The year was 1994, George and I had been married five years and we owned a home in Glendale.   Prices had dropped since our 1989 purchase and although we weren’t yet underwater, we had lost our $200,000 down payment. 

Opportunity Knocks:  But prices had also decreased in La Canada and we toyed with the notion of moving before our daughters enrolled in kindergarten.   We made an offer on a La Canada home just down the street from George’s parents.  As the location seemed ideal, it was a bitter disappointment when someone outbid us. 

During this same period, a friend of George’s, who he had grown up with, was also looking for La Canada home.  I found a 1940’s Georgian Colonial, just over 3,000 square feet but a total fixer.  I think I showed them the home four or five times.  I finally told them that if they didn’t buy it I would, because it was a fabulous home with good bones and lots of potential.

Our friends did open escrow and were quite excited as they proceeded towards move-in date.  Just a couple of weeks prior to closing, the husband phoned and told me that Corporation X informed him that he had a high probability of being transferred back east.  He wondered if he should close escrow anyway.  “Of course not”, I told him; as the real estate market in 1994 was still precarious.  He asked me if I really meant that I would purchase the home if they didn’t. 

Wait for part two… did Phyllis really buy a home without George seeing it first?