I toured 50 homes and lost out on every single one—here’s how I landed my first

It took two years of touring more than 50 homes and losing out on every offer he made before a Baltimore man finally devised a unique solution to conquer the competition.

Skutch M., who asked Realtor.com not to use his last name, purchased his first home with his girlfriend, Allie, after nearly two years of patience and grit.

“My girlfriend and I were convinced we would prevail and that the right home at the right price would ultimately find its way to us,” he shares.

Skutch says they rode the highs and lows of the homebuying roller coaster by ensuring they “managed expectations” in today’s tough housing market.

By the time the couple found three-bedroom, three-bath, 1,800-square-foot row house gem for $389,000, they knew not to waste any time. They made an offer $4,000 over asking. It came with a catch, though. The offer had terms that expired the very next day—a day before the open house was scheduled.

Here, Skutch explains to Realtor.com why this tactic worked, along with some lessons he learned before he and Allie finally snagged the keys to their first home.

Lesson #1: You might have to look outside your current neighborhood

The house hunt started when Skutch and Allie outgrew their apartment. Instead of leasing a bigger rental, the couple wanted to buy a home.

At first, they zoned in on a specific Baltimore neighborhood they loved.

“For the first 12 months, I was extra stubborn about it, essentially expecting a unicorn to pop up,” says Skutch.

Soon, the pair discovered there were limited houses for sale in their desired area. Not only that, but the ones in their price range needed renovations.

So, with their apartment lease coming up for renewal, Skutch and Allie either had to move to another rental—or revise their house-hunting tactics.

Lesson #2: You might have to tour a lot of duds

The couple started to explore other nearby neighborhoods, and Skutch changed the listing filters for his online home search to include surrounding communities. He recommends using all the filters to personalize your home search, especially the listing price.

“I wasn’t going to go over $400,000,” he reveals. “There’s no sense in teasing or distracting yourself with homes you can’t afford.”

The couple then went on an open house marathon, touring house after house, with no winners. Even worse, the few times they did fall in love with a house—their offer was turned down.

Yet, Skutch and Allie refused to give up. He even adopted a positive motto for their long-running search: “The more homes you see, the more you know.”

Lesson #3: Keep notes on your home search

During the couple’s two-year home-shopping marathon, Skutch kept track of his wishlist on a spreadsheet. He also used that to take down notes about aspects of homes they’d viewed—such as the age of appliances.

“No first house will ever check all the boxes, but it sure helps when you’re reflecting after seeing multiple houses in a day that there are clear winners and losers,” says Skutch.

He explains that the spreadsheet ultimately helped them remain objective and even spot trends of which homes in their price range sold quickly.

Lesson #4: Make an offer that’s just right

Eventually, Skutch and Allie toured a handful of end-unit row houses on a Thursday night in April.

“We saw three other end-unit row houses that night, but nothing compared to the fourth one,” he recalls.

They immediately fell in love and knew the home listed at $389,000 was for them.

Because they were true pros at this point, they researched the property history in the listing and discovered the seller had the house on the market for about a month at a higher price.

Since Skutch lost out on every open house offer he’d ever made, he knew not to waste any time on this gem and made an offer above asking for $393,000—and stipulated his clever catch.

“We put in an offer that evening—just over the asking price—that had terms to expire the very next day, Friday at 5 p.m.—a day before the open house was scheduled,” says Skutch.

Lesson #5: Always protect yourself as a buyer

Skutch might have made an above-asking-price offer and stipulated a quick closing date, but he wasn’t about…