You’ve heard real estate agents say that before you buy a house, you should bone up on the market, consider lots of possibilities and think about resale even if you plan to stay forever. But do they take their own advice when shopping for themselves?
Sometimes. We asked several agents to tell us about their recent housing purchases. We wanted to know what qualities and features they were looking for and how they made the decision that this one was It. Perhaps you can pick up a few tips from their experiences.
Mary Quincannon of Beliard, Gordon & Partners in Chicago had been keeping her eye out for a Lincoln Park townhouse for about a year. She and her husband, John Herling, had been living in a high-rise condo since their marriage six years ago. She knew the neighborhood she wanted and had a price range in mind. She also knew she didn’t want to live on a single floor anymore.
Floor plan
“We needed different levels of space so we weren’t tripping over each other,” she says.
Quincannon considered about 20 different townhouses. She visited the one they bought about a year ago three times. The first time was during the day and the second time was at night. The third time she brought two girlfriends, both agents, with her. Then they went out to lunch and talked about it.
The floor plan was a major selling feature. It has formal living and dining rooms plus a family room. Two of the three bedrooms had been combined to create a large master. The front door of the three-level townhouse opens to the middle rather than the lower one.
“You don’t have to walk upstairs to get to the kitchen,” she explains.
The townhouse also has 2 1/2 baths, a utility room with extra storage, an extra-large patio and a garage.
“I thought about how we live every day, not the once-a-year Thanksgiving dinner we give,” she says. “We felt this one fit the best.”
Quincannon says that after going through the buying process, she has greater sympathy for her clients. She, too, suffered through some sleepless nights wondering if she’d made the right decision.
“I woke up three nights in a row (worrying) about the size of the linen closet,” she says with a laugh. “I should have known better but I did it anyway. What’s the difference in a foot? It wouldn’t have made any difference in buying the place.”
Roger Lautt of Re/Max Exclusive Properties in Chicago describes himself as a thoughtful, cautious, methodical buyer.
“I shop around,” he says. “Every place I go into is a potential thing for me to purchase, and occasionally I buy.”
His most recent purchase is a two-unit graystone in Logan Square. One of the units has three bedrooms and one bath and the other has two bedrooms and one bath.
“It’s a great building with most of the original charm in terms of unpainted woodwork,” he says. “I have fixed up and sold in the past but this is not my goal. I’m going to live in it and enjoy it, and if I decide to move, I’ll keep it as an investment.”
An agent friend told him about the building. Lautt visited it twice. The first time he inspected the condition of the walls, floors and ceilings and examined the mechanical systems and structure of the building. He went back, this time with a contract in his car. He moved in in February 1998.
“I do think I practice what I preach,” he says. “As much as possible I try to put myself in my buyers’ shoes and want them to buy something I would buy. I also recognize that in a few years I might be reselling it for them.”
About 10 years ago, he didn’t follow his own advice. He bought two side-by-side graystone buildings that took up an entire lot. Parking was at a premium and no space was available on which to build a garage. He lived there nearly four years, frustrated the entire time.
The new graystone in Logan Square has a two-car garage “which I will keep all to myself,” he says.
Marcy Lyons of Koenig & Strey Realtors in Chicago actively looked for a Lincoln Park or Old Town townhouse for about five months before deciding to buy in a community now under construction. She was familiar with the developer’s work so she didn’t mind buying from plans. That meant she could get in on pre-construction pricing.
Access to work
On Lyons’ wish list were good access to work and the Loop, ease of parking and transportation for friends, a garage, central air conditioning and a washer and dryer. She got them all plus three bedrooms and three baths.
“Comparison shopping is how you learn,” she says. “You have to know what counts for you. For example, I’m not ending up with a Jacuzzi and a complete spa but the important things are there for me and the base quality is there as well. You have to decide where your dollars should go. The biggest thing I looked at was location. I’ve looked at product that was fabulous but my friends were not able to get there. They don’t all have cars and transportation was difficult.”
New construction
Her primary hassle with buying new construction was concern about her unit being completed on time. She, too, says she has gained a better understanding of the emotions her buyers go through while they are waiting.
“You can always say, `We’ve been through this a thousand times,’ but when you go through it yourself, it’s highly stressful,” she says. “Yes, you are being held hostage by the developer. You’ve got my money and how do I feel? It’s something all (agents) should go through just to keep in touch.”
Larry Fales of Re/Max Advantage in Antioch was looking for a business deal when he bought his four-bedroom Colonial as an interim move last spring. Eventually he will live in a subdivision he is building but to raise cash, he sold a much larger home and moved into this one. He selected it because he thought he could make a profit in a short time.
“It was a good deal,” he says. “It was in a very good in-town location and had an extra buildable lot the seller didn’t want to separate. Many homeowners didn’t want the lot. I saw it as a potential financial advantage.”
The property had been on the market for three years and the seller was growing weary. He and Fales met on a price. Fales moved in and built a house on the second lot. He sold the older home and moved into the new one.
“Some sellers out there are in a need-to-sell situation and are motivated and realistic,” he says. “Others don’t care if it takes three or four years to sell. The more motivated the seller, the better chance you can get a decent deal from them.”
For some buyers, love is the answer. Despite obvious flaws or inconveniences, you simply must have a certain house. That’s what happened to Donna Meyers of Beliard, Gordon & Partners in Chicago when she and her husband bought a weekend home in Beverly Shores, Ind.
They’d been renting in the area for many years and knew they would someday buy. Last fall they drove past a new home, one on Lake Michigan, that was under construction. On a lark they decided to check it out.
They made their way up a severely angled driveway and Meyers thought, “Why would anyone ever buy a house with a driveway so steep?” she says. “You could never get up it in winter.”
They toured the home and Meyers’ husband, Sheldon, said, “I think we should buy it.”
“Are you out of your mind?” she asked him.
He was serious. And they both loved the open floor plan of the three-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home and the fact that the living room and master bedroom seem to be perched over the water. They put in an offer and closed three weeks later. Meyers imagines they’ll soon be shopping for a four-wheel drive vehicle.
