Well, we’ve made it.

We got our very first counter offer.

After more than a year of searching and putting offers in (not fervently, but earnestly indeed), Sohrab and I have finally received our first counter offer – on a condo in Canyon Country. This past Tuesday, December 17, we went with our agent, Jamal, to see a few places in the area. We saw five places and then decided to stop for the day when we couldn’t find parking for one of the condos anywhere except for in a nearby liquor store parking lot.

Dealbreaker.

What can I say? We dig safety.

It turns out that the first one we saw that day, a one-story 3 BR 2 BA unit boasting 1001 square feet and a tandem garage, was the one that captured our hearts. We decided right there in the liquor store parking lot as we convened the day’s showings that we would place an offer on the first home (which, conveniently, had ample parking in far less creepy areas). It was written up that evening, and sent off to the seller.

Well, the next day (now yesterday), Sohrab and I started our epic 2-week journey of housesitting for our good friends for the holidays. So here we are, living together in a neat little apartment in Studio City for a couple weeks. How fitting that we should finally receive a counter offer today.

Fitting, I say. But not expected.

It’s very exciting, honestly. Terrifyingly so. If we decide to accept the counter offer, which happens to be directly in the middle between our offer and the list price, then we’ll go into escrow on Monday. We have until Saturday at 5pm to make a decision. So what do we do? Do we respond with another counter offer, a mere $2000 under what they gave us? In the long run, that’s not much. It won’t affect our monthly payments significantly. However, if we’re considering the cost of moving into a place, $2000 can go a long way. So we have a decision to make.

We’ll be going back to the condo tomorrow morning with both sets of parents to give them an idea of where we’d be, and what we’d like to do. That will give us another chance to look around the condo and to fill everyone in. Then it’s decision time.

So I’ll be back tomorrow, ready to report on what’s next. Do we counter their counter offer, or do we accept it? Only time will tell.