A young Washington couple learned all about competitive negotiations when their low-ball offer didn’t result in a signed contract in a competitive condo market.
On their way back from Bethany Beach on a Sunday evening in June, Timothy Fox and his girlfriend, Charlotte Fouch, got a message from their real estate agent that a one-bedroom condo had gone on the market just a few days before.
They had been waiting since April for one of the 20 contemporary-style end-units in the Apolline off Dupont Circle to go on market. Timothy owned a studio in this building located at 1330 New Hampshire.
“We pulled over to look at the pictures,” Fox said. “It was exactly what we wanted — a corner unit facing Dupont. We needed a bigger space and we needed to move fast.”
The one-bedroom allowed the young couple to increase from 500 to 783 square feet.
“You don’t think 283 square feet is a lot,” Fox said. “But it is. We felt like we’d struck gold. It’s the best location in the city.”
They agreed with their agent, Courtney Abrams of Evers & Company, to see it on Monday morning. It was difficult to find comps for the unit because of its amenities, such as a gourmet kitchen and Bulgarian limestone floors throughout.
They loved it but wrote a conservative offer Monday night that was about $20,000 below the asking price of $435,000.
On Tuesday morning, they learned there were two other offers on the way.
“I suggested that they redo the offer and include a cap,” said Abrams. “I knew there were a lot of people circling.”
After a flurry of emails and texts, Timothy and Charlotte met at the Farragut North station during lunchtime to discuss what to do.
“I was firm in my thinking to low-ball it,” said Fox who works in financial services. “I’m very conservative with my money. But I also knew there was a solid chance that we were not going to get it. I knew we faced fierce competition from inside the building and out. We were panicking.”
Charlotte convinced Fox to reconsider. They submitted another offer with an escalation clause over the asking price by $10,000 and made other concessions. They shortened the appraisal and financing contingencies from 21 days to 14 and waved the inspection.
Then they waited.
“I was being pretty persistent for an answer,” Abrams said. “We didn’t hear anything on Tuesday night and Timothy and Charlotte were nervous.”
It was the first time the couple had bought something together and the agent was trying to calm them down.
“On Wednesday, the seller’s agent said they wanted to work with us and countered at full price,” said Abrams. We accepted.”
Abrams believes that if her clients had countered again they might not have gotten the condo.
“All of the offers were pretty similar,” she said. “I think it came down to the contingencies. Inventory is low and there are a lot of buyers. It all depends on how much you want a place.”
The apartment sold in five days.
“We were very close to not getting it,” said Timothy Fox. “I was a wreck.”
