Real estate agents often ask buyers to make a list of must-have features, would-like-to-have items and those elements they know they can live without in their next home. Emilie and Erick Rekstad didn’t need any prodding; they’ve been working on their list for years.
So when the Northern Virginia couple decided it was time to move from their Shirlington condo to a bigger house, they went into the process with a shopping list of 11 things that would drive their search.
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The Rekstads, in fact, had started their list right after buying their condominium in 2005. They liked the condo but not some aspects of condo life — such as having a small backyard with neighbors that tower over them. The addition of baby Elliott to the family in 2009 gave the house search another push forward.
The couple’s list contains reasonable expectations common to most buyers, such as a location that makes for a sane commute, a large family room for big family gatherings, a kitchen and baths that are livable even if they need some updating, three bedrooms, hardwoods, storage space, a fenced back yard, privacy from neighbors, a deck or patio, driveway and a garage.
It does not seem like it would be tough to find such a property in their $500,000 to $600,000 price range. But because the Rekstads are looking in close-in suburbs like Arlington and Falls Church — where homes are often older, smaller and pricier — progress has been slow.
Erick said the couple started looking online about a year ago, in what he called a casual effort, because “prices were down and it might be a good time to buy.”
When they looked at homes they could afford, however, they found the square footage just about equal to their condo so “it seemed like a bad idea to spend all this money to have four independent walls,” he said.
About four months ago, however, the Rekstads’ efforts went from casual to serious when Emilie’s father, real estate agent Don Weaver, joined the hunt. Weaver came up with 20 homes in their price range in their desired areas. The Rekstads visited 10 but had no luck. Lack of a garage and large family room were the most common problems, the couple said.
“When we left those houses, we would wonder why we wasted our time going to look,” Erick said.
When they did find a house that met most of their requirements, it sold before they could decide whether to make an offer.
The couple’s experience has been a reflection of the real estate market in the D.C. area, Weaver said. “This is the most unusual market I’ve even seen in my 30 years in real estate. I’ve been through recessions, but people are nervous because we have economic conditions that might be unstable,” he said.
The Rekstads stuck to their list, however, finally finding a house in Falls Church in their price range that had every feature they wanted.
“That house is the first one we looked at and came out saying, ‘Wow, we need to sell our condo and do whatever it takes to get this house,’ ” Erick said.
Emilie said they did not talk to each other as they walked through the house, because they were “in shock” that they found one so right for them. As soon as they got in their car, Emilie recalled saying, “‘I want that house.’ ”
Again, though, the competitive market intervened. An offer was made on the property before the Rekstads could move on it. But they hold out hope the contract will fall through because the home needs work, which may put off the current bidder. In the meantime, they continue to look for that one house that has it all.
