Today I had a closing that was three and a half years in the making. I met him during COVID, three and a half years ago. Our first meeting was on a street out in front of my listing in Rockville. He was shy and very uncertain about buying a home. He had never been a home-owner. He was not from the Washington area but he was stuck here, held down by his job. He very much wanted to go back to the state he had grown up in but that didn't seem possible. He thought he might like my listing but he wasn't sure about trusting me as the listing agent. We continued to talk and look at the listing, a one bedroom condo just a few blocks from the local metro and close to a grocery store. He doesn't drive, so these things were important. He decided to make an offer, which was negotiated and accepted. We met with the inspector to do the home inspection and walked into the condo together to discover that water was flowing freely from a celling light fixture in the bathroom. Definitely not a good look. A pipe in a bathroom on the 3rd floor had cracked and was pouring water down through the two units below Even though it was the condo's responsibility to fix the leak and repair the damage, he voided the contract. The idea of buying into a building where such things could happen was beyond his tolerance for excitement.
He wrote a lovely review for Google about how helpful I had been even though he did not buy a condo from me. (Oh well!) He made plans to return to his home state. He would not be buying a home in the DC area. (Oh well!)
About a year and a half ago, it seemed that he might be ready to buy. The change in administration now required that he work in person a certain percentage of the time. Remote working was being restricted. We looked at a few places together in Northern Virginia but the building that he liked was undergoing some renovations and the condo association would be turning the water off in certain tiers over the course of the next few months. Again, not a good match.
Finally the time was right. His landlord refused to fix a leak in the bathroom. and his shower no longer worked. His refrigerator was old and the light was burned out. (I didn't know this or else I would have suggested that he get a new light bulb at the grocery store.) We started looking again in earnest this time because he had given notice to his landlord that he was moving out in mid-May. We found a great building with no repairs. It has a washer and dryer in the unit. It has a balcony overlooking the pool. The neighbor downstairs is definitely not a smoker. The building was constructed after 1978 so there was no lead and no asbestos.
We closed today on a condo in DC and he will move into his new home in about a week or two. I was so happy before him and delighted with myself that I had stuck with him and found him a place that was clean, safe, environmentally healthy and close to metro and a Whole Foods. It reminded me that we can really share in a person's journey to a place that is healthy and good for them. Honestly, I teared up a little as I gave this very kind and sweet man a hug before heading off to closing together (since he doesn't drive!) It was a good day!
If you aren't sure about buying and you want to talk to someone with experience and no pressure tactics, then let's meet over a cup of coffee I would love to help you!
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