Sometimes the Right Advice Is "Don't Sell"
Most people expect a real estate agent to tell them to list. Suzanne and Sarah don't work that way. Two recent client conversations make that clear.
A couple came to Suzanne ready to sell their home. When she looked at their situation — a VA loan at 2.25%, a monthly payment of $1,900 including taxes and insurance, and significant equity — her first response was to tell them not to sell. She suggested they explore renting the house instead, keeping the asset and the rate while they relocated to a community that fit their family better.
They took that seriously, ran the numbers on becoming landlords, and ultimately came back and said they didn't want that responsibility. They listed, sold, and moved on — but without regrets, because they had looked at every option first.
Once you sell, there's no going back. For some people that's fine, but it's worth exploring alternatives before the sign goes in the yard.
A second seller came in certain he needed to sell to access equity while he transitioned from a W-2 job to running his own business. Suzanne's suggestion: pull a HELOC. Access the cash you need, pay interest only on what you use, keep the house, and keep the 3.1% rate. If you still need to sell later, that option doesn't go away. He hadn't considered it. One conversation changed his entire plan.
What Happens When You Switch Lenders Mid-Transaction
Sarah walked through a buyer situation that illustrates why the lending relationship matters as much as the rate.
The buyer had been introduced to one of COIN's vetted lending partners, got pre-approved, and went under contract. About a week in, they decided to move to their local bank — a more familiar, sit-across-the-desk experience. Understandable. But the experience that followed was not.
A few things worth knowing if you're ever tempted to make a similar switch:
- Once you're under contract, you cannot change your loan amount, down payment, or loan type without seller approval.
- Any lender change cannot affect your closing date, appraisal timeline, or other contract terms.
- A mid-transaction switch is legally possible, but operationally risky if the new lender isn't equipped to move at transaction speed.
In this case, the buyer called Sarah and said the original lender had picked up the phone every single time they called — 100% of the time. The new bank did not come close. The buyer's words: "I will never work with that bank again."
The lenders Suzanne and Sarah recommend aren't just familiar names. They're people who pick up the phone, close deals, and bring creative financing solutions that a traditional bank often won't offer. When a suggestion from a trusted lender feels unfamiliar or complicated, the right move is to ask more questions — not to walk away from it.
Why a Fourplex Beat an ADU Strategy
A client had been receiving COIN's weekly Real Deal emails for four years before he called earlier this year and said he was ready. He came in with a specific plan: buy a single-family home and add two ADUs for rental income.
Suzanne listened carefully and started asking questions. What she heard underneath the plan was a goal: a place for his family to live, with rental income coming in. When she dug into the ADU path, the picture got complicated fast.
- ADUs cost a minimum of $150,000 each to build.
- The permitting process alone can take a year or more.
- The return on investment timeline runs at least five years after the units are rented.
Suzanne redirected the conversation toward small multifamily — a duplex, triplex, or fourplex — where he could live in one unit and collect rent from the others immediately, without the construction timeline or the permitting maze.
He agreed. Suzanne showed him one property. Sarah put him under contract on a fourplex. Inspections are underway and he's on track to close in 45 days.
The client thought he knew what he wanted. What he actually wanted was something different, and it took good questions to find it.
The Pattern Across All Three Stories
Whether it's a seller who thinks they need to list, a buyer who thinks they need a new lender, or an investor who thinks they need to build — the starting assumption isn't always right. Suzanne and Sarah's job is to listen, ask the questions most people skip, and help clients figure out what they actually want before they make a move they can't undo.
If you're working through a real estate decision in Central Oregon and want that kind of honest conversation, reach out. And if you're building toward financial freedom through real estate investing, the PRIMO Private Money Academy and the monthly COIN investor meetup are good places to start. Both are built around the same principle: leave no stone unturned.
