A Bad Episode of House Hunters

When we first moved to London, we had some difficulties finding a flat. We had neighborhoods in mind, but didn't really know what they would be like until we moved. We had ideas about what type of flat we were looking for, but it was hard to know what we would get for our budget having never lived in the city before. We had a list of must-have and can-live-without items, but it was difficult to judge what would really be important to us without starting our life there.

So moving back to Seattle should be easy, right? In theory it should because we know the neighborhoods, we know what we should be able to get for our budget, and we know what our life will be like when we return.

After putting six offers on houses in the Seattle area and not getting any of them, I can say that it is not easy. It is disheartening and discouraging. We see a house we like and our friends and family go look at it for us. We FaceTime them while they are there and ask questions, then Aaron and I go away and we do research on the commute, walkability, and specifics of the neighborhood. We fall in love, make an offer and get denied.

I should clarify that we are making good offers- often well above asking price with a strong down payment. We've written a few heart-warming letters and are well qualified candidates. But the competition is just too steep.

It's hard because we don't even know how close we were with our offer. We don't find out the amount the house goes for until after closing, typically 30+ days after, and it's not like the seller gives you feedback: "you were 1st runner up. Lost out to an all cash offer." At least then you might say, "I came so close! I'll offer more next time."

We don't learn details about why we weren't chosen, only how many offers a house typically has. The lowest that we've been in competition with has been two other offers; the highest has been 22 other offers. We now know that the one with 22 other offers went for 133K over the asking price and another one more recently was rumored to have gone for 150K over the asking price... YIKES!

This is a bad episode of house hunters with seemingly no good ending in sight. I keep thinking there's a reason we put an offer on every house and don't get it - whether it's that it made us see the value in a neighborhood or realize that we want the bedrooms on a different level, etc. And I keep trying to remind myself that the perfect house is out there (in between my wishing that Amazon would go on a hiring freeze).

I know that eventually we will find the perfect home for us in this crazy, unpredictable, disheartening Seattle market. And in the meantime, I just need to remind myself that we are blessed to be in the position where we are able to afford a nice house in a thriving area.

So here's to lucky number 7! Hopefully, it will all be worth the wait.