Helping Clients Rethink Their Must-Haves to Increase Their Choices

Problem: They are a couple in their 40s who had been looking for a new home on and off for close to three years. And each was frustrated.  Her top priority was not having to drive more than 30 minutes to her office in Boston, once it reopened. As we began looking, it became clear to me that he was very sensitive to noise, so that ruled out communities in the flight path of Logan Airport planes — identified through an app I downloaded.  But her under-30-minute-commute was the biggest limiting factor, putting the kibosh on a bunch of great communities.

Solution: I asked her to rethink the half-hour ceiling, because she had only been going into the office three times a week pre-pandemic. She agreed she could deal with a longer commute. Shortly after this conversation, we saw a lovely three- bedroom home on a cul-de-sac in Natick, with a huge, gorgeous yard that backed up to farmland. The asking price was $799,000. I asked the seller’s agent if they would accept a bid with an escalation clause. In this case, my clients would agree to pay $2,000 over the next highest bid, up to $815,000.  Their bid — $802,000 — was accepted. But the inspector turned up a few critical things that needed to be addressed, including a mouse infestation.  After a lot of negotiation, we got $7,000 off the price.

Result: A happy couple moved into a gorgeous new home. And when she goes back to the office, her commute will be a doable 45 minutes.

All in a Day’s Work: Solving Real-Life, Real Estate Problems for our Clients is a regular feature brought to you by Marie Presti of The Presti Group. Our agents specialize in luxury homes, rehabilitations, multi-families and condominiums in urban, suburban and exurban areas throughout the Greater Boston area. Marie Presti is a Certified Negotiation Expert. Reach out at to find out how "We go the extra block.”

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