When You're Selling From New York: Michael's Story
▶ Watch: When You're Selling From New York: Michael's Story
5:08🎙️ Listen: Buddy talks through this article · 5 min
An AI-produced audio version of this article, from Real Stories with Buddy Blake.
Some of the calls we get aren't about market timing or square footage. They're about a person who just lost their mom and now has a condo here in Wilmington that needs to be sold, and they're living hundreds of miles away. That's the situation Marc Pritsky found himself in, and he wrote us a review about it recently that I want to share.
A Hard Time, A Long Distance
Marc lives in New York. His mother had passed, and her condo was here on the coast. He didn't know our market, wasn't local, and was dealing with grief on top of everything else that comes with settling a loved one's affairs. He reached out to the Buddy Blake Team and got connected with Michael, one of our agents.
Here's what Marc said about it:
"After my mom's passing, I reached out to the Buddy Blake Team and was connected with Michael. Immediately, I felt confident in his ability to sell my her condo. As I live in NY, Michael was always in communication of the process and was quick to respond to any message that I left for him. He made the process seamless despite this very emotional time for me and my family. Thank you Michael and to the Buddy Blake Team. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking to sell a home." — Marc Pritsky, on Google
What Stands Out To Me
What Marc points to isn't a clever strategy or a fancy pitch. It's communication. He wasn't here to walk the property, check on showings, or field questions in person. He needed someone who would answer the phone, return messages quickly, and keep him in the loop the whole way through.
That matters more than people realize when you're selling from far away, especially during a season like this one. You're not just managing a transaction. You're managing an estate, memories, and probably a to-do list a mile long. The last thing you need is an agent who goes quiet for days at a time.
Selling A Loved One's Home Isn't Just A Transaction
I've sold real estate in Wilmington since 1998, and probate and estate sales are some of the ones I take most seriously. There's no way to make losing a parent easier. But there is a way to make the paperwork, the phone calls, and the logistics less of a burden on top of it. Marc's review tells me Michael did exactly that — stayed responsive, kept things moving, and gave Marc one less thing to worry about during a hard stretch.
If You're In A Similar Spot
If you've inherited a home here, or you're managing a sale from out of state, you don't have to figure it out alone. You can lean on people who know this market and who will actually answer the phone. That's what our team tries to do for every seller, whether you're down the street or a thousand miles away.
If you want to see how we approach selling a home, including how we handle the details before it ever hits the market, take a look at how our team sells homes. And if you're curious what's actually happening with homes on the market right now, our market insights page breaks that down.
Wilmington And Beyond
Marc's mom's condo was here in the Wilmington area, but we work with sellers across the whole Cape Fear region, from the beaches to the smaller towns inland. If you want a closer look at your specific area, check out our communities page or search for your county's monthly market report.
If you're dealing with a similar situation, whether it's a family home, an estate, or just a property you need to sell from far away, give me a call or send a text at (910) 395-1000. I'm happy to talk it through with you.
Read the episode transcript
Host: So Buddy, I want to talk about something today that's a little different than the usual market talk. You shared a review recently from a guy named Marc, and honestly, it kind of got to me a little bit reading it.
Buddy Blake: Yeah, this one's stuck with me too. Marc Pritsky, he's up in New York. His mom passed away, and she had a condo here in the Wilmington area. So now he's dealing with, you know, losing his mom, and on top of that he's got a condo hundreds of miles away that needs to be sold.
Host: Oh man. So he's grieving and also trying to figure out real estate in a market he doesn't even know.
Buddy Blake: Exactly. He wasn't local, didn't know our market at all, and he's got all the stuff that comes with settling a parent's affairs stacked on top of that. He reached out to our team and got connected with Michael, one of our agents.
Host: Okay so what happened from there? What did Marc actually say about working with Michael?
Buddy Blake: He wrote us a review on Google, and I want to just read part of it because I think it says it better than I could. He said, quote, 'After my mom's passing, I reached out to the Buddy Blake Team and was connected with Michael. Immediately, I felt confident in his ability to sell her condo. As I live in New York, Michael was always in communication of the process and was quick to respond to any message that I left for him. He made the process seamless despite this very emotional time for me and my family.' End quote.
Host: Wow. That word he uses, 'seamless' — that's a big word for somebody going through something that hard.
Buddy Blake: Right, and honestly what strikes me about it is, he's not talking about some clever strategy or a fancy pitch. It's communication. That's it. That's what he pointed to.
Host: Yeah, break that down for me a little. Why does that matter so much in a situation like his?
Buddy Blake: Well think about it, he's not here. He can't walk the property, can't check on showings himself, can't just swing by and see what's going on. So all he's got is whoever he's working with on the phone or through messages. He needs someone who's gonna pick up, respond fast, and keep him in the loop the whole way through. That's it. That's the whole ballgame for somebody in his position.
Host: And I imagine that's even more true when there's grief involved, right? Like this isn't just a regular sale.
Buddy Blake: That's exactly it. When you're selling from far away, especially during a season like this, you're not just managing a transaction. You're managing an estate, memories, probably a to-do list a mile long. The last thing you need on top of all that is an agent who goes quiet for days at a time.
Host: You've been doing this a long time, since ninety-eight you told me. Do estate sales and probate situations feel different to you than a regular listing?
Buddy Blake: They do. I take those really seriously. There's no way to make losing a parent easier, I'm not gonna pretend there is. But there is a way to make the paperwork, the phone calls, the logistics less of a burden stacked on top of that grief. And from what Marc wrote, that's exactly what Michael did for him. Stayed responsive, kept things moving, gave Marc one less thing to worry about during a really hard stretch.
Host: That's such a simple idea but I don't think people think about it until they're in it.
Buddy Blake: No, they really don't. And that's why I wanted to share this one. If you've inherited a home here, or you're managing a sale from out of state, you don't have to figure it out alone. You can lean on people who actually know this market and who will answer the phone when you call.
Host: And it's not just Wilmington proper either, right? You cover a bigger area than that.
Buddy Blake: Right, Marc's mom's condo was here in the Wilmington area, but our team works with sellers across the whole Cape Fear region, from the beaches all the way to the smaller towns inland. So wherever the property is, we can help walk through it.
Host: Buddy, this was a good one. Thanks for sharing Marc's story, I think a lot of people listening are gonna recognize themselves in it.
Buddy Blake: I hope so. And look, if you're dealing with something similar, a family home, an estate, a property you need to sell from far away, just give me a call or send a text, nine one zero, three nine five, one thousand. Happy to talk it through with you, no matter where you're calling from.
Host: And we'll have the full article linked in the show notes if you want to read Marc's whole review for yourself. Buddy, thanks again.
Buddy Blake: Thanks for having me.
