COBUY SUCCESS STORY: Ellie & Jake Buy their First Home

Ellie and Jake are an unmarried couple who were looking to buy their first home. They were referred to me by CoBuy – an online platform making it simpler, safer and more affordable to buy a home with others.

We scheduled a meeting at my office so that I could get to know them and learn what they were looking for. Then, armed with their criteria, I set up a search and began sending them listings. They responded with a list of properties that they liked, so I set up a Saturday tour of six homes. There were two they really liked and wanted to think about overnight. The next day, Ellie and Jake let me know which of the two they wanted to make an offer on.

Since I’d already chatted with the listing agent, I knew what the seller was seeking by way of an offer. I caller her after I learned that Ellie and Jake were interested in making an offer, and she told me the activity had been brisk, but not crazy. So far, no one else had said they planned to make an offer.

With that information, I scheduled a call with Ellie and Jake to formulate a strategy for their offer. They decided to offer list price with all contingencies in place, and I presented their offer near the deadline on Friday. In a couple of hours, I received a call that the seller would be accepting their offer. About 30 minutes after that, I received the signed offer in my email.

I called Ellie and Jake with the fantastic news, and they were thrilled!

Now the real work began as we needed to get escrow opened, submit the agreement to their lender, organize the earnest money deposit, schedule the inspection and schedule the review of the homeowner’s association since it was a condo. I managed to get the inspection scheduled on Sunday. The seller had taken great care of the property and the major systems had recently been updated.

The inspection was very clean, and Ellie and Jake decided not to ask the seller for any repairs or other reparations. The HOA document reviewer reviewed the documents and scheduled a screen sharing call with the three of us. The HOA was well-managed, and the finances were strong. They were fine moving forward and allowing that contingency to expire.

Next, the lender scheduled the appraiser. The appraiser made his inspection and we had to wait about a week for the report. Strangely enough, it came in $50 low! So Ellie and Jake decided to make an additional $50 down payment. A few days before their closing date, the escrow closer reached out to schedule their signing.

The sale closed on time and that evening; the best part happened. I had the privilege of giving them their keys!

Their journey was short because they were well informed on the market, and they knew exactly what they liked and wanted. I wish them many years of happiness in their new home!