A real estate agent for a house in Novato, California went completely beyond what one may think is reasonable to make a sale. After putting money into improvements and then watching the asking price dip lower and lower, the owner could no longer afford mortgage payments. The lender began foreclosure proceedings and was ready to sell at a loss on the steps of city hall when an offer finally came in that would not have cost the lender any money. The agent called the lender to hold off the foreclosure. When he got nowhere with the lender representative, he tried to escalate up the management chain but failed. Unwilling to stop there, he looked up the names of the lender’s executives and concocted email addresses to try to get through to someone. He actually reached the Chief Executive and was ultimately granted another 30 days to close the deal. Whew.