On the lighter side of this business, I received the following phone call one Adar: “Nechama, can you put a V&N sign on my brother’s house? I want to see his face in the morning when he comes out for Megilla and finds his home on the market.” I have generally resisted these requests, although I could certainly see the humor in having an unsuspecting neighbor of mine getting frantic phone calls from friends … “What???? You’re leaving us after all those times I got your kids off the bus?” I guess I have never been too much of a prankster (although it did lead to a situation where I planted a “For Sale By Owner” sign on a property – the only time in my life.)
One year a request came in that really threw me a curve ball. A well-respected member of the Teaneck community, and a board member of a local synagogue, called me up with a special favor and asked… “I need you to put up a V&N sign on the Northwest corner of West Englewood Ave and Jefferson,” ie: Bnai Yeshurun.
My mind started racing … this isn’t just one person’s house with minimal repercussions. This was in essence the people’s home, and a synagogue no less … Was I prepared to put the whole community up for sale? Yes, it’s the time for practical jokes but I couldn’t escape the feeling that I was being asked to get involved in something that went a drop too far.
And what is it about Purim that would prompt the citizens of Teaneck to want to “move” their friends and family out of their homes with one of my signs?
I couldn’t help being reminded of something my real estate instructor told our class all those years ago while I was going for my license: When you are talking to a seller, always refer to the property as a “house,” and when you are talking to a buyer always refer to it as a “home.”
A house? Sure, it’s some concrete, 2x4s and roofing shingles… But a home? That’s memories, community and, as my granddaughter says, “Where you can hear the dog barking out of joy as you come towards the front door.”
On Purim we celebrate community. We are mandated to greet our neighbors with food, look out for the needy and listen to the telling of one of our greatest stories “b’rov am,” amongst a gathering of people.
Our streets may be lined with houses, but it’s on holidays like these that we are reminded that it’s our homes all joined together that make up such a wonderful community.
Whether you look at the place you live in as your “home” or just as a “house,” it is the community that makes the adage “location, location, location” so true.
Nechama Polak is the broker of record and owner of V and N Group LLC. V&N Realty is located at 1401 Palisade Ave in Teaneck. 201 692 3700. www.vnrealtygroup.com
By Nechama Polak
