In a little over a week my search for a home raced from slow motion to fast forward. I intended to approach the process methodically and thoroughly research each step. Contrary to my plan however, the opportunity to buy presented itself and I was not going to deny it in favor of process. My fast forward started when I elected to trust my instinct and make an offer on the two bedroom, lender owned townhouse I’d discovered in Aurora.

I resolved to offer the seller $11,000 below listing price to make up for the cosmetic work needed on the home.

The seller countered my original offer leaving me to decide whether I would counter back or walk away from the opportunity. In a rare display of confidence and rapid decision making I countered their offer determined to reach a purchase price on my own terms, not theirs. My offer was much lower than suggested by my agent, and friends and family expressed concern that it may be too low for them to accept. “Look at the market,” I reminded myself. “The ball is in my court and buying a home is something I WANT to do, it would be different if I was motivated by necessity.”

The next day I waited anxiously for my agent to call with a response to my counter offer. Each ring of my phone brought chills to my body reminding me about the leap I was potentially about to make. Luckily, my day was packed with meetings and student consultations so I was forced to focus on people rather than my phone. Before I slipped into my final meeting of the day I got the phone call. Embarrassingly enough, I was too nervous to answer. I let my voicemail pick it up and immediately listened to the message that followed.

When I worked up the courage to call my agent back I was pleasantly surprised. “Congratulations Renise, they took your offer as is. You got it at the price you wanted and they agreed to pay your closing costs and help with the down payment.”

Now I’m normally not the type to show a lot of excitement, but how could I not go crazy over news like this? Luckily I was outside by myself so my shouts didn’t scare anyone away. I still refused to get overly attached to the place because the process was far from over, but I definitely relished in the moment. I called my Mom and my Best to share the good news before hunkering down to finish up the day.

That night I went home psyched about trusting my instinct and grateful that it just saved me thousands of dollars. For a woman who frequently doubts my gut, it was exhilarating to acknowledge that this time it did a great job breaking me away from my slow and cautious approach to finding a place to live and set me on the fast track to homeownership. Sometimes taking a leap of faith is well worth the risk.

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