January 2021 we decided to sell our home. We had it built and moved-in in 2016. It was our first home and I was 3 months pregnant with our first baby. We knew it wouldn’t be our forever home, but did know we would spend several years here learning what we needing out of a home for our growing family.
Rates were low and we were told it was “seller’s market”, and they weren’t lying. Little did we know the house and features we were searching for was going to be a fucking unicorn of a home in our area.
We searched for empty lots we could build on, we searched for homes we could update. Nothing. Some homes were great, but the backyards couldn’t accommodate for the future swimming pool we want. We decided to take a break until our home was under contract.
Selling our home
It was on the market for a month before we received 2 offers on the same day. The second one was a simple, full price offer with a closing in 5 weeks. Cool. Except we didn’t have a house yet.
But the first offer… it was a low, cash offer. The buyer was coming from overseas and wanted almost all of our main furniture pieces and appliances. Literally, the living room couch set, all beds/frames in the 4 bedrooms, our pool table and 2 pub tables with the matching 6 chairs in our game room, our refrigerator, washer and dryer, and of course the optional items we planned to leave which were 3 hanging flat screens (game room, playroom, and back patio) and the under cabinet hidden fridge in the custom bar. Geez.
Their realtor asked us to counter since we were going to go with the other offer, but since they didn’t need to move in for another 8-9 more weeks, we kind of needed that time to search and close on a new home. So we counter offered with full price, the cost of the items if were were to sell them on market place, and to close in the 3 weeks they requested but we continue to live there until they were ready to move in (if we needed the time).
We thought it was fair. Hell we were doing them a favor. We would have to go out and buy all the items they purchased from us at a brand new price and wait for back orders, delivery availability, etc. Well, the buyer declined. No counter.
So back to the second offer. We accepted and asked for some lease back time since we were going to be homeless. They had already moved out of their place and were living with friends and doing extended stays, etc. They gave us a week extra. A week. We took it.
Putting in an offer
Right after that, within 2 days, 2 beautiful homes came on the market in our area, in our price range, with almost everything we had been searching for. We would literally only have to move 2 miles East or 2 miles West of our current home in the area of town we love. I mean there had to be some serious divine intervention going on here!
Luck would have it that we were going out of town to Austin that same weekend they came on the market. My cousin was having a gender reveal party and we were going to miss the open house on one. We went on to Austin Saturday morning and our realtor scheduled showings for us on the two homes for Sunday afternoon. So we did a quick turn and burn after a beautiful celebration with family and friends for my cousin, his wife and and their future BABY GIRL! (They have 3 boys already so we were team pink all the way).
Just as we suspected, our favorite home already had offers coming in. Our realtor asked them to wait on us, just in case. The houses were the exact same price, but one was smaller with a larger lot and the other was big with a smaller lot. After seeing the larger home we fell in love. Erian fell in love. We just knew it was probably going to be “the one”. We still had one more to see.
We head over to the other home and it was underwhelming. We would have to put a lot of money into it to get it where we wanted, and the first home didn’t need much of anything.
So, we made our decision while we were still at the second house. Our realtor quickly got to work on the paperwork and trying to figure out what our offer would be. We knew we had to come in strong to compete with other buyers. So we did our best; we offered more than the asking price, gave them the minimum 45 days closing time they requested, and offered a cash amount for the theater room items. I even wrote them a letter explaining why we loved their home so much and why it was perfect for my family. We submitted it at 9pm Sunday night. Our realtor told us we probably wouldn’t receive an answer tonight. And we figured as much. Then the seller’s realtor came back and said they WOULD have an answer for us that night! Needless to say I got no sleep… but a response never came.
The seller’s realtor ignored my realtors calls and texts the entire following day! Like what the fuck?! We knew they had to be negotiating with another offer. We waited for something, anything. Silence. Rude as hell, right?? Not even a simple, “My sellers need more time”. We were freaking out and losing hope. That’s how Monday went.
The following day, Tuesday, at 9:32am, I received the text from our realtor. It read, “They chose the other offer (sad face).”
I was shocked, but I wasn’t. It had been too long. I knew that was going to happen. I called Ryan at work, and he was bummed. Then I cried, and cried… like a baby. “What did the others offer?! How did they not choose us?! Why didn’t my letter work?! Where are we going to live?! Why is this happening to us?! How could our perfect home not be ours?! Those sellers suck! Those other buyers suck! They could have countered our offer! Ugh, those assholes!!!”
Those were just some of the thoughts that ran through my head. Haha! I checked the listing online like 50 times throughout the day just to see the “pending” status to make sure it was real. It never changed. Which pissed me off even more.
Then I had to tell Erian when I picked her up from school, she was heartbroken. I said, “we didn’t get the house, you know the one with the theater?” Her face dropped and she responded with a devastating, “What? Why?” I told her, “they accepted another offer and someone else will live there.” She said, “But I was going to watch Disney movies with all my cousins in there.” Ugh… my heart.
We are still searching for a new home. We still have a few short weeks to figure it out. I’ve been praying, but goodness it’s stressful. Wish us luck. I’ll let you know what happens next.
