The story of 505 Checkmate and 3519 Winding Walk - Closed in Wake Forest

I met with Matt and Christina in December to develop a plan on buying and selling. They were very sure they didn't want to list their home until they found one to buy and their list of criteria was specific. Risking selling first wasn't an option for them but their financing was such that they needed to sell first in order to buy. Let's throw a curve ball in there...Christina was 9 months pregnant with their second daughter and due on Valentines Day. We were up against a clock to find something before it became too difficult to move. 

The best chance they had was to prepare their home with photos and measurements and when we found the house, present our case that we were ready to jump on the market. They got their home photograph ready and we did just that and just waited for the right house to come on the market before February. Unfortunately, the right house just didn't pop up. Winding Walk

After their daugher was born, a week after in fact, they called to take a look at a property that had been on the market for about two weeks. It had been taken off for a week to be painted after the intital feedback, but not quite everything was painted. The kitchen cabinets were melamine covered which Christina didn't love and the carpet absolutely needed to go. There was a major bathroom update to be done as well. We made an offer, but it was too low for the sellers to accept, but it was the most they were willing to pay for a house that needed work. 

I think there was another home, maybe two before we went to see 505 Checkmate in Bishops Grant in Wake Forest. It had been on the market for quite some time and once we got there, we had an idea why. The house was a BEAUTIFUL custom home but it had a few - um- strange features. In the dining room was a cut out with a industrial refrigerator and a mantle above it and in the photos they had made it seem like a second fireplace, aka Fridgeplace. In the kitchen the cabinets were a purple color and the exhaust fan above the fridge was out of some Jetsons episode. It did need minor tweaks, the hardwoods refinished and a bit of repair on the back deck, but overall the home was in good condition and those two minor oddities were something we could get past. 

We met again, the same day Open Door had done a price reduction and there was another offer that was submit at the same time as ours. We ended up $1000 over their reduced price but it was about the same price we were thinking when we first saw it and it gave them the wiggle room to paint the cabinets, redo the hardwoods floors and remove the fridgeplace. We got the house and after that it was a matter of working through the inspections. 

We chose a weekend they would be out of town to get their current home on the market. We knew the closings would end up being a few weeks apart and they had worked with Meredith at Movement for a creative solution to be non contingent so we didn't need them to line up.

The weekend Winding Walk went on the market, the market had a weird lull....across the board according to my fellow agents at my brokerage. We didn't have the number of showings I would have expected but we did have a buyer step forward. We had someone else who wanted it, loved it in fact, but their home in California wasn't through it's contingencies and they were  nervous to write an offer here. We were not able to make the terms work with the first tiime home buyer so they walked away from the negotiations. As the week went on, we have a few showings and potential buyers agents I was following up with. On Thursday we had a buyer who saw it that day for an investor, the potential of the CA client was very close to her contingency day and low and behold the first time home buyer came back to us with a proposal. 

On Friday, we went to the closing of Checkmate and we had two offers in hand to decide between. We chose the first couple who had come back around. In one day they bought their new home and went under contract on their current home...exciting!

I tried something for their closing gift I haven't done before. My family and I have been in a real painting phase and we have had the water colors out every night. I set to do a water color of their home and it came out so-so. I struggled with the idea of giving them something that didn't feel professionally done and then my daughter reminded me the point isn't perfection, it's personal. To let that person know you thought of them and spend time reflecting on the experience with them - it didn't need to be perfect. 

Upon closing, they did a little tearing up of the carpet and were excited to find that the carpet was hiding hardwoods on the stairs :) bonus

Welcome home Christina, Matt, Caroline and Emi! I know this home will be a true treasure for your family and a place to flourish. 

Checkmate