By Jené DeSpain, April 21, 2021
They say lightning never strikes in the same place twice, but Lana and Brent can live to tell a different story. As first time home buyers, they began looking at a variety of sweet homes around Portland’s east side, hoping to discover something that would capture just what they were looking for: a bungalow with a beautiful fenced in yard for their pup and a basement for creative projects. They poured over the listings online and visited a few open houses and quickly saw exactly what they were wanting come to market. They booked a showing with an online agent and went to check out the cutie. With the agent they had met, they submitted an over ask offer and were blown away to learn that they were offering under $60k less than the top 3 offers on the place! They were heartbroken as they could have gone up to that price had they known…
Thankfully, the three of us had met a few weeks earlier at an open house I was hosting over in SE Portland. They had kept my card and Lana raced home to dig through her papers to find it. They called asking if I could help them find something, they really needed a new agent. I remembered them immediately and was so honored for the opportunity.
We went to visit some lovely new listings and even considered a few, but they really didn’t shine as bright as that first house they had fallen in love with. I told them we should keep looking and not write on a house until they really felt “in love”. Much to our delightful surprise that lil house came back up on the market! I immediately called the listing agent to inquire more. She shared with me the facts about the needed repairs that sent the first buyer sailing. I spoke to Lana and Brent about the current condition of the home, as was revealed to the sellers and their agent, and they strongly decided they would want to visit again with me to hear my opinion. The three of us took a good long look at the home, spoke about the realities of taking on a home with the issues at hand, and discussed what they would feel comfortable taking on and what they would want to negotiate with the sellers. It was still their beloved dream abode, and they were ready to try again. We submitted their extremely competitive offer, beat out a handful of other offers, and happily got into contract with these amicable sellers! It was a spectacular match. They had an excellent inspector give them a full home inspection, leading to some new negotiated repairs and a home warranty from the sellers.
Congratulations you two!!! I’m SO happy this wonderful house gets to have you as the new homeowners! Sometimes lightning strikes twice. So happy we were in the right spot at the right time. 
