Two Offers Lost, One Second Chance: How My First-Time Buyers Landed Their Crestview Home for Less (Plus a New Roof and Full Plumbing Replacement)
Some deals teach you that losing the first offer isn't the setback it feels like in the moment. This one was a perfect example.
I met this couple through Zillow — a young couple looking for their first home in Austin. We hit it off immediately, and from our very first conversation I could tell they were going to be a joy to work with. Patient. Trusting. Ready to do the work it actually takes to win in this market.
It still took two tries. And the way this deal came full circle is one of my favorite negotiation stories from this year.
Two Offers, Two Losses
We wrote offers on two different homes and lost both. That's never fun to go through with a client, especially first-time buyers who are already nervous about the process.
But I'll tell you what I tell every buyer in that moment: losing an offer doesn't mean you did something wrong. Sometimes it just means the timing or the numbers didn't line up — and the right house is still ahead of you.
What we didn't know at the time was that the right house was actually one of the two we'd already made an offer on.
The Second House Came Back Around
A few weeks after we lost out on the second home, the winning buyers' contract fell through during their own option period. That home was suddenly back on the market — and we were ready.
We moved fast, and we came back to the table with more than just another offer.
Because the previous contract had already terminated once, there was room to renegotiate. And this time, we had leverage the first go-around didn't give us. We used every bit of it.
Turning the Second Chance Into Real Savings
Here's the part I'm most proud of.
We didn't just get the home the second time around. We got it for less than our original offer — and we secured a substantial seller credit covering:
A brand new roof
A full cast iron plumbing replacement
That is not a small thing. Roofing and plumbing are two of the most expensive systems in any home, and getting both addressed through seller credits — while also lowering the purchase price from where we'd started — meant my buyers walked into their first home without a five-figure repair list hanging over their heads.
That's the kind of negotiation that changes someone's first year of homeownership.
The Neighborhood That Fit Their Life
The home itself sits in Crestview — one of my favorite Austin neighborhoods to send buyers to. It's close to downtown without feeling like it, with the kind of walkability that makes weekday evenings easy.
They're a short walk from Little Deli and from Violet Crown Wine Bar — the neighborhood's go-to coffee-and-wine spot that somehow works just as well for a Tuesday morning coffee as it does for a Friday glass of wine.
For a young couple just starting out, that combination — character, location, and a home that didn't need immediate repairs out of pocket — is exactly what we were after from day one.
What I Want First-Time Buyers to Take From This
If you're in the middle of a search right now and you've already lost an offer or two, I understand how discouraging that feels. But this deal is proof that persistence pays off, and that sometimes the home that falls through for someone else is the one that was always meant to be yours — often on better terms than you started with.
Two losses. One second chance. A lower price than we'd originally offered. A new roof. A full plumbing replacement. And two first-time homeowners in a neighborhood they love.
Congratulations to two wonderful clients who are now homeowners in Crestview. I had a great time fighting for this one with you. 💛
If you're thinking about buying in Austin and want an honest read on what to expect in today's market, I'd love to talk it through. Book a call or reach out anytime.