By Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, August 18, 2020
By Alyssa Isenstein Krueger, August 18, 2020
Lisa and Matt and their 4 year old son had been renting an apartment in Irvington and were ready to branch out and buy their own home. Their needs were pretty simple- at least 2 bedrooms, cute/vintage, reasonable condition, a yard to play and garden in and relatively close to where they had been renting in inner North/Northeast. And a basement would be the cherry on the top. We looked at a few homes and even a condo that was a condo conversion from a 1960’s complex that was similar to what they had been renting. We found a great home that met all their needs within a few days. A house that had been sitting on the market with no action for nearly 3 weeks. We wrote up a great, full priced offer, and what do you know- someone else decided that day to put in an offer as well. The house seemed to have some condition issues and the other buyers offered a 2-week close, meaning it would be nearly impossible to negotiate repairs, let alone have any repairs done, prior to closing. So when Lisa and Matt’s offer was not accepted, there was a little heartbreak which was quickly dealt with via some condolence vermouth. But then, the very next day, a cuter-then-a-cupcake circa 1940 bungalow came on the market in Piedmont. We went to see it and I could tell my buyers were in love. Given it was cute, well priced, and in a fabulous location, it did receive multiple offers and Lisa and Matt were able to beat the other offers with a super clean offer and a small escalation clause. The inspection revealed a few issues including the need for a new roof, furnace and other old house stuff that was past it’s useful life. Thankfully the sellers were great and we were able to negotiate a fair credit amount and a small price reduction to account for the work needed. And then my favorite day in the whole transaction arrived- closing and key day!