I thought I was moving pretty quickly. I saw the house, liked it, got the mortgage pre-approval the next day, then that night… blink. The house went to pending status. Someone else was faster than me. The house was on the market for 10 days.
Can I blame my agent? After all, I initially contacted her just over a week ago and didn’t get any response until just a couple days ago. But no, the blame game is pointless. It’s best just to not get emotionally involved.
It’s something I’m getting quite used to. The first prospect (you always remember your first?) was vetoed by the GF. The second I had high hopes for until I saw its actual condition. Way too much work in things I didn’t understand, so I gave up on that. Then a period of mourning and half-heartedly looking here and there.
I likened it to dating. Some people, after they break up or have a bad date, jump right back in and go for the next one. Some people, like me, have to nurse their wounds and start up more slowly.
So, what have I learned so far?
- Speed is important.
- You have to get a mortgage preapproval letter before you make an offer. This is good for 60 days and won’t initially cost much, but could cost a lot when the application is finally created.
- You need to have insurance lined up, and you take out the policy when you have a closing date.
- Don’t get your hopes up.
I wonder if this is going to be similar to how I do hiking. When I’m starting to hike in a new area, I hike a short distance, then go back. Each time, I hike a little further and go back. By doing this, I develop a real familiarity with how the trail looks (from both directions), so I am more likely to recognize where I’m at if I somehow get lost. So the next time around, these first couple steps are going to be more familiar to me.
And, just as importantly, “the war chest” continue to grow each month, so things will get easier and more options may become available.