A government shutdown killed their closing. They moved in anyway.
A short sale in Brooksville that survived the longest shutdown on record, and closed $55,000 under the original list price.
Brooksville · 3 bed / 2 bath · built 2022
Bailey and Justin were supposed to sell their Lutz home and buy this one on the same day: October 2, 2025. On October 1, the federal government shut down. The seller's loan was USDA-guaranteed, the short sale needed USDA sign-off, and USDA was closed. The shutdown ran 43 days, the longest on record, and the closing died with it.
The obvious move was to walk away and start over. That would have cost them this house and this price.
What we did
- 1
We got them into the house at $75 a month
Ryan drafted an occupancy lease built for exactly this situation, got the listing side to approve it, and had it signed by both sides in about a day. Bailey and Justin moved in October 14, 121 days before they owned the place. One document turned a dead deal into a waiting game they could afford to win.
- 2
We got their sale proceeds out of harm's way
Their Lutz home closed two days later. Rather than leave those funds sitting in escrow, hostage to somebody else's timeline, we had them wired out and documented with title the same day.
- 3
We built the escalation ladder ourselves
Fifty-five days after USDA reopened, the file still had no signature. Ryan sent the listing agent a dated, four-step escalation plan reaching from the servicer's short-sale supervisor all the way to a congressional inquiry, armed with the number that mattered: the file beat USDA's minimum recovery ratio comfortably. It never needed a decision. It needed a signature.
- 4
We gave the updates the other side wouldn't
When the listing side declined to commit to a reporting cadence, we didn't argue. Miguel ran a standing weekly written update instead, so Bailey never went a week without knowing exactly where her file stood.
How it ended
The short-sale approval landed February 9. One message went to the whole table the next morning, closing disclosure clocks and all, and the deal closed February 12, a day ahead of target. They bought at $265,000 against a $300,000 appraisal: about $35,000 of equity the day they signed, on a house first listed at $320,000.
Two weeks later, Bailey and Justin both left five-star reviews on the same night.
“Ryan is extremely meticulous, organized & professional. His communication was top-tier & he strategically & proactively worked through all obstacles & hurdles we had.”