As a realtor I see people handle their home purchase in many different ways. One home buying tip I would like to share with you today is the following story of three home buyers.

I have a home listing in the country about five miles from town off by itself on just under two acres with trees and hills in the distance from the front deck and open space and the lake in the distance from the back deck. This is a nice home with just under twenty-two hundred square feet in nice condition. It is just about the only home close to town but out by itself on the the market now. Grove does have a moderate supply of homes in the same price range, $170,000 but the others are in subdivisions. My listing has been on the market for about seven months and had on average two to three lookers per week even during winter. I have not had any offers during this time for some reason. Everyone likes the home, thinks is priced all right, and no one has offered any negative thoughts to home. Several have wanted home, but had to sell their home somewhere else first.

Thursday of this week, a realtor in our office brought me an offer on this home. It was way too low, but at least an offer. The same day, another realtor in town showed the home to a lady getting ready to move to Grove with her husband from Nevada. The husband went fishing while the wife went house shopping. She liked this house I am writing about and went to show her husband the outside that evening. I told the realtor from the other firm that I had an offer on the home but it was not yet acceptable but we were working on it. I also told the realtor in my office that I had some serious lookers the same day but no offer yet.

Thursday night the first couple who made the low offer woke up that maybe somebody else might out bid them and get the home they wanted but were bidding under the market on. They called their realtor and upped their price. He in turn, called me and relayed the new price. A quick call to my sellers and we turned down the new offer as too low. Within an hour and four phone calls the buyers raised their bid to an acceptable level and we had a deal. It was late by this time so we said we would fax contract first thing in the morning to confirm contract.

The next morning we started the process, but before completed the second couple had their realtor call me to get the husband to see inside the home. I told him to go ahead but that most likely it would only be a back up offer to a verbal deal we made the night before and were in process of signing up. He rushed to his people and got them to make an offer in writing which came in just as the oral offer got to me in writing. Both offers were were similiar with different language on some of the sale terms. My seller said he was going to honor the first oral contract and did by promptly signing their contract. The second offer he countered by saying he would honor it as a backup to first should it fall through. It should not fail as it is a cash offer.

Later yesterday, another realtor called and said he was putting an offer together on this same home. I told him it had just went under contract.

Now to the point. The first people who got the home had been looking at it for about five weeks but had not taken any action to buy. The Nevada couple need a home but the husband put fishing first. The third couple had looked at the home five weeks earlier. The point is "if you need a home, take time to find the one you want, fits your budget, and is in good condition." However do not tarry or procrasinate because you can lose as couple two and three did in this home transaction. Look till sure, but in a timely manner act.

Grove has two couples looking for a home that just is not on the market as they want today. One had the time to get their dream home under contract but fiddled around till gone.

Grove and the Grand Lake area has some nice homes on the market today but if you are very specific abut the home you want you may not have an abundance of choices. When you find the home, act on it before it is gone.

Check my web sites below for Grove, Monkey Island, Ketchum, Points, Coves, Langley, South Grand Lake, and Jay or Zena area listing. My Re/Max site and my personal site both have multi-list home searches as well as featured listings.

How will you go after your next home? Just my thought of today.