Tales of a Home Buyer – part 3

Written by Shawn DeVries

Not long after, that call did come.  A friend of a family member was selling her parent’s home and was looking to her contacts first for potential buyers.  Fortunately, besides just looking online and in papers, I had told my family and friends that I was shopping for a house.  I also told them what I was looking for and to keep their eyes open for me.  When those big steps in life come up, it is important to enlist the help of those who know you best.

The sellers were selling the property by themselves without a realtor. (A For Sale By Owner.)  Had I not been employed by a lender I probably would not have considered this prospect.  I wondered how much experience they had in selling a home.  I wondered if they had any help lined up to handle this transaction. Yet, while I had some serious concerns I also figured that at this point I was only looking at the place.  So off I went. 

Remember that houses have personalities all their own?  This one was warm and inviting.  This place had character and charm.  This house could easily become my home.  I let them know I was interested but left myself an out.  With spring break coming I would be out of town.  So we made arrangements to talk again after my vacation and that if any other offers came in they would call me to see if I really wanted the place.

During my vacation I could not get that house out of my mind.  By the time my short hiatus was done, I had the place re-carpeted with new laminate flooring, fresh paint and my furniture all neatly placed inside.  This was all in my head of course, but I was hooked.  Again we set an appointment to meet and I made them an offer.  While they remained cool and asked for time to deliberate I was given a good feeling when I left. 

They called first thing the next morning to ask where to fax the signed agreement.  I was screaming with excitement!  I had found a house.  (I was actually screaming inside since I was at work, but I was still really, really excited.)  Now the real work began.

Tags: buyer, For Sale By Owner, home purchase, interior decorating, offer, purchase agreement, remodeling, seller, Shawn DeVries