Friday, March 25, 2016

We switch buyers and keep looking...

Then our house drops out of escrow because the buyer couldn't get one of the final financing contingencies lifted. We went straight to our best backup. It was an all cash offer so finances wasn't going to be an issue. The buyer also wanted all of our furniture. We balked. That was too much. We loved our furniture and it would be so expensive to replace everything. Frankly, replacing most of the items was pretty much out of reach for us because we had found them at estate sales, on craigslist, on ebay, etc. We wouldn't be able to afford normal market price for the same pieces. Thankfully, the buyer relented on that one. It appeared he really wanted to buy our house. He was made aware of the issues found in the first inspection and was fine with not asking for any credits. He brought out his own inspector and the house passed with flyer colors! Goes to show how subjective inspections can be. And he was open to letting us rent back from him after escrow. I honestly felt bad that the first buyers couldn't perform but this seemed like the best scenario for us!

The timeline on these houses is all out of order. Some are even from when we first started looking! I just can't remember the sequence clearly.

Eagle Rock
This house was priced well and felt like we were in Greece. The large living room was really pretty but the rest of the house just wasn't for us.





Eagle Rock
Really finished nicely and pristine/perfect. Showed like a model home. But we could hear the freeway!



Eagle Rock
So many people at this one. The vibe was really old-timey and a little creepy. All three of us felt it and high-tailed it out of there.



Eagle Rock
Huge house in back and adorable cottage rental unit in the front. I REALLY like this one too. Some of the finishes and styling were odd to me, but it felt like it was redone with quality materials. It just felt so big and grand. I particularly loved the wide front door. But way out of our price range. Our agent thought it was overpriced for the location as well. But I'm sure whoever the buyer is will love it. I wouldn't have minded moving into this one.



Mt. Washington
This property was like a compound/oasis. Super large lot with a second, rentable unit, adorable playhouse, view, AND POOL! But it was priced really high. And the main house itself did not feel solid. The outside looked like it was a trailer even. There was some cosmetic styling to make it seem more luxe, but it felt a little shabby chic - not the right vibe at this price point!



Eagle Rock
The most adorable house in the most perfect shade of lavender pink. Also redone like a pristine/model home. And Luca said, "The outside is so beautiful!" He was funny. I also like this one a lot. Walking distance to Trader Joe's even. The long driveway was nice. I could imagine all our friends pulling in, kids piling out of the car, running around the kid friendly/safe backyard. We could project movies on that big wall in the back...But not Sergio's cup of tea. Again, it didn't feel like the leap we wanted from our current house. anyway, by this point, we were in the midst of negotiating for another house...



Chevy Chase Canyon
We loved this house so much. The view is spectacular. The neighborhood is gorgeous. There is so much potential here. There was a lot of deferred maintenance on this place, and there was an odd structure attached that did not belong to the house. The owner of the house also owns the lot next door, which he was selling separately. While living there, he had expanded over into his attached lot...so that would have to be demolished. And deck was in disrepair, obviously not up to code. So much work to do but we could see the potential.

We made an offer the same day we saw it.




They countered. We countered. They countered. We accepted.

We were in escrow!

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