Benita's Story: How Selling and Staying Made Downsizing a Breeze

Meet Benita

Benita, a deeply spiritual person, loves her Ohio home. She is partially retired and lives with her yorkie, Little King Tut (Tutu for short). Ten-fifteen years ago, she invested in major home maintenance to keep her home in good condition. She knew it was time to do so again, but a series of events left her unsure if her home was still the right fit for her lifestyle.

A Difficult Decision: Repair or Sell?

"I needed to redo the roof, trim trees, fix up the bushes, and update the furnace," she explains. With costs rising after COVID, she estimated needing around $15,000 in repairs, which would require a loan. But "I’m only working part-time, and I didn’t want to put myself into a financial burden." When her son, who was her “maintenance man,” moved to North Carolina, she felt the weight of maintaining her home on her own. "Even if I got a loan to fix up my house, I would still have to do the maintenance myself… and I have arthritis," she says. Benita faced a tough choice: make costly repairs or sell her home and move somewhere more manageable.

After a medical scare, she decided, "Okay, I need to sell; I can't do this by myself anymore. So I went from wondering, ‘What should I do?’ to deciding, "Okay, I am gonna sell it now. Who am I gonna sell it to since I'm not gonna fix it up?”

Selling her home as-is seemed like the best option, since she worried about spending on repairs and not recouping the money on the sale. She explored selling to investors who buy properties as-is, but they all gave her lowball offers. "They were offering me like $75,000 and $80,000, and I knew my house was worth at least $95,000 or $100,000," she says. "I wasn't just going to give my house away because I was in a situation."

She also worried about finding a new place and how long it might take. "I haven't rented in over twenty years, so I didn't know how fast the rental process would go," she explains.

"Okay, I need to sell; I can't do this by myself anymore.

Discovering the Perfect Solution

Feeling stuck, Benita turned to prayer for guidance. "I prayed all weekend," she recalls. "Lord, I need somebody to help me, and I need somebody that's gonna be sincere and patient and truthful, because, you know, there are so many scams."

Then, she received a letter from Truehold. Initially hesitant, Benita let the letter sit for a few days. She worried about working with a company that did business online since she is very uncomfortable with technology. 

During Benita's first conversation with her Truehold Advisor Emily, however, she was immediately put at ease. "She was just so friendly and sincere," Benita recalls. "She took her time with me, and I explained that I don't like doing stuff like this…But she just walked me through it, and everything was so orderly, just like God led me through this whole thing."

"Everything was so orderly, just like God led me through this whole thing."

A Stress-Free Transition

Selling and staying with Truehold turned out to be exactly what Benita needed. Truehold made a competitive offer to buy her house as-is, and she didn’t have to worry about costly repairs or maintenance. "They offered me $120,000. My inspection was approved, they adjusted it to $112,000, so, I was like, 'Oh, my god.' It was like God's hand was on the entire project. I trusted it, and everything went exactly like it was supposed to."

With Truehold, Benita could continue living in her home while she took her time finding the perfect next step. "I love the leaseback part because it gave me six months to find an apartment, move my stuff, and slowly transition over, which is what I'm doing now. I love the whole process.”

Benita was able to move into a beautiful senior living apartment complex just seven minutes from her old home. "I love my new garden apartment.” she says. 

"I love the leaseback part because it gave me six months to find an apartment, move my stuff, and slowly transition over, which is what I'm doing now.

Maintaining Her Beautiful Home

Benita's experience with Truehold gave her the flexibility and peace of mind she needed. "For me, being able to get out from under that burden was like the biggest breath of fresh air," she says. "I didn’t want my house to fall apart. There are so many nice houses around here in Dayton where people haven't maintained them, and I just didn't want that to be my house."

She remains confident that Truehold will maintain her home beautifully. "I feel like Truehold will maintain the property, and it will stay as it should be," she says.

A Heartfelt Recommendation

Benita is grateful for the smooth and supportive experience she had with Truehold and highly recommends the sell-and-stay transaction to anyone facing similar challenges. "I tell everyone about it," she says. "My friends ask, 'You sold your house?' and I say ,"Yup, I sold my house, but I still stay there." I say, "I went to this company called Truehold. They cash you out, so you're not losing anything." 

For Benita, Truehold was the perfect solution—a way to access her home's value without the stress. "I want everyone to know how extremely happy and proud I am. I promote Truehold to everybody. I really do.”

"I promote Truehold to everybody. I really do.”

‍

Thank you, Benita, for sharing your moving journey and showing how you can embrace life's changes with grace and find peace of mind.

Are you looking for a way to transition smoothly without the stress of repairs or an immediate move? Truehold might be your answer. Request your offer today and explore a more flexible way to manage your next steps.

_{This story is based on an interview conducted between the customer and a member of the Truehold team. All quotes are from the customer, with some words cut for brevity. The customer may have received compensation for their time.}