My wife and I had been searching for a new home for a few months, and every time we bid, something screwy would happen.
Our first bid came for a house that was on the market for several months. There was no other bids on the home. The same day we bid, three others bid, including one person who didn’t even look at the property. We were the lowest bid, although I have to admit we low-balled it a little.
Our second attempt to buy a house was much more screwy. The homeowners were the relatives of the deceased previous owner. Our bid came in the second day the home was on the market. The homeowners wouldn’t even counter. They told their agent they would wait for full price. Our agent said it’s the first time he’d ever seen this happen. The house sold a few weeks later, but I don’t know what price they got.
Our absolute dream home was another big opportunity missed. And it was the most distressing. We saw the home the evening on the day it was listed. We planned to make a bid that night. Our agent called us before we could make it to his office to inform us it already sold for full price with no requested changes. We were going to offer a few hundred dollars more than full price with the request that a huge satellite be removed from the back yard. What hurt so much about that home was that we didn’t even get a chance. What were our chances of finding a home?
Our bid for a third home was countered, and it looked like we found our house. Then, 15 minutes before we were going to counter their offer, the listing agent called our agent’s office to say the sellers were pulling their offer. Someone offered more than full price while we were considering at what price we’d counter.
Well, at this point, I expected anything, so it didn’t even phase me. We immediately looked at newly available properties in our price range and found one that seemed viable. A little small for the price, but what the hay, we looked.
It was darling – 46 years old, but well maintained, with hardwood floors upstairs and ceramic tile in the basement, and a large back yard, in a beautiful neighborhood. The biggest negatives were the size of the upstairs bedrooms (12x9 and 11x9) and the lack of any carport or garage. But I fell in love with it, and soon my wife was convinced we should make an offer.
We came in $4,400 under the asking price. That evening, my agent called me. He sounded disappointed. He told me they countered. They were asking for a full $10,000 more than the original asking price.
Dumbfounded, I tried to grasp what that meant. I guess they reconsidered and felt that they undervalued the home, he said.
No fuckin’ way, was what I wanted to say. I paced with the phone and looked at Mrs. Clucky, who knew all too well the disappointed look of losing a home.
Then, my agent says, They accepted your offer! I couldn’t just tell you that right away after all we’ve been through.
Never did I want to cuss somebody out so much. But all I could do was smile.
We close on June 22. And we can’t wait.