My dream to move to La Habra Heights began 3 years ago. Prior to that I didn’t know anything about “the Heights” even though we had lived in Southern California for decades. It all started with a Sunday afternoon drive roaming the hilly streets of the Heights. It took just moments for my husband and I to look at each other and say “Wow, what a great place to live”. My husband quickly pointed out that the price tags were beyond us and reminded me we already had a wonderful home located in nearby Whittier. I looked at him, nodding my head in agreement, but knew in my heart we would end up living in the Heights. It would just be a matter of time, a little bit of luck, and a very special realtor named Jan Fiore (who was unknown to me at the time) that would make my dream come true after a journey that would last 2 ½ years.
As our Sunday drive progressed we ended up spying an Open House sign off of East Rd. We headed up the hill and descended upon a house for sale. It was clearly the most beautiful piece of property that I had ever laid my eyes upon - I was smitten. As for my husband, he just chuckled and said you must be kidding me, this needs work. I didn’t hear him as I was already in the house taking a tour. Now my rational side knew there were some minor flaws to the house, however nothing that a little hard work over time couldn’t handle. As I flew from room to room and trekked the hillside exploring the property, my husband’s chuckle quickly turned to nervous laughter and panic struck his face. After the realtor (not Jan from Coldwell Banker) told us the asking price I gasped, my husband grabbed my arm and we left. I sat in the car smiling that special smile when you just know you’ve found something special. I had found my Dream Home. I looked at my husband and said “Honey, this is the one. No sense in even looking further. We have to figure out a way to get it”. He also knew there was something special about what we just found. We had just one serious major hurdle to cross – the price tag!
Keep in mind three years ago the housing market was still riding high. The bubble hadn’t yet “burst”. We began a wait and see game of watching the housing market over the next several months. That’s when the prime/sub mortgage woes began to hit the headlines. About 6 months went by and we decided to cruise by my Dream Home and see if it was still on the market. On the way into the Heights we drove past an open house listed by Coldwell Banker on West Road. We stopped and spoke with a wonderful realtor named Eileen Greene. I told her about our Dream Home and she proceeded to tell me it was listed with her and Jan Fiore. But the best was yet to come…the price had dropped!
We headed over to see our Dream Home again, as there was an open house. That’s when we had the good fortune to meet Jan Fiore. After our second tour of the home, I was more firmly convinced that this was the house for us. We talked with Jan about moving into the Heights and that this was the Dream Home we had in mind. She immediately understood how we felt and knew we were willing to wait it out, based on the housing turmoil that was impacting the economy.
Life went on for us as usual back home in Whittier. At least another 6 months passed since we’d been to the Heights. We were finishing up the last stage of our remodeling efforts. One day, out of the blue, we received a newsletter from Jan & Eileen called Eileen's Edition and Jan's Journal. There was information about current listings. I looked to see if our Dream Home was still available. I looked at my husband and said you’re not going to believe this – our Dream Home is for sale and the price has dropped again! My husband said okay, let’s call Jan and talk.
And that’s what we did a lot of for the next few months, was talk. Jan gave us advice on what was going on with the housing market, what the expectations would be for us to sell our home and what it would take to purchase our Dream Home. Jan knew we weren’t willing to consider buying another home – it had to be our Dream Home at a price we could afford. So, we went about the very serious business of obtaining comparisons, exploring financing options and setting our financial bottom line for both selling and buying. By then the housing market was in a meltdown and the economy was reeling.
Several more months passed as we put finishing touches to our home in Whittier. It was now ready to be sold as turnkey. We knew that if we had any chance of getting the Dream Home it would take all of our combined efforts to sell on our end. Jan had wisely cautioned us in advance on the need to sell for what the market could bear. It would literally be changing for us month-to-month and then week-by-week.
By then almost 2 years had gone by since I’d first set my sights on our Dream Home. The selling price had significantly dropped as had the rest of the nation’s housing market. It was now or never, and time to make the BIG OFFER. Even though we’d looked at other homes for sale, we were not going to settle for anything else. Jan had feverishly worked to find homes that might interest us. We looked at what felt like dozens of houses morning, noon and night. Nothing worked for us. We huddled with Jan to work out an offer. Jan left with our go-ahead to negotiate an offer for our Dream Home, which was no easy feat. Thanks to Jan’s experience and insight of the Heights and after a few days of pins and needles, Jan let us know the good news. We had a deal for our Dream Home.
Well, by now you know the ending – Jan worked many, many miracles for us. Once our offer was accepted, we listed our old home with Jan, and it sold in less than 4 months! By then, Jan and I had become friends and spoke almost daily. For us, it felt like eternity as home prices continued to plummet, foreclosures began flooding the market and banks were getting tighter with money. The offers coming in were rock bottom and Jan cautioned us to hang in there. Knowing we are Catholic, Jan gave us a St. Joseph statue (it’s believed to work miracles in selling your home), which we promptly placed in a special spot. It worked, and thanks to Jan we finally were presented with an offer we couldn’t refuse. We entered into a chaotic 30-day escrow for both our Dream Home and our old home. During escrow, it seemed like each new day more drama would unfold, with the banks, appraisers, inspectors, sellers, buyers, and realtors. Jan was always, always there to handle the situation, eliminate the panic and keep us focused.
We’ve been in our Dream Home for more than 6 months. It’s been 3 years since we first found it.. Each day that goes by I’m thankful for living here in the Heights and being blessed with such a great community and natural beauty. I’m especially grateful to Jan, my friend, for working to make my dream come true!
