The Wildest Day in Real Estate: Bailing a Seller Out of Jail

Real estate is full of surprises, but this story is one for the books. I’ve had my share of wild moments, but nothing quite tops the day I had to bail a seller out of jail—just two days before his closing.

The seller was an old client of mine who lived about an hour south of Atlanta. He was a builder, and we had done a lot of business together over the years. When he made a listing appointment to sell his personal home, I didn’t think much of it—just another day on the job. That is, until the day I drove out to check on the property.

It was a regular day until I turned the corner and saw blue lights flashing in front of his house. Confused, I pulled up, only to find five policemen in the yard, arresting him. The scene was surreal. There he was, standing in handcuffs, calm as ever. As he was being escorted to the police car, he casually looked over at me and said, “Hey Rob, they’re taking me to jail. I might need your help later on.” At that moment, all I could think was, What in the world have I gotten myself into?

To make things even more complicated, we had a closing scheduled in just two days, and the seller hadn’t completed the necessary repairs on the house. That night, I got a collect call from the county jail. My client explained the situation and told me how much his bail would be, then asked for a favor: he needed me to go to his house, grab his BMW convertible and a safe full of cash from his closet. He was worried about someone coming by and taking his belongings, so he asked me to move them for him. I thought to myself, Is this real life?

So, my husband and I headed down to his house. I drove my car, and my husband drove the BMW. We got the car and cash out of there so fast, it felt like we were robbing the place. The next morning, I went down to the county jail, bailed him out, and drove him to the property to finish the repairs. And believe it or not, by 4 o’clock that afternoon, we were sitting at the closing table, signing the final paperwork.

If this story proves anything, it’s that real estate is unpredictable. You never know what curveballs are going to be thrown your way, but no matter what happens, the goal is always the same—get the deal done. Even if it means bailing your client out of jail along the way!