On the day we made the offer, my realtor and I thought I had my condo in the bag. I had great credit, a great job, a great down payment, friends in the building -- and, my offer was nicely above asking. When we found out someone had made an almost identical offer as mine, we were pretty surprised, but I decided to go for it with my full budget to make sure I would get the place.
Later that day, my realtor called to tell me that the other party raised their offer by the exact same amount I did (WHAT?!), but they added a contingency... The sellers hadn't made a decision to accept my offer, though, and she wasn't sure why (I had no contingencies). My realtor talked to the seller's realtor, and it sounded like they were very interested in the numbers, and that offering just a little more might secure the deal. !!
I was frustrated. And at the top of my budget. And single, and it was late so I couldn't even call anyone to talk about it. I tried talking to my cat, which, of course, was like talking to a cat... I could just wait and hope that they picked me based on the contingency, but was that risky? Especially, when the place seemed perfect for me.
I grabbed my laundry from down the hall from a machine that was often broken, and while I was putting things away and hating doing laundry down the hall, I heard some tapping in the kitchen. I thought my cat was doing something weird but, when I went to look, I found dirty water actively falling from the ceiling onto my kitchen counter...
I lived on the third floor of a 3 story building built in the '70s. Part of my place was under the roof, and part of it was under the penthouse on the roof. At times when it would rain, the ceiling that was under the roof would leak, fall in, or would be in danger of falling in. In the later years, when a leak would begin, building management would preventively pull down a panel and work to manage the water flow with plastic, duct tape, a hose, and a bucket, which would kind of work, until it didn't. After the last leaky ceiling incident, I swore to myself that I would not be living in that place the next time the ceiling fell in!
On this particular night, IT WASN'T EVEN RAINING, so I called my realtor and told her to add an extra 2k.
The sellers accepted my offer mid morning on the following day and now I live in a wonderful little condo, and I am SO GRATEFUL that I live in a warm and safe place EVERY TIME IT RAINS... !!!
...which is right now, and for the last two weeks, and predicted for the next week.
🙏
