Litchfield Park

I love it when a buyer knows just what she wants. Usually when I show properties to prospective buyers the maximum number of showings at any one time is six. That's because after seeing that many they all begin to blur - it's difficult to remember one from the other. But the other day I showed eleven. The buyer had identified the general area, had reviewed each of the listings I sent to her on line, and narrowed down to within a three mile radius, more or less. She was good at keeping within her budget. She could see the possibilities of pretty much each house (though neither she nor I were able to stay in the one smelly house long enough to try to make that one work). And she did a great job of making notes and ranking what she saw. When we came to "the one," she knew - she just knew. Corner lot. Quiet. Big enough. In fact the yard is a little too big - but she's okay with that. Is the floorplan perfect? Not quite - but she likes it anyway. Room sizes are good. Needs paint - but she knows painters. Carpet needs cleaned and one day she'll replace it, but for now she'll have it cleaned. She knows it'll work for her. It was a little over-priced - though we didn't know that when we first looked. It had been on the market for awhile and it compared very favorably to the other ten we'd seen that day. But in looking at similar properties in the neighborhood that had sold within the past three months, it was difficult to find something priced like that one. So we made an offer just a little lower - in an attempt to avoid issues with appraisal. We asked for the seller to pay the buyer's closing costs. The seller (Fannie Mae) countered with a little higher price. We countered back with same price but a little less by way of close cost assistance. And hurray - we have an accepted offer. Now it's time for home inspection. I'm guessing we'll have no issues during inspection - which is good, because with Fannie Mae properties, it is what it is so buyer either deals with imperfections or cancels. Then, assuming all goes well, buyer's lender will appraise. And if that goes well (please - let it go well), then buyer will have a new - okay not new, but new to her - house within a month. This buyer has been great to work with. She's realistic - she knows the area and she knows her budget and she knows that perfect is in the eye of the beholder. She's pleasant. She's polite. And she's really happy to have found something that works for her. Now - to keep fingers crossed that all goes well with inspection and appraisal ....