Agent Lady team member Brittany Loeffler writes about the reality of buying a home in Philadelphia through a series of short stories.
Rain, Rain, Go Away
Meredith hurried to her car from the air-conditioned grocery store with two paper bags in her arms. The sky was growing unusually dark and the air was extremely thick. At any moment, large raindrops would start spattering the pavement. Fumbling with her keys to get the trunk of her sedan open, she felt the first rain drop in what felt like years.
Over the summer, there was an intense drought that left lawns brown and dry and regulations put on water usage. Sweat would soak through people’s clothes everyday as they walked in the sweltering heat, begging for rain to fall at least once.
A warm droplet landed just above Meredith’s left eyebrow. She felt it drip down into the corner of her eye as she slammed the trunk shut and rushed to get to the driver’s seat. As she pulled out of the parking lot, the clouds opened and released everything they had been holding for months onto the earth. She turned her windshield wipers on and smiled, happy that the drought was officially over.
Driving through the rain, Meredith’s cell phone range. She answered using her Bluetooth speaker and heard the voice of her husband, Jeremy, on the line. “Hi Honey, where are you?”
“Just leaving the grocery store. I’ll be home soon!” Meredith answered, yelling over the sound of the rain pounding on her windshield.
“Okay, please drive carefully. We want you here for settlement tomorrow!” How could she have forgotten about going to the settlement of their first house tomorrow?
“Of course my love. I’ll see you when I get home.” She hung up the phone and dreamed about the beautiful row home they were buying in West Philly.
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It had been months of searching for the right house with their wonderful real estate agent, Cherise Wynne, who was known as the Agent Lady in Philadelphia. In the heat, it felt like even longer. Once they found the house of their dreams, a four-bedroom corner property with a wraparound porch, Meredith and Jeremy put in an offer right away. It was the perfect balance of a quiet neighborhood in a big city. They had thought about moving to the Northeast, but decided to be closer to Center City. It was starting to feel cramped in their current apartment with their twin girls, now three years old. Tomorrow was the day they received the keys to their first home.
The rain was still coming and showed no signs of stopping when Meredith arrived at her apartment complex in Bala Cynwyd. As she walked through the door to their apartment, she closed her umbrella and set it against the wall and put down the grocery bags on the counter. Jeremy gave her a kiss and a large smile spread across his face. She could feel the excitement of buying their first home radiating from him. “Don’t forget, we have our walk through tomorrow at 9 am. Cherise is meeting us there.”
“How could I forget?” Meredith responded with a giggle as she started to prepare dinner.
The rain continued well late into the night, Meredith and Jeremy fell asleep to the sound of it surrounded by boxes full of their belongings.
It wasn’t long until their morning alarm went off and the couple got ready to meet Cherise at the house. It wasn’t too long of a drive considering it was a Friday morning and people were most likely taking off of work to celebrate the end of the drought and enjoy the cooler weather with their families.
Cherise was standing outside with the key in her hand. “Good morning!” she called from the porch. Meredith waved and took a sip of her coffee as they made their way to the front door. She could feel the excitement bubbling within her husband as they walked through the kitchen and checked out the house. They made sure the washer and dryer were still hooked up in the basement and that there was no major damage.
They walked up the steps to the second floor to check out the bedrooms to make sure the furniture had been removed. Everything looked great, until they entered the master bedroom. Along the wall they saw a dark stain running from the ceiling down to the floor. On the hardwood floor stood a small puddle of water, no doubt from the rain last night. “Oh my God,” Meredith squealed as she realized what had happened. “We have to get a whole new roof? Why didn’t the inspector see this?”
Cherise rushed over to see what was going on. Assessing the situation, she put her hand on Meredith’s shoulder and assured her that they would get some kind of credit from the sellers. “They never disclosed that the roof was leaky. I will call the listing agent right now and see what we can work out.” Cherise rushed out of the room and dialed the number of the listing agent to work out a credit for her buyers to get the roof fixed.
Jeremy wrapped Meredith in his arms and gave her a kiss on the top of her head. “It’s going to be okay. Don’t worry. Cherise will fix all of this. We aren’t going to let this stop us from buying this house, okay?” Meredith nodded and wiped away the tears.
“I guess it’s never cut and dry when dealing with real estate, is it?”
“I guess not,” Jeremy responded.
About Brittany: Brittany is the super organized (and awesome) marketing assistant that helps home buying and selling clients have the best experience possible. She also shares her creative side by writing compelling short stories about the home buying process that are loosely based on actual client situations.
