The first time I sat down with Aaron was the first week of June, 2019. He told me about his goal of buying a house and how he wasn’t sure about the process just yet. More importantly, he shared with me his motivations.
Aaron told me about his little brother who he had taken in just about a year prior. He is in middle school and adjusting well since his move up from TX. Aaron also told me about how he really wanted to move his mom up from TX to live with him to so he could live with her and make sure she is taken care of.
At this point I’m practically in tears about what a selfless and caring guy Aaron is. BUT THEN, he goes on to tell me about how he is into community building. He helps all these different people out in small and big ways all while working 10 hr or more days 5+ days/week. (I mean… if anyone deserves a home to call their own, it’s Aaron, right?) We continued to connect over a love of classic cars, he loves working on old Cadillacs and other cars. My dad has been restoring old Corvettes forever and my husband designs and builds custom motorcycles.
He hadn’t decided to hire me just yet, but I would be damned if I didn’t get to help him achieve his goals! I told him I would be honored to be his agent and would do whatever I could to help him get there. I explained how Living Room Realty stands by and truly lives out our values. I thought they would resonate with him and I think they did. Last, I asked if I could put him in touch with a great mortgage consultant and he agreed.
Aaron worked really hard after this meeting. I connected him with Carol Flanagan at Guild Mortgage and she assisted with him from that point on to repair and build his credit. He listened to her advice and by about Thanksgiving he had a pre-approval letter in hand. He qualified for the Oregon Bond Program, an FHA loan that provides down payment assistance to help buyers like him get into the market and start building equity.
Once he was ready, we went out and saw just about every home on the market that met his criteria in about 3-4 days. We wrote an offer right away on a turn-key ranch in SE that checked all the boxes. While there was another offer practically the same as his, he won out after bumping up his price just enough. I was also able to negotiate just over $2000 in closing credits, along with a home warranty paid for by the seller. We closed 35 days later, which was 7 months and 3 days after I first met with him.
Watching him sign his closing papers was emotional because it reminded me of why I love this job so much. Aaron worked really hard to get to the signing table. I am so proud of the work everyone did, especially Aaron, to get him the keys to his new home.
Congrats Aaron!
Even though they were organized and wanted to take some time ramping up, it was soon clear that while there were houses out there matching their needs, they were few and far between and they would need to be more proactive in going after “the right place.” In fact, the very first house they identified matched nearly all of their criteria and they made an offer right away. That house had been on the market for over two months, and it seemed like everything was meant to be; however, the sellers received another offer that very same day and Zack and Catherine ended up in backup offer position. That house was just east of 82nd Avenue on a quiet side street.
The house, built in 2010 with 2 bedrooms and 1 bathroom, was in excellent condition – and even had a brand new kitchen and bathroom. Wary of being outbid, Zack and Catherine bid a bit over asking price with a 30 day close and standard inspections. We were also able to negotiate replacement of some wall heaters and a new window screen, as well as several hundred dollars in closing cost credits from the sellers. Overall, it was a smooth transaction with no hiccups.