It was meant to be (the love letter)

The asking price was $897K. I had learned that you didn't make an offer right at asking in this crazy Connecticut market. You had to bid over asking. The open house was on a Saturday and they were expecting "best and final" offers by Monday with a probably answer by Tuesday. Things happened super fast. I decided to bid $940K, thinking it was a decent offer, well over asking. Now remember, the kitchen and the primary bath needed an overhaul AND I wanted to open up the living room and dining room with case openings. I figured I was in for at least $200K if I also wanted to put in a small pool. Scott pointed out that other houses in the neighborhood were Zillow priced at around $1.5M so I'd be well under that all in with these costs.

I also decided on a secret weapon: a 'love letter' to the owners, telling them how much I wanted the house. Just a couple of weeks before I saw a TikTok video with the real estate maven Barbara Corcoran talking about these kind of letters sometimes make the difference in a bidding war, they make your bid stand out from all the others. I thought 'what the hell, can't hurt and it could help', so I wrote mine and laid it on THICK. Here it is... July 31, 2023 To the Owners of 98 Dogwood Lane, Yesterday was a very special day for me. After a full year of searching for a new home I think I’ve (hopefully) found the one....your beautiful house. From the moment I spotted the listing online I fell in love with so many of the details that make it special...the Tudor style, the stonework, the carefully thought-out landscaping, small things like the oculus window in front to big things like the soaring ceiling height in the main living room. All features that I never dreamed could be found in one home but there it was! BLAME IT ON LUCY When I was a kid growing up watching endless re-runs of “I Love Lucy”, I always wanted a home in Connecticut just like the Ricardos had when they moved out of NewYork. There was something about a lovely home amid tall trees and grass in a locale with real history that really spoke to this city kid. THE ARCHITECTURAL CHERRY ON TOP My minor way back in my college days was architectural history. So imagine my surprise to find that your home has such a famous pedigree in it’s designer. I am familar with Gustav Steinbeck’s work and it would be a complete honor to actually own such a fine example of his work, truly amazing. PRESERVATION IS MY MIDDLE NAME If I were lucky enough to own this home I would treasure it’s design and do everything to maintain it’s architectural integrity.Any upgrades would stay true to the historic feeling... why tamper with success? I BELIEVE IN SIGNS One of the first things that drew me to my current home was the sprawling dogwood tree right in front, I look forward to those white blooms every Spring. And now I find a house to purchase on DOGWOOD LANE...kismet? karma? divine intervention? whatever it is,The Universe could be imparting something here... So please know as you review my bid that I honestly LOVE this house and am convinced that I could spend many happy years there. I promise to be good custodian to it’s many wonderful charms, rest assured that the home would be in very caring hands. THANK YOU & sincerely, Ron Castillo I found out that Monday from my broker Marc that I didn't get it. I was the third highest bid. Bummer. I sighed a big sigh and thought "oh well". The selling broker told Marc that my love letter almost made the sellers go with me, but not quite, NATCH (money wins out every time). After another day of thinking I texted Marc and told him that I was pulling the plug on this house search, at least in these 'shoreline' towns. It was out of my price range, the process was too cumbersome, I was tired of it. I was done. Cut to one week later. Marc texted me to say that "the first two buyers have back out, Dogwood is yours if you want it". Apparentlyt the highest bidder, a woman, had "too much going on right now" and backed out of the deal. The second highest bidders had already found another place. That left me. In times like this I believe in signs. The Universe was telling me I should have this house. So I took it. And just like that it was mine. Of course I think it was the love letter that did the trick! LOL But first I needed to do the house inspection. Marc reco'd a company called Pillar to Post. They were not cheap. To do the most thorough inspection they offered was TWO GRAND. Ugh. But I figured this had to be done right so I swallowed and went for it.

We drove out the day of the inspection and met one of Marc's co-worker who was covering for him, Sue. Marc was on vacation in Europe. Sue was a dotty British woman who was quick with her opinions. She reminded me a lot of the character Aunt Clara from the old 60's sitcom "Bewitched". We were there for over 3 hours. In the end we found out that the well pump was old and needed to be replaced. There were also some leaks in some basement crawlspace pipes due to a low window that needed better drainage. I told Marc to go back at the sellers with a revised bid taking $11,500K off the initial offer. They countered at $10K and I accepted. Marc gave me the name of a local attorney who handled all the paperwork for me. His name was Jim Miller. A very nice man who was quick to let me know that he was legally blind. I never met him in person but I enjoyed every conversation I had with him, he had a genuine friendly personality. The closing came and went in a flash. It was all handled by the lawyers by FedEx. Scott met Marc that morning at the house for the final walk-thru. All was well and shortly after that the house was mine on September 7th.