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My buyer Katie Virga, the super hardworking principal of Beacon Hill International School, had been wanting to finally settle down and call Seattle home.
Katie, originally from Boston, had moved around quite a bit, working in schools in lower income neighborhoods. She had been saving money for a long time in order to afford a permanent place to live and, with a bit of help from her family, finally qualified to get a loan. No small thing for a young teacher trying to find a place in Seattle!
When we first started working together, she was open to small houses and condos but soon realized that a condo would be a better fit, as she would have less maintenance issues and would feel safer. Plus, finding a house in her price range in the areas she wanted to live would have been almost impossible.
Katie’s wish list included a view, preferably of the water, a one to two bedroom with wood floors, in a building that felt safe, so no units on the ground floor and at least one parking space.
She also did not want a long commute to work. She was living in Madrona, so Central and South Seattle were her top choices, although she was intrigued by West Seattle as she had more potential to get a place with a water view.
Katie fell in love with the first place we saw which happened to be on Alki. It had a stunning view and was a cool, updated condo with two bedrooms at the top of her price range.
Part of my job as I see it is to reign my clients in and really discuss the pros and cons of places that we see and delve into what they really want. After analyzing it more with Katie it just seemed there was more space than she needed and in higher price than she really wanted to go. She said a second bedroom was not necessary as even though her present apartment had two bedrooms the second one was just a dumping ground for her stuff.
Understandable, Katie had no desire to share her space with a roommate to keep her costs down, as after working with kids all day she really wanted some solitude.
After looking for a while and checking out a few places, Katie randomly came across a view condo in Westlake that had been pending inspection and then came back on the market.
It was not an area she had been considering, but it was very close to her best friend. The condo had a great view of Lake Union and Gas Works Park and was in good shape although it did not have wood floors, which is often the case in older buildings. We were, however, able to ascertain from the HOA that wood floors could be installed
After looking at the condo several times and checking the commute time using the 99 tunnel, which I reminded her would not always be free, Katie felt good about putting in an offer.
The home inspection went well, although we all noticed a minor leak in the bathroom ceiling coming from the unit above. The president of the HOA contacted the owner and it was repaired quickly.
We had received the resale certificate, and this is where is it got a bit sticky as there was a special assessment that the seller had agreed to pay, but it was unclear as to how much it would finally be, as the bids had not been finalized. Katie was able to attend a board meeting and get some clarification on the final bid timeline, which fortunately was happening before her closing date. So, the seller would be able to pay the HOA the special assessment at closing
I did warn Katie however to be prepared to add more to that assessment, as the work was not starting until several months down the road and could well be more by the end.
The Condo Association was self-managed, which has its pros and cons; it usually means the monthly homeowner dues are less, but it can mean less oversight.
A strong HOA is important in any condo association but that is dependent on how involved, organized and accessible the board members are.
This proved to be a bit of an issue at the final stage of Katie’s loan approval, as some information in the budget was incorrect and it was hard to track down the treasurer who needed to make the change. It resulted in the need to delay the closing by a couple of days, which in turn caused stress for Katie as she had lined up the floor contractor. Luckily it all worked out in the end as her contractor was able to reschedule, so she now has lovely new floors.
Katie was really great to work with, and I was so happy she found a place that ticked all her boxes at a price that she felt comfortable with
“Serena is amazing! A friend recommended her when I started the process of looking for a place as a first time home buyer and Serena not only helped answer all of my questions along the way but by truly listening to me as I went through the process she was able to guide me to the places that matched what she heard me saying I was really looking for.
Serena never tried to convince me I wanted something when I wasn’t sure and she actually pointed out when I would try to talk myself into something that it wasn’t right based on everything I told her.
When the time came and I found ‘the one,’ Serena was amazing at getting everything done while keeping me from being stressed through this process as a first time buyer.
I highly recommend Serena if you are looking for an agent who will truly listen to what you want and help you find it.”
Thank you and congratulations, Katie!
