The Intro
It is always an honor to be trusted with referrals from my in-area colleagues, and this was no exception. This agent was a mentor to me when I moved my business to San Francisco, and I was hoping to make him feel extra supported as his clients moved across the bridge into Marin. And we hit the ground running…as within 24 hours of the intro I had to see a house, review disclosures, get a pre-approval, woo a listing agent, and review a purchase agreement with these new clients. Luckily they were a dream to work with, and while this house did not work out, we began our hunt on the right foot.
Finding the One
Several Neighborhoods and several lost offers later, a home in leafy Sycamore Park, Mill Valley piqued their interest. They were measured, I was cautious. Sycamore Park is historically one of the hardest markets to break into because of it’s flat lots, walkability, proximity to downtown Mill Valley and San Francisco, and leafy streets with a tight knit community full of block parties and Halloween Parades. The property was underpriced, purposely. I knew this. My clients threw out a number. It was way off. I tried to let them down gently (show, don’t tell!), so I shared a full comparable market analysis to help inform. They raised their number. It wasn’t enough. We settled and my hopes were not high, but I worked extra hard to make sure I got a call from the listing agent if we needed to raise our offer price (PSA: buyers, who you work with matters!). Luckily, I got the call. Knowing what they had to do, and where they ranked, my clients came up in price. They were incredibly measured, and responsible, and came up to a number that worked for their family. I was so proud of them. I thought their new number was good, but wasn’t sure it was going to be enough. But, I supported this and was in their corner.
A Letdown
Around 5:30pm the Listing Agent finally called me, as I was trying on jeans in a Nordstrom dressing room trying to comfort my sorrows with a little irresponsible retail therapy. She said, “Jennifer, I can’t guarantee it, but if you can even out your number it can be yours.”
Even out our number? I thought. What does that mean, even it out by $10K, or by $1M?? Then she laid it on me: $3M. It needed to be $3M. I knew right then and there we were out. My clients would not go to that number for this property. I thanked her for giving us the opportunity and asked her to keep us in mind for backup position. (My clients are amazing negotiators, which simply means, they held the power to walk away). She told me she would.
I relayed this to my clients and we all felt a bit let down but, ready for the next one, we tucked in for the evening.
A Curious Buzzing
Fast forward to 8:45pm and I was lying with my girls in their beds, in hot potato fashion, desperately attempting to get them to sleep. For some reason my phone was on their dresser, and I heard it buzzing. Who in the world was calling me after 8:30pm?? Was this an emergency?? I let it go and spent the subsequent 20 minutes completing my task without distraction. Although, I did have a slight curiosity, could it be…?
I left the room and checked my phone. I had a text from the Listing Agent that read, “Hi Jennifer, you won! Congratulations” My jaw dropped at my head was spinning, and my socks were quite literally knocked off. I called her back in complete confusion and when too many questions were dodged, I just took the win.
Celebration
Luckily my clients hadn’t moved too far on and they were thrilled (and equally confused) with the news. We each had theories about what happened but at the end of the day, there’s no sense in postulating. Sometimes in real estate you have to trust in the process, conceded to the parts of the story you’ll never know, and take those wins and run with them. (I will find out, one day, but honestly, does it matter?)
Congratulations to the newest family on the block in Sycamore Park!
