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 [email protected] to find out how "We go the extra block.”
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