By Living Room Realty, May 29, 2019
This Diamond is Ready to Shine Again
Jaime had been looking to own his first home in Portland for over a year with another agent and a different lender. After having lost out on a home and a discouraging search, he took a break. Early this spring, Jaime and I struck up a conversation about his past experience and his ultimate real estate goals. It quickly became clear to me that he was completely capable of finding success, he just needed a solid team to help him get it done.
Jaime is a savvy and acute first time home buyer. He is also a property manager himself, so he knows more than most first time home buyers about real estate and how to spot a good deal. Teaming his qualities up with our preferred lender partner + inspectors made for an all-star team.
Knowing the entry price point for his preferred (very desirable) neighborhood would likely be challenging, we pulled out all the stops. Jaime was ready to put his best foot forward and primed to write a great offer. We were prepared with the touching personal letter lined with photos of him and his lovely girlfriend, pictures of them gardening and traveling to exotic places, earnest money primed and ready to go, with his “willing to purchase the home in as-is condition” hat on and lastly, armed with a new pre-approval from a Top Noch Lender…(have to stop there, can’t give away all my tricks) we/he were/was ready.
He identified a home in a great location that was full of character and appeared to be in good condition. The strong offer was written and sent. Unfortunately, he ended up competing with 9 other offers and was only offered back up position…queue the rain clouds.
It was time to get Jaime out of the hyper-competitive offer dynamic and into a position of power where we could negotiate him a great deal.
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Our search was adjusted and an intriguing 2 bedroom, 1 bath on a sunny corner lot in Montavilla surfaced. This home had been sitting on the market for close to a month without much activity. The photos of this home were dark and, dare I say, unappealing. It was a–blankets covering the windows dark, beds not made, could have used some tidying up–sort of listing. It was clean but was not super appealing to the average Redfin-er.
Alas, Jaime, being the discerning fellow that he is, saw past all of that. We reached out to the listing agent, learned that there had been a tenant living at the house for quite a while. Due to scheduling restrictions, it was difficult for interested buyers to access the home for viewing. We jumped through the hoops and got him in to see it–and what a surprise, a clean and well-maintained, lovely mid-century home on a corner lot in Montavilla. What a find!
The nature of the offer we wrote this time was very different. The pressure to compete was gratefully lifted. His offer was accepted quickly and all the high fives were given. A month later and Jaime was handed his keys and he received his initiation into the homeowners club.
Cheers to Jaime for his patience, flexibility, and commitment to getting his own, awesome, piece of Portland! I can’t wait to watch your vision come to life.
So, what’s the lesson here? Don’t trust pictures online alone and perseverance really does pay off.
I’m so thankful you asked me to help you get this done. Great Work + Go Team!
