The Wenzel family kept looking after a squishy floor stopped one offer. They ultimately landed on this rancher. (Photo by Jay Paul)
Jeremy Wenzel, a first-time buyer, has been through the wringer. He and his partner, Emily Lord, put down 10 or 11 bids — he’s not sure how many — that were turned down. They turned up at open houses with dozens of other people and submitted offers through their real-estate agent, James Cline of Small and Associates.
“We were focused on Mechanicsville, and we were looking for good schools,” Wenzel says. “We just kept looking in North Chesterfield, Mechanicsville and Glen Allen.” Time after time, they would put in a bid — once $7,000 more than the asking price — and get a counteroffer, an outright rejection or dead silence. One house in Mechanicsville had a “squishy” kitchen floor, Wenzel says, and the owners put a condition on their accepting an offer: no home inspection.
The couple drew the line there, based on a squishy feeling in Wenzel’s gut.
“I was given advice that it’s fun to look at the houses and look at the layouts and all that,” he says. “It was at first. Man, there is nothing fun about this.”
The couple’s luck finally turned, and their offer on a three-bedroom rancher in northern Chesterfield was accepted in April. The inspection went fine, and now they face a countdown to closing. The house will work well for their family, and it’s next to Wenzel’s mother’s neighborhood.
His advice to new home buyers: Stay focused. “You’ve got to stop yourself and look at your wants and don’t settle. Keep searching.”
Heating Up
These neighborhoods are expected to appreciate the most in the Richmond region* in 2017, according to Zillow.
- Cottrell Farms
- Chimborazo
- Broad Rock
- Brookland Park
- Rosedale
- Union Hill
- Fulton
- Northern Barton Heights
- Carytown
- Woodhaven
*Includes Chesterfield, Henrico, Richmond, Hanover, Caroline, Goochland and New Kent
