Agent Lady team member Brittany Loeffler writes about the reality of buying a home in Philadelphia through a series of short stories.
You Can’t Get Everything Online
Planning a wedding on top of buying a first home was a lot to handle for recently engaged Peter and Laura. The proposal was well thought-through and romantic, which is exactly what you would expect from Peter. Laura was wide-eyed and surprised, which is exactly how you would expect Laura to look when the love of her life was on one knee presenting a beautiful ring and the opportunity to be together forever. Two months later, Laura found out she was pregnant, which pushed the couple to seriously consider buying a home instead of staying in their one bedroom apartment in Fishtown. One might say Peter and Laura had a whirlwind of things going on right now, but they loved every minute of it.
Laura sat on the couch munching on potato chips while Peter flipped through yet another pregnancy book. “You know, you should really be eating fresh food like fruits and vegetables,” he said as he flipped a page.
“Didn’t your mother ever warn you not to criticize a pregnant woman’s food?” Laura said with a smile as she handed Peter a chip.
“Just looking out for you and our little lovebug.” He took the chip and popped it in his mouth. Laura threw a chip at Peter giggling as he ate it.
The timer went off, signaling the casserole Laura put together after work, was done. She pulled herself up from the couch to take it out of the oven. As she passed the bulletin board hanging up, she noticed the date on the calendar. Their lease was up in just two weeks and their home inspection had a called for a few minor things to be fixed, such as the electric wiring in the kitchen. The sellers insisted that they wanted to fix it themselves before Peter and Laura moved in, instead of giving them seller credit. Laura stayed true to her worrisome nature and was starting to get nervous that the sellers wouldn’t fix the wiring of the beautiful three-bedroom South Philly home they had fallen in love with. Their real estate agent, Cherise who was known as “The Agent Lady” in the Philadelphia area, had assured them that sellers want to fix the house themselves sometimes and Paul and Laura will schedule a reinspect of the house to be sure all problems were fixed.
Settlement was approaching quickly and Laura was getting anxious. The mortgage lender that Peter had found online wouldn’t return their calls; only email them late into the night apologizing for missing their calls. Peter had faith in that John would come through with their mortgage commitment in time for settlement. He trusted online reviews like he would trust a doctor with his life. Laura wasn’t so sure; Cherise had already had to ask for an extension on the mortgage commitment date.
Peter would rub her shoulders and reassure her that everything was going to be fine. Laura had to admit to herself that she was always one to worry about the little things, but this felt different. Buying their first home was nerve wracking, especially since it was their first time. Laura felt lost at some points, but was able to call or email Cherise with any questions she had, which made her feel better. She still had a lingering feeling that something wouldn’t work out. There were so many moving parts and waiting on other people.
The two sat down for dinner and talked about how great it will be to live in South Philly. Peter was most excited to be around some families and get out of Fishtown, which was crawling with recently graduated college students. Laura was most excited for the massive space she would have to decorate and close out their storage unit.
Cherise had called Peter and Laura one evening to ask get an update on their lender. “We haven’t heard from him in days!” Laura yelled to Cherise over the speakerphone. Peter sat with his head in his hands.
“If you’d like to switch, it’s not too late. I know plenty of reliable mortgage lenders that would be happy to take you on. Just say the word and I’ll forward you their contact information,” Cherise offered kindly.
“Yes!”
“No, it’s okay, Cherise,” Peter interrupted his wife. He glared at her and shook his head. His pride was too fragile to admit that he was wrong in picking a lender off of the Internet without any references or recommendations.
“If you insist,” Cherise said with a sigh. “Unfortunately, I won’t be able to help you with this lender. Since we don’t already have a relationship, he doesn’t want to talk to me. He would rather communicate with the two of you.” Laura shook her head and walked out of the room, frustrated. Why couldn’t her husband just admit he was wrong? Peter said goodbye to Cherise and let his wife be alone for a little while.
“What do you mean we can’t stay here?” Laura exclaimed as she stood in the middle of the room staring at Peter sitting on the couch.
“Our lease is up, the landlord needs us out.”
“But we just had to move our settlement back because your lender can’t meet deadlines!” Laura’s face was flushed and she felt like throwing something. “Where are we going to go? Where will be put our things?”
