Helping a Family Find Roots in Magnolia
Our “firsts” in life always mean so much. First loves, our first child’s first steps. A first home.
I recently sold a home in Magnolia to some beautiful clients. It was their first home in Seattle.
I met this couple at an open house, and we connected immediately. A super nice couple, they were from the Bay area and had been living in Seattle for roughly a year. They were very thoughtful about the neighborhoods they were looking in. They shared with me what they were looking for in a home:
A beautiful home that would balance their current needs and future dreams
A sound investment with solid resale potential
A strong neighborhood with good schools
Home shopping can be an emotional and draining process. They challenged themselves by exploring all different neighborhoods, near and far. Slowly I encouraged them to cross neighborhoods (and thus homes) off their list by really honing in on the things that were most important to them. My goal was to get them to focus on two neighborhoods. This way they could really do the deep dive and spend quality time previewing homes in their top two neighborhoods. They visited a lot of homes, but kept returning again and again to Magnolia.
When you are searching for a home it is time consuming, but this couple was committed to finding something they would really love. Every weekend they were out shopping for homes at open houses and giving me feedback on the homes they liked and the homes they left behind. Their feedback allowed me to recommend better and better homes for their family.
While I had a feeling they would be able to meet all their goals in the Magnolia neighborhood, I never pushed them to cross a neighborhood off the list before they were ready. While I might have extensive knowledge of the neighborhoods and homes, the process of helping clients find a home is truly collaborative. The client needs to feel 110% confident that this is the home for them.
During the search process we teamed up with my amazing lenders and got them preapproved, which made them much more competitive when putting in offers. I also coached them on how to maximize their purchasing power so they could get the most out of buying a home while saving money on the term of their mortgage.
When I previewed this house in Magnolia, I immediately thought of this couple. The home is on the west side of Magnolia, with a killer view, a great public school district, and a bonus of what I think are going to be some really awesome neighbors.
Even so, making the decision to pull the trigger was hard: The home actually had some potentially costly issues on the horizon. I would rather not make a sale than sell a home that ended up being a problem for my buyers. I want my clients to purchase a home that is going to make them happy and meet their goals in both the short and long term.
To help the couple make educated decisions, I brought my team to the round table to discuss all of the different options, and connected them with outside professionals to help guide my clients in the best way possible.
Armed with all of their options, my clients were able to go in to negotiations fully informed and make a strong offer, which was accepted.
I am so excited for this happy couple and can’t wait to see them make their goals a reality in their new home!