Buying in Eagle Rock DURING COVID

We were referred to a buyer in October of 2020 with a budget around $800,000. They were looking for a home with a guest house/ADU or room to build one.

In week one we beat 11 offers and were in escrow on a Cypress Park home with a guest house.   Inspections uncovered serious items that required repairs.  The Sellers were not willing to negotiate.  We recommended that our Buyer cancel. (The Sellers of that property ended up selling two months later at a price that was 15,000 over what we were willing to pay. Not sure if credits were offered to that Buyer.)

A week later we were accepted as a back up offer for a property in Eagle Rock with a larger lot for $70K more than the Cypress Park property.

A week later,  the first buyer cancelled and our Buyer’s offer was accepted on a 3 bedroom 2 bath home on a 6,300 square foot lot for $811,000.

Again inspections revealed unforeseen items and the Sellers reasonably reduced the property price by $56,000 to $755,000 with a $13,000 credit effectively making the purchase price closer to $742,000.  Typically with that large of a reduction there may have been animosity on the Seller and Listing Agent’s side but we had created a cooperative relationship with transparency and consistent communication so all remained amicable.  Also our Buyer’s  empathy for the Sellers’ position earned their trust which became extremely valuable 20 days into the transaction when we realized we were going to have loan challenges.

Our Buyer worked for themselves and had substantial income but the then new COVID lending guidelines shifted how income could be taken into account by the underwriting department. These new rules created a significant delay and we switched to a new lender with broader lending options.  

We kept the loan contingency in play for 66 days and what started out as a 30 day escrow eventually became an 82 day escrow.

I write about this often but it’s worth repeating.  If a relationship of  trust and competence can be established between the buying-side and selling-side, then almost any challenge can be overcome with creative problem solving plus it leaves everyone feeling better about the other party at the end of the deal.