Our decision had come down to three choices: a small studio split-level condo one block from the Metro, a two bedroom condo in that same building, or a larger two bedroom condo a few miles away for less money. The idea of a laundry room and a larger kitchen (all for a lower price) really appealed to us and the choice seemed obvious.
So we put in an offer. Now since it was a condo, we made sure the offer was contingent upon our acceptance of the information we learned after reading the condo documents, which we had yet to receive. We were curious to find out about the history of the condo and if there had been any problems with the condo association.
After several days of waiting, the documents were in our hands. We anxiously read through the legalese until we saw what we had feared: there had been water damage in the condo. Not only had there been water damage, but there had been problems with the association when trying to get the damage repaired. We also learned that the association had increased the condo fees in recent months and there was no guarantee that these fees wouldn’t continue to go up.
We were stuck. We felt it would be a nice place to live and we liked that it was the least expensive of the three. At the same time, I wasn’t feeling a 100% sold on the place either. The only thing I did know for sure is that we were given just three days to make up our minds. We had to give them an answer by Friday.
I told the CPA that until it was a done deal, I would continue to look at other condos, even though we had seen most everything in the area. So on Wednesday I went to work as normal. On my way in, I just happened to pass by a small, stand-alone house that was only a few blocks away from my office and two blocks from the Metro. And it had a for sale sign – perfect!
So I called our realtor and asked her to show it to me. Since I didn’t know the name of the street where I had seen the house, the realtor and I just drove around. What we did see, however, was a sign pointing to some other houses across the street. Even though it was in a neighborhood of actual houses with no condos in sight, and we had not even talked about considering a house, we decided to take a look.
There were two little bungalows for sale and they were both the same style. We checked out the first one and thought that it had real possibility. Since I had to go back to work, we planned to come back that night to see the second house.
At 8:00 that night, the CPA and I met up with our realtor and parked on the street in front of the second bungalow. We could see through the windows that there were people inside looking around so we waited. As soon as they left, we went in. I remember walking in and looking at the wood floors and the curved ceilings, and I knew. I knew that this was the one. It was where we were supposed to be. The CPA said he felt the same thing.
But knowing it and being able to buy it were two different things. First of all, it was by far the most expensive piece of property that we had looked at. I mean, it was a house. Not a big house of course, but still, it was a house, complete with a driveway, a garage, and a decent sized backyard. Then there was the issue of the other contract, the one that we were still deciding on. But none of that mattered because we just knew. After some quick calculating and some hushed and hurried consultation between the CPA and I, we made a decision to go for it.
So we left the house and drove straight to our realtor’s office. It was 10:00 at night before we got started drafting the offer and midnight by the time we headed home to wait. We didn’t have to wait long. The next day we got an answer: the other person who had looked at the house had also put in a contract, ten minutes after ours, in fact. The amazing thing is that the house had just been placed on the market that day and was scheduled for an open house that coming Saturday. We started to panic – an open house meant possibly even more offers and more competition. And that didn’t include the other offer that was already on the table.
Thankfully, the homeowners knew the market well and didn’t take long to make up their mind. By Friday they decided that they liked the way our realtor had handled the contract and it matched their needs so they gave it to us. On Saturday, the other couple countered with a higher offer, but since the owners had promised us the house, they didn’t take it. It was meant to be.
Just a couple of long months (including a few weeks of appraisals and hours of paperwork) later, and the house was ours.
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