insideABODE

Windermere Abode

insideABODE is a podcast that gives you an unfiltered, honest, inside look at the Real Estate industry like you've never heard before. Windermere Abode is a boutique real estate brokerage located in Old Town Tacoma. We are changing—and elevating—real estate in this community. Windermere Abode intentionally maintains a small team of amazing agents, to focus time and energy focused on creating the best experience possible for buyers and sellers.

  1. 1 day ago

    Client Story: 3 Accepted Offers to Get Her Client Home in Pierce County | Victoria Stoughton

    Windermere Abode agent Victoria Stoughton and her client Shelbi sit down together and walk through Shelbi's first home purchase, start to close. It took three accepted offers. Shelbi grew up in Tacoma. She'd been renting, moving more than she wanted to, and dealing with housing costs she couldn't predict. She wanted something solid that was hers, in the place she's from. She took the first-time homebuyer class through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission and posted in a private Facebook group that she needed a Realtor. Victoria's business is almost all referrals, but she took a chance and reached out. Shelbi picked her for her energy and how fast she responded. Then came the hard part. The first house they got under contract needed close to $30,000 of work right away, and the seller's side said no to all of it. The second looked like the one until the inspection found something major under the house. On the offers that didn't get accepted, she was up against buyers with more cash upfront and investors buying to rent or build. That was the part that hurt most: competing for homes in her own city against people who weren't planning to live there. Victoria walks through her first-time buyer game plan: the pre-approval, why the inspection and sewer scope matter, and why first-time and grant buyers need a house where the major systems won't all need replacing in year one. Her client tells you what it felt like from the other side, including the day two months in when she told Victoria she felt like she was wasting her time. The third accepted offer is the house she owns now. It needed paint and new floors, not a new roof, and she started ripping up carpet the day she got the keys. And Shelbi's advice for anyone where she was a year ago: it's the person you do it with. "I did not feel like I was a client. I felt like we were in a partnership and we were on a mission together." For first-time buyers, renters wondering if it's possible, and anyone buying in Tacoma or Pierce County. MEET THE GUESTS Victoria Stoughton — Realtor, Windermere Abode 📸 Instagram → @victoriatakestacoma 📞 253-677-1909 ✉️ victorias@windermere.com Shelbi Virgil — first-time buyer, Tacoma CHAPTERS 0:00 Intro 1:24 Why Victoria brought this story 2:19 Meet Shelbi: ready to buy 3:52 How they met on Facebook 5:53 Homebuyer class & feeling overwhelmed 6:50 Victoria's first-time buyer process 8:52 Losing out on house after house 11:43 The emotional rollercoaster 14:33 Competing with investors 16:16 Advice for first-time buyers 17:41 What Victoria learned 18:53 Shelbi's DIY remodel 20:42 Best burger in Tacoma 22:44 Wrap-up & how to reach Victoria 📲 FOLLOW & CONNECT: 📸 Follow us on Instagram → @windermereabode 🌐 Visit us online → windermereabode.com 😍 Go crush on a house → abodecrush.com 🏠 Read more on fair housing → tacomafairhousing.com 🎙️ Listen to the insideABODE Podcast on all podcast streaming platforms

About

insideABODE is a podcast that gives you an unfiltered, honest, inside look at the Real Estate industry like you've never heard before. Windermere Abode is a boutique real estate brokerage located in Old Town Tacoma. We are changing—and elevating—real estate in this community. Windermere Abode intentionally maintains a small team of amazing agents, to focus time and energy focused on creating the best experience possible for buyers and sellers.