Letter of Love of a House

Last night, alone in my friend Lynn's apartment (I was in Cambridge for work, she was on the Cape for fun), I wrote my letter of love and longing:

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Blake:

I so much would like the opportunity to buy your home. From the time in January I made the decision to return to Portland with my nine-year-old daughter, Kanha, I have been searching for exactly the right house for us – somewhere in the West End, an older building that hadn’t been shined up too brightly, not too small but not too big, with a piece of private outdoor space, and, most important, a strong sense of personality and warmth. When I walked into your home a month ago, I felt I had found exactly the right spot; since then I have been working hard to sort out all the details so that I can have a chance to buy it. To give my daughter the gift of growing up at 26 Brackett Street would in fact be a tremendous gift to me. 

The research that I have done on all these details is, unfortunately, leading me to make a very low – perhaps shockingly low – offer. Please know this is not at all a reflection of how I feel about this amazing house. However, between the advice I’ve received from my contractor who came to evaluate the property with me, my real estate agent and her colleague’s experience in selling old houses in Portland, and the things we don’t yet know about work that may need to be done, either related to necessary repairs or city requirements, I feel I have to make a low offer to protect myself financially.

On the positive side, I have already sold my home in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where we’re moving from, and have a significant down payment available in the bank. In addition, I have been pre-approved for a residential mortgage.

However, because I do need financing to purchase the property, I would have to meet the requirements of any lender related to inspections and insurance (as any other buyer would who needs financing): I would need to get inspections for the general building, air quality (to check for asbestos), and electrical (to check for knob and tube as that affects my ability to get insurance). In addition, due to the significantly less favorable terms of a commercial loan, I would be looking to get a residential loan, which would require an agreement from the city to decrease the amount of commercial space in the property to less than 25% of the house’s total square footage, a process that would require me to pay for architectural drawings and take several weeks. Finally, any questions re: the structure and designation of the building and its total number of units would have to be worked out to ensure the building accurately conforms with city code – this could also take time and involve additional expense.

I suspect this sounds a bit daunting – a lot of work would have to get accomplished for such a sale to go through. But you should know that I, in fact, am not daunted by any of it – I would consider it a labor of love to take on these details in order for the chance to live in such a special place. However, because it would indeed involve a lot of labor, my real estate agent and I thought it would be best to present this idea to you and Francine verbally to see if we could possibly come to an agreement, before I begin such a large but ultimately so rewarding endeavor.

Thank you for your consideration. I hope to have the opportunity to meet you in person soon.

With very best wishes

Marge Stockford

Nikki will present it to Francine, the sellers' real estate agent, tomorrow morning with an offer of $475K -- Nikki convinced/shamed me into not being any crazier than that.  I hope I'll be thanking her tomorrow, or maybe some other day.