I can’t help but think that I should start this post with something along the lines of welcome to the roller coaster ride that’s been my life for the past month! 
As my previous posts have alluded, it’s been one of the scariest and most stressful times in my life. Luckily, I’ve somehow managed to keep a smile on my face for most of it, even if it has been slightly crooked and paired with tears.
I firmly believe that staying true to my positive self has helped the universe throw me a pretty huge bone–yesterday, I accepted an offer on my condo that was $30K OVER asking price!!! Needless to say, it was nice to regain some of my footing as I realized that this time of trials and tribulations is slowly but surely working itself out.
Good-bye, Condo
There’s not much I can say to describe the Boston housing market other than it’s absolute crazy town right now. From renting to buying, prices are climbing quickly and inventory is scarce. Most people I’ve talked to are struggling to figure out how to find places they can afford and act fast enough to actually snag them (leases are being signed and offers written on the spot while at first showings–if you like it, you get it then or it will be gone).
Of course, this is great news for sellers like me and yesterday was the proof I needed to believe my realtor’s claims of “You’ll be fiiiiiine!”
For a quick recap, I listed my place last Friday. There were two open houses over the weekend; one hour each on Saturday and Sunday that brought over 30 people/couples to the property. On Monday, my realtor had 9 showings for people to see the place again. Yesterday, Tuesday–four days later, was our offer deadline (seriously, we got to set a deadline for offers!). When I met my realtor later in the afternoon, he was all smiles as I walked in the door.
Offers Galore
When he sat me down in the conference room with a stack of papers, my heart began to flutter with excitement (we did have to take breaks so I didn’t throw my monitor out of whack for next week’s follow-up visit with my doctor…haha). I’d received seven offers. Two of them were immediately thrown out because they were below asking price, which meant there were FIVE that met asking or went above.
Eventually, we settled on three finalists who were all above asking price. There was one very strong offer, so my realtor suggested going back to all three to get their best and final offer. I thought this was fine, but I didn’t really expect him to come back with the news he did: The best offer increased their bid by another $10K, bringing their total to $30K above asking! Not only that, but their financing and terms were in tact so it was a no brainer for me to accept.
The Race to Closing
Now begins the fun adventure of getting to closing. Considering this epic news in the middle of my personal shit storm, I’m holding onto my hope that things continue to work out. This means getting through the appraisal, the inspection, and the mortgage requirements. Fingers, toes, legs, and arms are once again crossed that it all goes off without a hitch.
We have great comps to present in our package for the appraisal and my realtor is confident that we shouldn’t have too many issues provided the buyers’ financing works out. It’s always a gamble at this stage, but the ace in my pocket is that I might still have two more over asking offers to go back to if things fall apart with this one. While I don’t want to have to go that route, I do want to be realistic and understand that until closing day, nothing is set in stone.
Hello, Profit!
The icing on this pretty little real estate cake is that the current offer is just about $90K higher than what I paid for the place in 2010. If everything stays as it is, I will have a check (or direct deposit–not sure how it works) coming to me that will be over six figures thanks in part to my hard work to pay off as much of my mortgage as possible.
When I factor in the original closing costs I paid, the renovations I did on the property and even my closing costs for refinancing even though they’ve already been recouped through the lower monthly payments I’ve been making for the past year, I stand to clear no less than $65K when all is said and done. Considering the less than desirable neighbors and all the heartache and mess that exists in the place I’ve loved for the past three years, I couldn’t be happier to be moving on in such a great way both emotionally and financially.
Score 10 for making a wise investment!
New Apartment, New Chapter of Life
Oh, and I’m not going to be homeless for those of you who have asked me–I’ve already found a fabulous apartment in the city. It has a driveway for my poor car, is in a great location and the landlord has already approved my request to do a cosmetic overhaul once I move in (I of course negotiated money off the rent for materials and labor!).
Speaking of rent, it’s less than half of what I was paying for my mortgage. I’ll do some more posts to explain the details but my plan is to squirrel away as much money as possible over the next year so I can begin making some much larger life decisions.
Phew….happy to be getting back to my happy self and so thankful to be able to share some GOOD news with all of you.
