Bike racing has many different disciplines, but any race – whether on pavement, dirt, trails, gravel or the track – requires a common set of attributes to successfully rise to the challenge: preparation, focus, intensity, calm, knowing when to push and when to wait, and the ability to endure some short-term pain for overall gains and success. And these are many of the very same attributes needed to be a successful homebuyer. (Wearing colorful spandex, fortunately, is not a necessity.)
My friend and bike racing teammate Angharad is a perfect example of these crossover attributes. She is one of the top female racers in Oregon, and watching her race bikes is a lot of fun. She’s always remarkably calm, strong and resilient, and she brings a high level of intensity and focus. Honed by hours and hours of training and race experience, she routinely has podium finish results. She’s also been my client for nearly two years, and today we crossed the finish line together when she bought her first home — a picture-perfect two-bedroom, two-level garden condominium in her favorite neighborhood in NW Portland.
Angharad is smart, patient, kind, disciplined and diligent. She knows what she wants and works hard to make those goals a reality. We toured lots of different properties together over many months, but none of them were the perfect combo of size, location, condition and price. At times it was challenging to wonder if we’d ever find that place, but her willingness to be patient and disciplined paid dividends.
Bike racers call the part of the race when your lungs are bursting, the finish line feels miles away, and you hurt everywhere the ‘pain cave’. You learn to sit with it, knowing that you will exit the cave, but in the meantime it’s something to endure and grind out. (Note: this transaction was never painful, nor that dramatic!)
When this house went on the market earlier this fall, she knew that this was the right place and we both had a clear understanding of the proper value of the home, after scouting this sector of the market for many months. We moved quickly to assemble a strong offer and it was accepted, even though the offer price was less than asking price. Angharad’s preparation, focus and decisiveness paid off in those moments.
While we never sweated or were in the pain cave like a bike race, we were just as excited to reach the finish line knowing that we gave it our best. The reward was a huge win for Angharad and for her new Portland home-base. Go Angharad go!
While I’m probably not the most qualified person to offer advice on bike racing tactics, I am ready and able to provide expert advice on the homebuying process and the best ways to make your home-buying dreams a reality.
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ANDY MEEKS
Living Room Realty
Licensed Oregon Broker | Earth Advantage REALTOR®
andy@livingroomre.com | 971.400.0195 | PDX
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