In this video, Bergen County real‑estate veteran Scott Selleck recounts how he closed a 2‑family corner house at 1184 Inn Street in Fort Lee that was part of an estate sale involving five dispersed heirs. He explains the challenges that arose: coordinating consent among the heirs, an unexpected easement revealed by a new survey, and missing permits for a hot‑water tank and chimney that required town certification. Selleck describes how he leveraged his 34‑year local experience, relationships with a trusted buyer (a local builder), a specialized estate attorney, the town building department, and contractors to negotiate a buyer credit for the easement, secure the necessary permits, and keep the deal alive. The transaction concluded with the seller receiving fair market value, the buyer obtaining a property they could develop, and the estate achieving closure. Sellell uses the story to illustrate the value of a high‑touch, relationship‑driven agent and ends with a call‑to‑action offering his services for complex property situations.
Chapters
Last week I closed on a 2-family corner property in Fort Lee. That was a special property to close on because it was a friend's family I was working with. But this one was not the typical listing transaction. The seller was an estate. My friend's family members passed away last year and there were 5 different family members and family members living in different states. So, and there was also an easement that came up that wasn't even on an old survey. There's little surprises along the way. The town wanted permits also on a hot water tank before we did the— and somehow we still closed with all these different issues that came up. This is what is key to work with an experienced agent. This story's about what happens when you have relationships, local experience, and the know-how to solve problems. I've been selling homes in Bergen County for the past 30, 34 years. I've watched estates get tied up in legal limbo. I've seen easements kill deals, all different kinds of just crazy stuff. I've been the person who basically picks up the phone and gets things done. And that's just in my nature. This is how I've been doing this with over 500 transactions. The story shows exactly why we talk through and what happens. A friend's family member passed. He asked me to, to bring a buyer by or to also potentially list a home for sale. I was actually going over to list a house traditionally. But on the way, I was told that another buyer brought an offering. So I decided to shift gears, and, and I brought my own buyer to the table, a local builder that I've had a long relationship with, and that we've handled several transactions. And we actually put the deal together, and we went under contract. This property itself is a 2-family corner unit built in the 1960s, 1184 Inn Street. Not new, not complicated on the surface, But the moment we opened it up to inspections and due diligence, the real work begins and you start to work and understand really what's going on. Here's what came up. The estate had the 5 members and we had to work through everything. And I used to— they were spread across different states. So each one had to agree to the price, the terms, everything. And this is no simple conversation. The majority did agree and it was a blessing. You can't just call in one person and just close. You need everybody to— Everyone's buying. I worked through with a local attorney who specialized with estate work, and this made it much easier to coordinate the communication across all 5 family members. We did a group email. We kept everyone in the loop and everyone on the same page, which was efficient. And that was key because this way everyone felt that they could be heard and they were in the clear. And then when we got to do— did the due diligence, we had an old survey. The buyer ordered a new survey, which was smart because he needed to Eventually do some different things. And a new survey brought up an easement that no one was aware of. Nobody saw it coming. This was the kind of thing that can usually blow deals up, but here's what we did. We worked it out. The buyer determined what the overall cost would be to— he has to move that easement. And we worked out a credit that was reasonable to everyone's satisfaction. And the deal stayed alive and the buyer got covered for his basic cost. And that's one of the ways you get through things. The next thing we had to deal with was the hot water tank didn't have a permit. Sounds simple, but it's not. The, the, not only does the hot water tank have to get certified, but the chimney certification has to be done. Permits have to be taken out in order to get the fire prevention certificate. Got all that done, and I personally coordinated everything. Check that box, that's done. This is why it's key to work with a local agent who knows his way around. And because the transaction shows up, it's an estate, it could be complicated— inspections, easements, But it's not a problem if someone's on top of it like I was. And the key in listening to everyone, and that was really the key thing. At the end of the day, the buyer ended up paying my fee basically on the buy side to make it attractive enough for the seller to get the deal over the other person that was bidding. In my 34 years of experience, my local contacts, my local estate attorney, my workings with the town building department and coordinating contractors and a solid relationship with this family member and also the buyer. Put all of this together, and that's how you get things done in real estate. It's daily problem solving. The seller's got fair market value. The buyer's got a great property, a 2-family that they're going to be able to build out. The estate got closure. The town got all the compliance with the permits. Everyone walked away thinking everything was handled properly. And that's what— that's how it works. High touch, relationship driven, no shortcuts. If you have a property situation, that could be complicated— estates, divorces, downsizing— and you're thinking about selling, give me a call. The first thing we'll do is sit down and look at everything, figure out the strategy, what could be coming up, and we'll work through it together. You can call me for a consultation at 201-970-3960, 201-970-3960, or visit me at sellecknj.com.
