Ray and Amy first called Ron and I back in 2010.  They were sick of the rental lifestyle and needed help finding a home they could call their own. We ended up finding them a sweet Burbank starter home that had everything they needed, at that point in their lives…

Flash forward a decade to late 2020 and I received another call from Ray and Amy. Turns out that, over the past couple of years, that sweet starter home had been feeling a bit snug for them, their belongings and their three rambunctious puppies. Working from home during the pandemic had only confirmed their feeling that now was the time to “move up” to a bigger space.

I told them what I have been telling all of my buyers over the past couple of years; that we have been in an unprecedented seller’s market, and that the buyers who have been winning the now constant and familiar bidding wars are the buyers that are persistent, aggressive and very well organized. The first thing we did, prior to even looking at any homes, was to get their financial paperwork in order, including having a loan preapproval in hand.

Once we knew what they had in their arsenal, we developed a solid home search strategy and methodically started touring homes.

Navigating the waters of this prolonged seller’s market has been hard enough for Southern California buyers over the past few years, but don’t forget, now they faced the challenge of trying to buy a home during an unprecedented pandemic.  Suddenly, open houses were no longer even allowed in the state of California.  This meant signing state-mandated disclosures and waivers and providing proof of funds and loan preapprovals (which of course we had, ready to go), prior to being able to even get an appointment to visit most homes. Some sellers weren’t even allowing home visits prior to receiving an accepted offer!

Ray and Amy were prepared for these hurdles though, and they dove right in. They lost a handful of bidding wars, but kept pushing forward, refining the strategy as they learned more from these encounters. Soon enough, the perfect home became available, and despite competing with multiple other buyers, our strategy won the day and won Ray and Amy their “Forever Home”:  A 1941 Burbank ranch that had just been taken down to the studs and re-imagined as a state of the art, modern masterpiece, with a ton of square footage, closets galore, the perfect extra room for a home gym and a nice, big, puppy-friendly yard.

Congratulations Guys!  A number of buyers in this market have simply given up at the first sign of adversity, but you proved that, with tenacity and a good plan, you can get the house of your dreams during this challenging market. I’m so ecstatic for you and the doggies, and wish you many years of happiness in this beautiful house that I know you will soon convert into a lovely home.

Cheers!!!