I met PB while racing sailboats on the Columbia River, as you do. We basically made eye contact, and were like, “We’re friends, now (#lovebully)”. After a couple of years of friendship, we were on a lunch date when PB got all wistful about homeownership…but she was still recovering from the stress of a divorce, and wasn’t even sure if it was possible, financially. As my answer always is, I said, “If you ever listen to one thing I say, talk to a lender, now. They can coach you on how to get there. Even if it takes years.”
And, because she is a total badass with laser focus on making fab things happen in her life, she actually did talk to a lender right away. For two years she worked diligently on boosting her credit. I’m seriously so proud of this woman. She saw her goal, and worked her ass off to reach it. In the meantime, she meets the love of her life (J), becomes engaged, gets married, I go to the wedding, and they become PB&J. On returning from their honeymoon, they spring on me:
“We’re ready to buy a house!”
I remember we spent the entire day looking at the shittiest houses I have ever seen. Crap after crap after crap (which is a very important part of the process, mind. You need to see the good and the bad, so that when you do fall in love with a house you have something to compare it to). At the end of the one and only house hunting day we had, there was one last house to look at in Centennial.
Let me just pause for a second and highlight that their Wish List was hilarious for their price point: this many bedrooms, this big of a yard, a whole separate space in the basement for Jay’s hobbies, etc. Uh huh, good luck with that guys.
As soon as we open the door – I am not exaggerating – PB burst into tears. Flowing down her face. It was just their house. And when that happens, I kinda go into Crazy Tiger Mom mode. I just shouted:
“THIS IS YOUR HOUSE, I’M GONNA GET YOU THIS HOUSE, AND LET ME TELL YOU EXACTLY WHAT YOU NEED TO DO TO GET IT.”
We submit an aggressive – but within budget – offer, and sure enough, the house is theirs. New roof, new sewer, radon mitigation installed, all those fun extras that most buyers are afraid to ask for in a competitive seller’s market. And their new home is a 3 bed/2 bath ranch with bonus space, a huge garage…all for under $300k in Fall 2016.
Pausing again to say, Centennial/Maywood/Argay neighborhoods, daaaaayum. This whole corridor between 120th – 160th, Columbia River to Stark, is just solid gold with all its winding roads, tree-lined streets, well-maintained Ranch homes, easy commute, etc. It’s essentially Pleasantville in Portland, but in full color.
Back to PB&J: where are they at now? Well, they Love. This. Place. And because I’m selling a ton of houses out in that sweet little pocket of neighborhoods, I get to stop by and visit them and their 4 kitties.
Also, with the extra seller credit they scored during the transaction, they upgraded their stove to a fancy new one…which they named Lauren. They bake cookies in Lauren The Stove. SO. DELIGHTED.
