In what I’d describe as a “crazy” market for buying a home, Beth and I became the winning bidders for [...] Drive. The home popped up on Zillow during the past seven days, we went for the first showing yesterday (Thursday), and our Realtor®, Michelle, called us around five-thirty this afternoon (Friday) to tell us the homeowners had accepted our offer.

Michelle got us a showing at nine o’clock yesterday morning. Beth and I drove separately. After letting us in, we began exploring the downstairs. We liked the layout. There’s what would be my office on the left as you enter. There was even a Tesla charger on the wall in the garage. I guessed that wouldn’t convey, still it was fun for me to see. We liked the layout. There were some things we might change with the kitchen, but everything was certainly livable and “move-in” ready. The upstairs was just as we’d pictured it with a nice master bedroom, three bedrooms for the girls, a laundry room, and a nice bonus room. In addition to the house, the backyard is nice with mature trees and a deck that spans the entire backside of the house.

After we finished looking at everything, we felt good about making an offer. We said goodbye to Michelle. Beth and I both took the “long” way out of the neighborhood. I drove down to the neighborhood pool. It certainly isn’t as big as North Hampton, but it’s a nice size for a neighborhood pool with a six foot deep end. I could imagine us hosting Lydia’s birthday party there next summer.

I drove back home to work while Beth met some River’s Edge moms for coffee. A little later in the morning, Beth and I got out our spreadsheet and came up with our offer price. Then we let Michelle know.

During the middle of the day, I had a dental checkup scheduled at Dr. Sterling’s. On my drive there, Michelle called to discuss the offer she was writing up for us. We’d told her our price earlier, but as we talked I told her to increase it by a little bit to position us strongly. I said I’d confirm that with Beth before we sent it in.

My visit to Dr. Sterling’s was a reschedule of my appointment from a month or so back. My normal hygienist, Paige, had been sick so they’d had to reschedule several appointments and work us in. I simply took one that fit my schedule at the time. Little did I know we’d be looking at a house on this day along with juggling a busy day in my home office.

I parked at Dr. Sterling’s right on time; however, I was a minute or two late getting inside as Michelle and I were finishing our phone call. Once inside, my hygienist for the day, Angie, greeted me at the front desk and had me come on back.

I got in the chair and told Angie to tell me all about herself. She was from Grainger County. We both graduated from high school in ‘93. She graduated from ETSU in ‘98, the same year I graduated from UTK. We noted how we were both on that five-year plan. She and her husband don’t have any kids or pets, and they love to travel and go on adventures.

I mentioned that my wife and I had looked at a house that morning, and we were going to put in an offer. Angie said that Heather, one of the part-time/substitute hygienists in their office had been in yesterday. Heather had remarked to Angie how intense the current housing market is. She said making an offer on a house felt like going to auction. She also mentioned their Realtor® had encouraged them to write a letter to submit with their offer. Angie then encouraged me to do the same. I thought that sounded like a good idea.

Around this time, Jennifer, another hygienist and high school friend of Beth, poked her head in. “Where was the house?” she asked. 

“Oh, it was off of South Peters,” I said. “Just up from where Baker Peters Jazz Club is. I think the neighborhood is off of George Williams Road, Braddock Place or something like that.”

Jennifer tilted her head slightly and considered that for a second. “That’s where Heather’s house is. It was going on the market this morning.”

Angie asked, “Did you see any pictures in the house? What did they look like?”

I recalled seeing the couple. “Is Heather blond?”

“Yes!” said Angie.

“Do they have a Tesla?” I asked. 

Jennifer said “Yes, Heather drives a Tesla.” 

I said “I think the house is like [...] Drive.” 

Jennifer went over to the front desk. She came back saying, “Yes! That’s her house, that’s the address on her check that’s going out today.”

Angie said, “So, you’re gonna write that letter now aren’t ya!?” I heartily agreed. 

Before driving home I texted Beth that she wasn’t going to believe what had just happened at Dr. Sterlings.

Back home I called Michelle to tell her to hold our offer so I could write a letter. I recounted the scene from the dentist’s office. She said, “Oh yes, you should hand write that letter, scan it, and send it to me.”

I ended up getting my letter to Michelle around a quarter till five. She texted us back saying, “Great letter! I was getting ready to sell you my house after reading it. 😂” She got our offer submitted around a quarter after five. Given the circumstances, our letter, and our offer we felt like we’d put our best foot forward, but you just never know in this market. Our wait ensued.

Returning to today: Our Friday proceeded normally except for Beth having a sore throat and feeling like she had a bad cold. I helped Lydia get breakfast. Ella and Paige got themselves ready for a day of homeschool. Beth was able to get out of bed and help them with their lessons. Meanwhile I had a busy day upstairs in the office.

At 10:28 this morning, Michelle texted saying, “There is only one other offer on the table besides ours. The listing agent is accepting offers until 2pm today and has asked us to extend our offer time by 7pm this evening. She’s also asked if we’d like to adjust our offer or leave things as they are.” Beth and I debated over that one. Was that a hint that the other offer was better than ours? Or was the agent saying the same thing to the other bidders because ours was better, and she was just extending us the courtesy of raising ours? Beth and I wrestled with this for a while. Eventually, we decided to hold firm with our original offer. We had made what we thought was a solid offer, and we were content to “let the chips fall where they may”. We’re not ones to get into a bidding war over a house, and we would be fine either way.

Of course, you know the “rest of the story”. Michelle actually called me when I was out to pick up pizza. Given that she was calling and not texting, I figured she had good news. She asked if I was with Beth, and I said no, and don’t tell me anything, but Beth and I would call her back in 30 minutes. I ended up calling Beth expressly and then adding Michelle to the call. Michelle told us we got the house, and the homeowners said our letter sealed the deal. After reading it, they saw God’s hand in it all. We were so excited. Beth held off telling the girls until I got back home. 

We shared the news while we ate dinner. Before Beth and I said anything, Paige said she was looking forward to finding out by seven o’clock. I had my iPhone voice recording going. I said that sometimes we get to find out sooner. Then we told them we got the house. They were so excited. I think they were ready to move immediately.