We bid to win.
It took almost two years of Sundays at open houses for us to make an offer, but we needed to be good and ready. We needed to feel confident that if we actually won we would feel excited, and not freaked out.
Besides, the market finally seemed slightly softer, and the apartment in question, though small, was charming. It had three key things our rental does not: a real room for our daughter, a view, and a parking space. So we bid slightly beyond our comfort level. And we waited.
It didn't take long: our realtor had an answer for us less than eight hours after we submitted our offer. During those eight hours I took my daughter out for a stroll. We happened to head in the direction of our new Home. We stood on the sidewalk outside it and admired the facade since we didn't yet have the keys.
This got old pretty quickly, so we continued on our way and stopped in to the nearest grocery, to see how late it stayed open. 10pm -- excellent! Their cookie shelves did lack Stroopwafels, but this would be a minor inconvenience considering the view from the kitchen. I would bake my own stroopwafels while enjoying it! And if I lacked vanilla extract I could run down to the garage and take the car over to a bigger market without having to spend 30 minutes looking for a parking space upon my return.
As we walked back I rearranged our furniture to fit the new space. I made fast work of all the things we would no longer need using Goodwill and craigslist. I went shopping for a few new things, even though winning the condo would make buying anything discretionary virtually impossible. I chose paint colors (they danced in my head like sugar plums), and worked on a menu for our housewarming party.
Then the realtor called.
We didn't win. The bidder who won offered a nutso 15% above asking. So as it turns out, we were never even in the running.
My heart was sinking so I called on my head for help. My head told my heart to have no regrets. Joy would have turned to anxiety very quickly had we obliged ourselves to fork over such a ridiculous sum. And the flat was really small. My in-laws in the spacious Midwest would have been incredulous. And I would've had to bake my own stroopwafels! (I have no idea how to do that.) These thoughts made me feel better...but not entirely.
After all, Nutso does get to nest in the lovely flat and stare at the sunset over the ocean every evening, and we don't. Nutso gets to paint the walls whatever colors he chooses. We get to spend more Sundays at open houses.
I can completely identify. Someday... someday...
More open houses means more homes to fall in love with. The next one will be better...it must.
But you get to stay in the neighborhood! And you get to have a little extra money in your pocket each month! And you get to hang out with your daughter instead of taking on extra paying gigs so you can afford the place you will increasingly spend less and less time in as you work to make more money. And you get to accumulate less clutter (you accumulate as much as you have room for, don't you know)!
BTW: At least your kid sleeps in a separate room. Ours is still in our bedroom, though that is probably the norm for most kids on the planet ;-)
I so feel for you. I want my own home so badly that once I got up in the middle of the night to write a short story about it. It will happen though for both of us!
Just when you thought the market was tanking...don't worry, you're still "free"
That's the one big problem with like in SF. I love it here, but I will never be able to afford a home.
ah, little grasshopper... congrats on your first bid after two whole years! you have now tasted the apple, and it's probably only a matter of time before you buy. you'll probably look back someday and be glad it didn't happen, and the right place will work out. really.
Everyone shares your pain. But look on the bright side:
- Nutso discovers he has termites.
- Everyone who buys the place ends up divorced because of the fights over money to afford the repayments (the mansion down the street ate 3 marriages)
- you get fat eating those oversweet waffles and your husband shoots through with a celery stalk who lives on ice water
- the rage of finding a parking spot consumes waffle calories.
I kept losing at auction and ended up in a street with a one letter difference to one place I wanted, and with a floorplan that was a 1 bedroom version of a 2 bedroom place I literally sobbed over when I missed out. A friend said the first 2 places were a premonition for the one I eventually bought.
"There's a place for you. Somewhere there's a place for you ... close your eyes & we'll take you there ... somewhere..."
I love Deb's usage of the term "shoots through."
just from another perspective yrs ago i so longed to own my own home and 6 yrs ago i purchased a great house after loosing in a bid for my 'dream' home. the house i bought has soared in value so that as of today it is undercontract to it's new happy owner and i am on my way back to renting but fulfilling my lifelong dream of moving to san francisco. the house i didn't get didn't increase nearly as much and my move would not have been possible. life is full of tradeoffs---rent/buy; view/none; waffles/no waffles. remember things turn out best for those who make the best of how things turn out. good luck however your story turns out.
Renting is only paying someone else's mortgage. Stop looking for the perfect place and just buy a place you can afford. The equity and the tax breaks will make up for any angst about it being small or not your dream home. I spent over $500 a sq. ft. for a studio. I'd rather be paying an exhorbitant mortgage payment than continue to hand over $15K a year and have nothing to show for it. You have to start somewhere and best of luck to you. Put that next bid in soon.
Unless you feel a personal hurry, there's no hurry to buy in a market where property values are softening. You'd most likely be doubling your monthly payments in order to *lose* equity as the place decreases in value.
There's a "saying" (here anyway) that you get the SECOND place you fall in love with. It was true for me, and a fair few of my friends. Good luck.
I understand what you are going through. I lost out on a house over a week ago (searching for over a year). I am still dreaming about painting each room (denim for my boy and pink for my girl); refinishing the kitchen cupboards; creating an office and crafting nook with Elfa shelving in the downstairs mudroom; bbq-ing in the backyard while the kids swam in the pool. So many dreams, but not meant to be in this ridiculous, flip-flopping market. I keep hoping that the higher bidders don't get financing and we can snatch it from underneath them--horrible? Yes, it is. I wish you the best of luck and hope you find something lovely, soon.
At first, I thought this was Maxwell (because it was linked on the NY site), and was like, WHAT?! Didn't they just redo their place? You almost gave me a heart attack.