When one door closes another one opens. It's true, and it's a big deal!
My daughter is leaving the nest! She has purchased her own 975 square feet of bliss. It sits on the fifth floor of a luxury high rise in downtown San Jose. Who would've thought?
When we started the process of booting our daughter out (no, I'm just kidding) we didn't even think of the newer downtown properties. We know the "sky's the limit," but being realists we knew those were untouchable.
The adage of being in the right place at the right time was never truer. In today's marketplace, real estate is going like hotcakes. There usually will be one open house, multiple offers within days, and then the place will be listed as "Pending, Do Not Show!"
So being a "Type A," I looked at the multiple listings multiple times each day. My hope was to find a listing as soon as it popped up and be at the door first for the open house. Jackie and I looked at more than 20 places and made two offers. We were lucky. My niece had to go through 11 offers before her 12th offer was accepted on her first home. What helped Jackie a bit was that living in a downtown high rise is a "niche" habitat. It's not for everyone. I hate to think what looking for a single family home would have been like. Looking at condos and townhomes was so competitive.
We started our search looking for a two bedroom, two bath mecca in her price range. This meant we had selective pickings. I also printed out some two bedroom, one bath properties, but Jackie was pretty adamant that she wanted that second bathroom. The thought was to find something that she could afford on her own, but always have the possibility of a roommate helping pay the mortgage.
It was a great idea, but reality was not playing our cards. There was so few places that appealed to her. Jackie did place an offer on one two-bedroom, two bath place that fit her wish list. She wanted the second bedroom to be big enough for a roommate, along with a pool, a gym, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, a good neighborhood closer to her work, updated bathrooms, affordable HOA fees......
It was a pretty comprehensive list, but I'm happy to report that she met and exceeded her expectations. But, it almost didn't happen.
On a whim one day, I typed "1 bedroom, 1 bath" into the multiple listing service. Imagine my surprise when the luxury downtown high rise came up. I never thought she could afford one of those places. The list price was within her reach, but I knew it was low and the actual sales price would be much higher. Just for kicks and giggles, I told Jackie we should go check out the open house. We went Saturday and then again on Sunday. We even checked out some new units still for sale in the place. Using our investigative reporter instincts, we found out some information that helped her realtor draft a good offer. She was not the highest dollar offer, but she had terms that set her apart.
The AXIS is her new home and has many luxury amenities. It has 24 hour security with underground parking (mom is so happy about that) and a concierge. It has a beautiful lap pool with two spas and a cabana area. It has a great gym and is within walking distance to many of the fine spots in downtown. It is literally across the street from where we park to go to Sharks games. She will also be close to San Pedro Square and the downtown night life. The Old Spaghetti Factory is close by and may become the "cheap" place to eat on her new budget.
None of this would have been possible without the monetary support of Grandma Caroline. After she passed, we sold her townhouse for a nice profit. As fate would have it, we didn't invest the money. It just sat in our bank account earning pennies on the dollar, but that worked to our advantage, as we could make Jackie's offer a "Cash offer" and help her stand out from others. She will refinance and then we will be paid back. It's fitting that this new place has a den with a bright red wall. Caroline's favorite color was red and Jackie took some of her modern art (it wasn't really anyone else's style) and she will display them in the den. So grandma will have her little corner in Jackie's world!
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| Red wall will be a tribute to Grandma Caroline. |
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| Aerial view of the pool area |
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| Gym |
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| Cabana |
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| Beautiful kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances. |
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| Floor to ceiling windows will let in natural light and give Jackie views of downtown |
The pictures show the seller's possessions. It will be fun for Jackie to take her good friend, Monica, on trips to IKEA. She is already planning out her dream condo.
Come mid-November, Jackie will be walking out our door and into the world of budgets, mortgages, HOA fees, insurance, property taxes....
One door will close and another will open!
Sylvia
