Never underestimate the importance and potential impact that your story can have on others. Stories are tangible, they have power, and they can unlock great things.
This is a story of a young woman’s quest to find her own home in a challenging time of rising home prices, competitive multiple offer situations, several weeks of existing in the liminal space of backup status, and, ultimately, arrival to the dream home – the place that was meant to be all along.
Meghan is the heroine of this story, and she’s a tenacious, thoughtful, focused and hopeful soul who set out on this journey with me on the first Saturday of 2019 to discuss her ultimate homeownership goals: location had to be a close-in eastside neighborhood within a 10-minute drive to her sister’s home and her beloved niece and nephew, in the range of $320,000, 2 bedrooms/1 bathroom minimum, a decent kitchen, ideally with charm and character, in a place she felt comfortable and safe. In short, a unicorn among the classic eastside Portland bungalows; that highly sought-after creature.
Meghan knew what she wanted and was on top of her market research, at times alerting me to new listings moments after they went live, and we hustled to see them quickly, often before the first open houses occurred. After seeing roughly a dozen homes, we found the first unicorn in mid-March and Meghan took her first shot. It was a good one, above asking price, but there were at least eight other offers and hers didn’t make the final cut. It was disappointing, but how often do fairy tales end after the first challenge? They don’t…the journey is the story.
Two months later we made it as far as backup position on an impossibly cute home in the Cully neighborhood with a large yard and big, detached garage. Living in backup position is a difficult place, to be sure – not the primary party to the transaction, and always just so close to reaching that preferred place. In fact, I thought that this was going to be the house for Meghan, but the first deal held together and so we were back out on the trail of the unicorn.
Fast forward through many more months of almost-good-enoughs, not-quites, too-good-to-be-trues and other competitive offer situations until mid-September. That’s when a kindred spirit appeared in a seller with deep ties to the Roseway neighborhood, and a darling home that had been in the family for decades. Meghan’s story, her home goals, her career, and her search captivated this seller, and — with some targeted and timely help from my colleague Carrie — we were able to craft an offer that overcame several other offers, including a higher cash offer. Magic was happening.
This house has nearly everything that Meghan wanted (except a dishwasher) and includes a detached garage, large back deck, an east and south-facing backyard, new fence, hardwood floors, original fixtures and lots and lots of charm. Sure, there is work to be done, but unicorns are often in need of some tweaks and a little buffing. After all, they’re usually hiding in plain sight and can be brought back to their former glory with a little time, love, and elbow grease.
Today, Meghan got the keys to her new castle, and her journey is complete. The next adventure of homeownership awaits, and I know she’ll use all of her positive attributes to make that adventure a big success, as well.
(The End.)
Header Image and Credit: Ella Rose Simpson on Zedge
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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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