“I’ll call Dean and Sarah, I’m sure they will let us stay there until we can move into the house. We can move our stuff into our storage unit. We have enough space.” It wasn’t the most ideal situation the couple wanted to be in, but they had to deal with it the best they could.
Dean answered the door as Peter and struggled with their suitcases. “Petey! Laura! You both look fantastic! How are you doing?” He ushered them into the house, helping Pete with the suitcases.
“We could be better,” Peter said with a sigh.
“Thank you so much for letting us stay with you until this is all figured out, though,” Laura said graciously. Sarah walked into the foyer and gave her new guests hugs.
“It’s our pleasure, really! Please, come in and make yourselves at home.”
They walked through a small foyer and into their kitchen-living room combo. It was a small apartment, only two bedrooms and a bathroom. Since Dean and Sarah were rarely home due to their travels, it worked for them. Would it work for four people though? Peter and Laura would find out soon enough.
They opened a bottle of wine, while Laura sipped on some seltzer, and discussed the wedding and the issues with their soon-to-be new home. “It’s perfect, really. If only people could get their act together!” Laura snapped.
“It may not be solely the lender’s fault though,” Sarah suggested with a shrug. “There are many moving parts when it comes to buying or selling a home. There are a lot of people involved. I know it’s frustrating right now, but in the end it’ll all work out!”
“We had some problems that held us back for a couple of weeks when buying this place,” Dean said as he spread his arms wide, presenting the apartment.
“I know it’ll work out. You’re right; it’s just frustrating and utterly inconvenient. Do you know how difficult it is to pick which clothing you should put in storage and what you should pack?” Laura said throwing her hands in the air. Sarah nodded, understanding.
“We should only be here about a week and a half though, hopefully we won’t be too much of a burden,” Peter promised.
Three days passed and Laura and Peter were counting down the days until their settlement date. It hadn’t been easy living with Dean and Sarah. They realized that you really don’t know someone until you’ve lived with them. The dishes were always left dirty in the sink and their dog left balls of hair everywhere. They would stay up until three in the morning planning their next two-month long trip. Peter and Laura loved their friends, but they couldn’t wait to get out and live in their house.
Cherise stopped by one day to have Peter and Laura sign some papers. She usually sent it via email to have them electrically sign, but today she decided to hand deliver and collect. Dean and Sarah were out to happy hour with some friends, so Peter and Laura had the place to themselves, finally. Peter opened the door to let Cherise in. She had her red briefcase with her and was dressed professionally, as always. “Peter, how are you?”
“Hanging in there. How are you?”
“I’m doing well, hopefully getting you into your new home next week!” Peter crossed his fingers and smiled. Laura was sitting on the couch reading a magazine when Cherise came in. She jumped up and gave the Agent Lady a hug.
“I’m so glad to see you!” Laura exclaimed. “Can you give us an update on the house?”
“It’s good see you too, Laura. Ooh, look at you! Being pregnant really does give you that glow people always talk about.” Laura blushed as they moved over to the granite countertop in the kitchen.
Laura poured Cherise a cup of tea and they sat and talked about what settlement will be like. “Rest your hands because there will be a lot of papers to sign.” She collected the addendum they had just finished signing and placed it in her briefcase.
“Ugh, I just want this to be over with already. Maybe it’s the universe saying it’s not meant to be, us owning a home.” Peter said with clenched fists.
“Or maybe, it’s the universe warning us not to find people on the Internet and trust them blindly with our finances,” Laura said with a shrug. Cherise stifled a giggle.
“I do wish we took your recommendation, by picking one of your lenders,” Peter said with a sigh.
“It’s not a problem! Maybe next time, when you decide to move and buy another home, you’ll keep this in mind. I’ve been in worse situations than yours with first time home buyers.” Cherise took a look at the time on her phone and packed her bag. Laura made sure to stand closer to Cherise, knowing that she had been right all along. “I’m sorry I have to rush out of here. I will see you next Wednesday for settlement!” The couple showed their agent out and closed the door behind her.
“I told you, you can’t trust everything that comes off the Internet,” Laura said with a shrug. Peter could only shake his head and think about how great it will be to live in a house with Laura and their new baby.
About Brittany: Brittany joined the Agent Lady team in earlier this year and helps Cherise with day-to-day tasks and writes short stories about first time home buyers. Expect to receive an email from Brittany if you decide to start your home buying or selling process with Agent Lady!
