I always tell my buyers to not give up when house-hunting turns out to be more of a challenge than they had anticipated - when the inventory is low and competition plenty. When it doesn't work out, it's not the right house!
That may sound like an odd statement. After all, why would anyone put an offer on a house that could not be the one? Call it divine intervention, a 6th sense or fate .. but for my home buyers over the last decade this statement has often most of the time always proven to be true.
The home they ended up buying always turned out to be the best one. After a successful closing and keys for their new home in hand, the trials and errors over the previous months are forgotten and the joy over not getting house #1 or #2 is great.
Allow me to share one of those stories:
I had the pleasure of working with a wonderful family relocating to Silver Spring, MD. They had done their homework, knew what to expect and what they could buy for their money. They were very well qualified, had outstanding credit scores, no debt and a size-able down payment.
We started our house hunt and soon found one they fell in love with. But, it was at the top of their budget and the lay-out wasn't what they had hoped for. Despite the buts, they decided to write an offer. So did many other buyers, however, and they ended up in a bidding war. They didn't win but a cash buyer who waived the appraisal and inspection contingencies did.
Shortly after we found another lovely home. It was beautiful, the lay-out perfect, the nice yard a bonus but the third bedroom a little small, the only full bath upstairs a little tight and it didn't have a drive-way. Again, despite the buts, they decided to write an offer. They came close but not close enough. Another buyer escalated up to 75K above the list price as well as up to 25K in cash over the appraisal value.
We continued looking and found possibility #3. By this time my buyers were wondering what one had to do in order to buy a home in Silver Spring! Was an outstanding loan approval not enough anymore? A bit discouraged, they decided to put an offer on #3. It was - what I refer to - a whatever home. It was OK and it would work but it didn't even come close to their wish list.
Well, house #3 turned out to have some title issues and the yard that looked just about big enough was actually only half its size, the rest belonged to the neighbor. My clients withdrew their offer and were ready to look for a suitable rental.
But then the one came on the market! It had everything my buyers were looking for. It was well below the max of their budget. It had more space than they had hoped for. It had a second full bath. It had bonus space in the attic. It had plenty of storage. It had an office. It had a play-room. It was close to public transportation and Sligo Creek Park to boot ... it had it all and
then some.
And to make a sweet story even sweeter, the seller made some of the biggest seller mistakes - which worked to our advantage. It was tenant occupied and said tenant wasn't too keen on letting strangers walk through the house. There was also a dog and appointments were declined for both reasons. The listing agent scheduled an open house but didn't advertise it. Thus, not many people got to see the house!
We were quick to write and submit our offer. We were the first ones in and the seller and listing agent thought, first come, first serve. We ratified the contract and closed a few weeks later.
The home they ended up buying turned out to be the best one.
