By Beth Benner, June 6, 2024
Katie was a first-time homebuyer that my fellow Bridge to Portland Group team member, Genmae Rianelli and I had the pleasure to work with when she was ready to stop renting and start investing in herself. It was time for her to buy a house!
The search began and Katie was motivated to find the right place so we were quick to see homes as they came up. She had an open mind about what she was looking for, but a detached rancher was the dream. We found a handful of homes that fit the bill but quickly learned how competitive these homes were after we ended up in the back-up position on a few offers.
Many places we saw were quick to set offer deadlines, receiving at least one offer soon after going on the market. In these scenarios, Genmae and I would talk with the listing agent to get a sense of what we were up against in terms of number of offers, price, and other competitive terms.
The good news is that Katie was writing very strong offers and always kept her head up throughout the process.
Finally, we found a great home in a great location that was move-in ready! She didn’t need to do any big repairs to live in the home comfortably and safely. And, not only did we get the house, we didn’t have to compete, meaning Katie didn’t have to use a lot of highly competitive terms to get her offer accepted. (This often means that you’re taking on slightly more risk to give the seller some assurances.)
Once we had an accepted offer, we headed straight into inspections and negotiations. This one came back with a pretty clean inspection, but every house has a few needs and we worked through those with the seller to find a win-win for everyone.
After inspections, negotiations, and the appraisal, we were clear to close! Katie’s dad flew in for the signing to celebrate along with our amazing lender, Olivia Paulson at Guild Mortgage.
Then Katie just had to wait for the rent-back period to end because we gave the sellers time in their home after closing to move out.
Closing day came quickly and it was wonderful celebrating with Katie and her dad, Mark (the most fun duo out there)! Congratulations on your new home, Katie! Genmae and I are so proud of you for investing in yourself.
Beth Benner
Broker | OR & WA
She/Her
Beth has collaborated on over 500 transactions in her career as a Licensed Broker in Oregon and Washington. In 2023, she earned a spot among the REAL Producers Top 100 producing agents in Portland out of more than 8,000 licensed brokers and she has also maintained her status in the top 5% of all Oregon brokers for eight consecutive years.
Beth is proud to have cultivated her client base on the referrals of the many happy homeowners she’s worked with over the years and through professional relationships with lawyers, conservators, and fiduciaries. She deeply cares about each of her clients and approaches her job as a long-term commitment, aiming to help them make the best investment. Beth is also a local real estate investor, leveraging her expertise and knowledge of the market to make sound investment decisions.
She is a lifelong Portlander and has volunteered with Make-A-Wish, Meals on Wheels delivery, SW Portland Little League, and serves as an elementary school classroom volunteer. Beth is a devoted mom to three active kids and in her free time, she loves hiking, reading, traveling, wine tasting, and cheering for the Portland Thorns.
Real Estate Background:
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- Licensed Broker in Oregon since 2004 and Washington since 2006
- 47 total personal transactions in 2024
- Multiple investor and repeat/referral clients
- #1 Individual broker at LRR in 2020
- Top 100 of all OR brokers since 2020
- Top 5% of all OR brokers for 8 years
- PMAR Circle of Excellence Diamond Platinum Member 2016-2025
- Licensed in OR & WA
- T: 503-819-2885
- bethbenner@livingroomre.com
