Flipping Update

We’ve been on a long hiatus. I sold my last house in February, 2020, and when the pandemic hit, I had an offer in on another house. My husband was worried about the unknown in front of us and wanted to be liquid, as we had no idea what was to come and we assumed the housing market would be taking a hit. So while we felt relief when our offer wasn’t accepted, I’ve looked back on that house feeling like we missed a great opportunity, because the market got REALLY hot. We could have gotten an awesome return on that house.

Crazy Market

But in this business, you can’t look back or second guess or you will drive yourself nuts. It’s like kicking yourself for not buying Amazon stock in the late 90s. So we had to move on to the next prospect, and the next, and the next… It’s been a frustrating year. Sheriff sales halted, and when they did start again, inventory was sparse. At the same time, a LOT of investors entered the field, as shifts in the traditional job market pushed more people into real estate investment. Traditional new home builders also began investing in existing homes as material prices skyrocketed and made new construction more difficult. And, in our area, we’ve seen a big influx of home buyers from out of town and out of state. Reductions in supply and big jumps in demand made it really tough to find something. Budgeting became trickier given constantly rising materials prices coupled with availability issues, but at the same time, we were conservative in our budgeted final sales price because we didn’t know when the market was going to crash.

Finally a Chance?

And then, as we felt like the roller coaster was never going to end, we finally got a bit lucky. Little did I know, I was just jumping on a different ride. This house was part of an estate sale auction in May. Even as we toured it and prepared to go to the sale, I told others we weren’t going to get it. After all, that had been the case for a while. I knew there would be a lot of competition. The weather on the day of the sale was beautiful, so there was no shortage of bidders and spectators.

As the auctioneer announced the house would be auctioned next, a large gaggle of people moved to the front yard. Ugh, I thought. And then, as he should, he proceeded to talk up the house and detail what a great deal it would be. He gave local comps and listed recent updates. I knew he was just doing his job, but I was just ready to get it over with, not invite more competition! There were several realtors and investors in the crowd, and there were even some phone bidders. While I typically wait until some bidders get in and out, the bidding was relatively slow, so I jumped in on the early side. That’s always an adrenaline rush in and of itself. I continued bidding with a decent way to go before my max bid. There were a lot of pauses, during which the auctioneers continued to play up the value of the property, egging on those that were there. As I was the high bidder during these times, and I was trying to keep my game face on, it was agonizing as he drew this out so long! Typically with auctions, the bidding is quick, and when you get down to 1 bidder, they jump to “going once, going twice, sold!”. But that was NOT the case here. He gave warnings. Then he’d talk up the property more. Finally, a second warning, followed by more marketing. My stomach was churning as I tried to hide my anxiety and excitement. And then a third warning. He was still going!

Just as a side note, if you are ever at an event like this, where someone is next to you bidding hundreds of thousands of dollars on something and is trying to pay attention to the other bidders and the auctioneer speaking in his foreign language, it’s generally not advisable, or welcomed, to begin a conversation, and a loud one at that, with the bidder. Seriously. Ask me how I know!

Back to the bidding. He had given his third warning (whatever that meant), and I was starting to get excited I could get this. Lots of eyes were on me, which I wasn’t exactly enjoying. I was internally pleading for the bidding to be over, but I had no way of knowing when that would happen. We’d been through 3 warnings, what would be next, 3 calls? Then maybe 3 chances? No one else had bid in a while. And then, much to my dismay, someone in front of me did bid. I bid again, and as the auctioneer prodded the other bidder to counter, the other bidder made a cutting sign with his hand. He was done.

Thank goodness, but now did we have to go through all the warnings again? Just for that one bid? I was on edge. But suddenly, the auctioneer pointed to me and declared, “SOLD!”

A Win-Column Day

Phew! I smiled broadly as the adrenaline rushed. People were coming up to me to congratulate me and welcome me to the neighborhood. I thanked them, and nodded as the auctioneers led me into the house to sign the papers.

Everyone was in good spirits. The owners of the house were breaking out champagne. My sister, brother-in-law, and I were almost giddy, reveling in finally getting one! The auctioneers were thrilled! We signed the contracts, went over contact information, and they brought up the right of first refusal issue. Included in the deed restrictions for all homes in this neighborhood is a clause that any bordering neighbors have the right of first refusal once an agreement of sale has been reached. They assured me they had talked to the neighbors and no one wanted it…

Well, the auction itself had been a crazy ride as it was. We knew settlement could be quick as it was a cash sale. The only thing that we would need to wait on would be the title search.

Not So Fast

A couple of weeks went by and the title search was clear as expected. But then we got a call from the attorneys. A neighbor wanted to exercise the right of first refusal.

I was angry, sad, frustrated. I had perspective that this wasn’t a real problem as real problems go. It was basically a failed business deal. But it got me down. The next day, we decided to bring in these adorable little kittens, as they appeared to have been orphaned in the barn where we keep our horse. They had been living under the chicken coop waiting for the chickens to come out in the evening, at which time they would follow them around as if they were their mothers. These two totally made me smile, and, in my mind, I was able to let the whole house issue fall as it may.

I mean really, who can feel sad looking at these faces?

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