My buyer clients for this transaction were looking for their first official home as post-covid newlyweds, but also knew that they wanted to live in this property for at least ten years, which means that this home not only had to be affordable now, but also, suitable to accommodate the growth of a new family. This should be easy right? Oh, I also could not look outside of Northwest DC and the home needed a real third bedroom (read: closet), could not be completely open in the main level, and needed to be under $900k. THATS FINE! I think back on the first home we placed an offer on. I cant even believe we offered less than $100k over, but I vividly remember the listing agent telling me on the phone, "This is the first offer for your clients? HA! This is good for them, they need to lose a few offers in this market right now. " Click.
Yes, this is when I began to sweat. Yet, with any transaction, communication is key, and these buyer's were willing to do the daily research and self-affirmation needed for ALL first time homebuyers during this Spring 2021 market. When the listing agent for the fourth property we placed an offer on called to inform me that we not only lost the bidding war, but that we were number 11 of 22 offers. This was after my clients removed ALL contingencies in their offer, AND submitted a price $100K over asking of the home. To say we needed to take a mental break, and relax for a week was an understatement.
BUT this was the journey we needed to take.
When we drove up to the property, I remember soaking in the curb appeal of the Tudor-style row home elevation, complete with elevated lot and tree-lined street. No other home we saw offered a front-facing fireplace, and there was a second fireplace in the finished walkout basement! Walking into this home made us forget about everything else we saw. Of course, we stood in the backyard for a solid thirty minutes reviewing what would need to be done in order to secure this home (maxing out at our top budget), and yes, it was a hard pill to swallow when the appraisal was slightly lower than our offer price, but with the advice of my preferred local lender, I was able to prepare my clients for this exact scenario and in the end, I was able to watch them sign the deed the week before Memorial Day.
I am not only honored that my clients trusted me to help them achieve such an important feature to the foundation of their new marriage and family, I am also more than certain that my newfound Catalyst Team and Compass brokerage provide me with all of the tools necessary for me to provide white-glove customer service to my clients, allowing me to thrive in a career and city that I love.
– Henderson
Neighborhood: Petworth
Who We Represented: Buyer.
