The Comfort Zone

A couple walked into my office a year ago and wanted to talk to a Realtor.  Yeah me!  We sat down in my office to discuss what they were looking for, in terms of location, size, price, timeline, etc.  As we talked, I also discovered they like to bike, camp, hike and garden.  Excellent information to have when looking for a new house.

As the discussion continued, I also tried to get a feel for their motivation for moving.  I learned they were living in rural Dodgeville on 30+ acres in a home that they had built.  They had some sentimental roots.  How were we ever going to find a place that had the home qualities they desired with the feeling of “space” that their rural property provided them?  A tall order! 

Something else was evident.  The wife was more excited about moving to Madison than the husband.  He was reserved and reluctant; perhaps he wasn’t fully committed to moving.  The husband loved his acreage!

We agreed to stay in touch and move forward.  We identified a search area on the near west side of Madison and began looking.  We looked at older homes and a few newer houses.  We looked at ranches, two-stories and even a few contemporary styles.  Winter came and the search slowed.  Last spring as the market began to gear up, we resumed the hunt.  And we expanded our area to include Fitchburg.  The husband also began to relish the idea of moving to Madison.

In the meantime, they readied their rural house for sale.  Late last spring they called in a bit of a panic.  Their house in rural Dodgeville had an accepted offer; time to intensify our efforts.  Fairly quickly we landed on a house in Fitchburg.  It was a very nice ranch home, close to the bike path.  It afforded some privacy and was in close proximity to nice restaurants and some shopping.  They liked it!  But the yard was tiny!  What??  From 30+ acres to less than a ¼ acre lot; actually, yes!

We prepared an offer.  There were counter-offers.  We inspected.  There were amendments.  We had a closing date.  Storage units were ordered.  Boxes were packed and packed and packed.  Their house out of town closed.  They were homeless for 10 days, but took the time to take a nice camping trip to relax before the next move to their new house. 

My clients moved into their new home late last summer.  They are as happy as can be.  While the yard is small, it provides plenty of space for planting perennials and annuals, trees and shrubs.  They are close to bike and hiking trails.  And they still camp. 

Some transactions happen quickly.  Others take more time to find the right property so that everyone is comfortable and on the same page; where all involved can get into their comfort zone.  Perhaps you know someone who wants to move (but maybe doesn’t know it yet).  Have them give me a call at 608.333.4406.  As always, I’m happy to help!