Chapter 4 - Ruth Becker’s Masterclass
By Tuesday afternoon, the real estate market in Pella was buzzing. Pella was a tight-knit community where news traveled faster than a prairie fire on a dry autumn afternoon. A historic home on Maple Street—long believed by local gossips to be the ancestral crown jewel of the Van Doren family—suddenly appearing on the market with a premier listing agency sent shockwaves through the local coffee shops.
Ruth Becker’s office was flooded with inquiries within three hours of the sign going up. By Tuesday at 2:00 PM, Ruth had scheduled seven private showings for Wednesday morning alone.
Claire met Ruth at a quiet café in downtown Des Moines on Tuesday evening to review the initial reception. Ruth slid a sleek leather portfolio across the wooden table.
"It’s unprecedented," Ruth said, her eyes sparkling with professional excitement. "We’ve had three cash offers submitted before the open house even commenced. Because the market in Pella is so tight right now, and that house has been meticulously maintained—largely thanks to your renovation budget, I might add—it's listed below market value to spark a bidding war."
Claire opened the portfolio. The top offer was already sitting at $345,000—fully paid in cash, with a ten-day closing window and zero contingencies.
"Three hundred and forty-five thousand," Claire murmured, tracing her finger over the figures. "When I bought it five years ago, it was valued at two hundred and eighty."
"And after paying off the remaining mortgage balance of one hundred and ninety thousand, you'll walk away with a net profit of over one hundred and forty thousand dollars," Ruth added, leaning forward. "Not to mention you'll be completely untethered from their financial demands."
"Did my father try to contact you?" Claire asked.
Ruth chuckled softly. "Oh, he came by my office yesterday afternoon looking like a thundercloud. Demanded I take the sign down immediately. He cited 'family rights' and 'moral ownership.' When I informed him that squatters' rights don't apply to parents who bully their adult children, he threatened to sue me for alienation of affection."
"Can he do that?"
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"Not legally," Ruth smiled. "And I reminded him that if he harassed my staff or interfered with prospective buyers, I’d have the Pella police department enforce a restraining order faster than he could say 'Tulip Festival.' He left muttering something about ungrateful daughters and the moral decay of modern society."
Claire took a sip of her chamomile tea, feeling the warmth spread through her chest. "Let them mutter. Let them see what the real world looks like when nobody is paying their bills."
