Life in Big Canoe, Real Estate in the Mountains

Hi Friends,

You know I am not one of those agents who constantly pushes real estate, by hollering “Buy, Buy Buy”, unless there’s a really good reason. Please review several previous posts regarding foreclosures, or any other irresistible homes that I warned would go fast, and they did. I have a great example of why any serious buyers out there need to get a pencil and start taking notes. Read on to see how a buyer on a mission got an amazing deal on a fully furnished home simply by being persistent.

A little over a week ago I got a call from a customer local to this area that happens to work in another country. His family is spread out from Gilmer to Forsyth counties so they chose Big Canoe as a perfect middle ground. They asked me to email  a few homes that would fit his needs and I came up with 8 great homes plus a few in the back pocket, just in case.  We looked at 6 of the 8 and they were very happy and not too picky about the little things that could be changed fairly easily. They narrowed it down to 3 homes and by the time we pulled back into the parking lot they thanked me and told me they’d call that evening.

The next day they wanted to see the final 2 homes plus one they found on their own through my Search All Homes link. The next evening they told me to write up an offer on their first choice. It was a low offer, but the contract was clean as a whistle, all cash, as is, close ASAP. Unfortunately the sellers, who were not insulted by the low offer could not do the deal because they would have to get a loan to sell the house and feared they wouldn’t qualify. The counter was not much less than the asking price. We tried, but the Buyers didn’t skip a beat and went right on to the next house with the same offer. There was no time for me to write up an offer so I had to present it verbally at 9:30 PM. The Listing agent thought I was crazy but I told him “You have an offer and therefore you need to present it”, he grumbled unenthused. The next morning he called back with a counter that was much higher than expected, but much lower than the asking price. I called the Buyer and he told me he’d think about it. So I went on my merry way thinking I’d never hear from him again. It happened to be Christmas Eve morning so I was humbly making pancakes for the kids. Five minutes after the call ended the phone rang. In the middle of flipping pancakes I answered. They wanted to meet me at 4PM and told me to bring paperwork, they wanted to do the deal! Hallelujah!

I met them happily and we drew up the deal on Christmas Eve! By 7 O’clock we were binding and due to close on the 6th of January. Wow!  The main reason that these people got such a great deal is because they didn’t get bogged down in the little things.

Simple Rules For Getting the Best Price on a Home in Big Canoe

• Be Ready To Buy!  Have a goal to buy a house and commit to it. (I call it the Thelma and Louise Technique)
• Know what you want but be flexible on the small things- Does it really matter if the guest bath doesn’t have granite?
• If you want your price be prepared to go for an AS-IS with a very short due diligence period.
• Don’t be shy to go in low with the original offer, but do be ready for a counter. Consider yourself lucky if they say OK on the first round.
• Close with cash or have your loan in place before the offer.
• Close before the Sellers have to make another mortgage payment, if you can.
• MOST IMPORTANTLY- Don’t get emotional. Remember that it’s not just the house, it’s the neighborhood.

Hope this post inspires you or at least prepares you when you are ready to snap up one of the many beautiful Big Canoe homes for sale!

Cheers!

Karin Elliott