Had so much fun helping Kelly into her new beautiful brand new condo where she will be close to everything she loves! Upon first meeting she was quick to identify everything she wanted in her first home, and like many first-time homebuyers it would take all of the stars aligning to get the hopes and dreams to line up with the budget – some may even call it luck or magic. The most important features that we would set out in search for were a close-in neighborhood that felt safe yet lively, naturally lit with not a lot of work needed, bike storage, a dedicated space for her to work from home that ideally wasn’t her bedroom or couch, and large kitchen with good storage as she loves to cook. Also, important was the possibility and space to add a roommate if absolutely needed but within a price she could swing on her own and still be able to afford fun and adventure. There may or may not have been a little doubt mixed with a lot of hope that we would get close to fulfilling most of these needs within the budget, but challenge accepted!
Several months were spent putting the wheels in motion on the financing end as we passively kept an eye on the market so that she had a better idea of what types of homes in each neighborhood were offered in her ideal budget. During this time, we saw several interest rate hikes which reduced her buying power, but she was still determined to make it happen. It was decided that a condo was probably the best way to go, but we had to be careful to not consider homes with high homeowner’s association (HOA) fees that would throw the monthly payment out of whack. The haystack suddenly got larger, and the needle got smaller.
With a pre-approval letter in hand and an exact idea of what we were looking for, we met in person for the first time to see a sample set of condos that could work in areas she liked – an exploratory mission if you will. We saw four homes, the first one being a brand new building in one of her favorite neighborhoods that literally checked most of the “boxes”. Because it was new construction in this specific location, this unit was eligible for an SDC waiver (reduced sale price for eligible buyers) and HOLTE (reduced property taxes for 10 years). My Realtor radar was seriously going off like sirens as this was an extremely rare opportunity to get all the things AND actually meet the limited budget that comes with being a first-time home buyer. The stars had aligned…
With this being the first home she had seen, there was no way I was going to let my excitement out until she saw the rest of the homes on the tour. We went on to see the three others, all which were priced in line, but offered far less of what Kelly desired in her new home. A couple of them were a little discouraging to be honest. It was clear at that point that to not just me, but here that we had literally just seen a UNICORN, so we went back for a second look at the end of our tour. With it being clear that this was the perfect opportunity for Kelly to get pretty much EVERYTHING she wanted within budget, we looped the lender in who worked magic on his end to get the final numbers on this particular home as we knew it might feel a bit tight even with all of the extra incentives. Kelly took the night to sleep on it, and while she was either in deep slumber or deep stress, I called the listing agent to pre-negotiate terms that would make this purchase a little more cozy for her so that when she woke up the next morning she could feel good about taking the leap. We ended up writing an offer requesting credits to buy her interest rate down that would greatly reduce her payment, and when combined with the other financial perks, Kelly felt 100% comfortable and secure. #Goals
Offer was accepted and Kelly is now living in her beautiful new home, enjoying life and building equity and long-term wealth! There are still a couple of units available in this awesome building, so if you or someone you know is interested in a similar opportunity, I’m happy to share more info or schedule a tour.
Fun fact: I was connected to Kelly through a client who was referred to me by a client who was referred to me by a client, so four relationships deep. It brings such joy to work with really awesome people every day, and I could not be more grateful to be part of this journey.
Looking to find your next space and create your own story? Reach out anytime!
Kelly got local in Arbor Lodge with Erin Primrose
