D.C. area home buyers get creative in return of bidding wars

One home he was interested in sold four hours after it came on the market. He never even got a chance to put a contract on it. When he heard about a fixer-upper in Eckington, a neighborhood in Northeast Washington, he and his real estate agent, Tim Barley, moved quickly. But despite the $50,000 escalation clause in his contract, Bennett lost out to an investor who paid cash.

“I feel like I’m at speed dating with an engagement ring,” Bennett said. “As somebody who wants to put some sweat equity into a home, it’s frustrating knowing you have to compete against people who can put cash offers up for the same property.”

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Jenny Hughes, the listing agent for the Eckington house, said she felt bad that Bennett lost out.

“What breaks my heart is there are homeowners who are making offers on these places, too, that want to take out loans. They’re not getting the houses,” Hughes said. “It’s all about the cash. The seller doesn’t want to have to live through a financing.”

Hughes said she had 19 offers on the Eckington property, which listed for $250,000 and sold for more than $300,000. She had another property on Capitol Hill that drew more than 30 offers. “It was like the cast of ‘Ben-Hur’ came out,” she said. “What I find interesting is how many people in D.C. have so much cash. . . . The D.C. market is just so hot. There are so many investors with so much cash.”

Worthington has followed the Washington market closely for almost 30 years. She says this is the best time to get value in the marketplace.

“Investors know that this is a great time to buy and that the market is going up,” Worthington said. “We’re past the bottom of the market pricing cycle. I’ve been through three dips before. We’re past the bottom of it. There’s no doubt about that.”

Reuter and Skellchock also experienced frustration as they tried to buy their first home. For the first house they put an offer on, they spent $1,500 on an inspection that revealed too many problems for them to go ahead with the purchase. After that, they gave up looking for a while.

“We can’t just waste a thousand dollars every time we like a house,” Reuter said.

Even though they had suspended their active search, Reuter kept looking on Redfin’s Web site. When the ranch-style home in Gaithersburg came on the market, she persuaded Skellchock to go look at it.

“We went there, and we’re like, ‘This house is awesome,’ ” Reuter said. The sellers “seemed like they were kind of joking. ‘You can have Buddy with the house, too.’ ”

Buddy seals the deal

Reuter and Skellchock had been thinking about getting another dog to keep Leo, their black snoodle (a schnauzer and poodle mix), company while they were at work. It seemed like a perfect situation. Their real estate agent, Karen Parnes, suggested they include their desire for the dog in the contract.

But first they wanted to make sure the dogs would like each other. So they made a playdate for Leo and Buddy. The dogs got along so well that they brought Leo back for another playdate during the home inspection.