an attempt to expedite matters.

The first home closed last week, so they leased it back until the new home was complete and ready for move-in.  Since there was a delay in the first closing, the buyer had to pay additional rent, which I agreed to split with the seller. 

After the closing yesterday, I casually mentioned that I would be happy to help them to unload their "pod" (storage) today.  My friend called today and said that they would be working on it starting at 5:30, so I agreed to show up then.

It was me, my friend, and his brother, and everything went smoothly until I realized that the three of us needed to move a giant refrigerator from the old house without a dolly. 

In retrospect, this is the type of thing that I might not choose to do again, since I almost crushed the seller's brother's arm against the kitchen wall, then felt precariously close to being crushed myself by the refrigerator, then had to essentially bench press the refrigerator into the back of a pickup truck since we couldn't lay it on its back (too delicate). 

Did I mention that we had to remove the front door to get it out of the house?

Did I mention that I am a father of three and the sole income earner for our household?

Upon arriving back at the new house, there was a crew of friends to help, which made getting it out much easier than getting it into the truck.  However, the door of the NEW house would also have to be removed.  It should be illegal to sell a fridge that won't fit through a standard door no matter how it is turned.

That being said, my friends/clients were very impressed that I showed up and did my part, as promised.  They also made a point to mention it to all of their friends:

"This is our Realtor.  Today, he is our mover."

"Do you need a Realtor?  Jason was the agent for our house."

"Jason sold us this house."

Overall, I would definitely do it again, because I like helping when I can, and because of the goodwill generated not only directly with my clients but with their friends as well.  Perhaps they will think about that nice guy who bench pressed the refrigerator.

Next time I am bringing a dolly, though.