When Aaron DeLeo bought his house in Verona in October 2020, he thought he’d lucked into a great deal.
DeLeo had been looking for months and hadn’t found anything suitable. But the owner of the house in Verona was in a hurry and accepted DeLeo’s offer at the asking price, even though many other homebuyers at the time found themselves in bidding wars.
The house had everything DeLeo wanted. Close to work, with a fenced-in backyard and an extra garage, it featured cherry kitchen cabinets, hardwood floors and a gazebo in the backyard.
For a decade, DeLeo had been trying to put himself in a position to buy a house. He worked in a science lab and made an extra $100 a pop leading local trivia games at night. He even sold some of his oldest and most valuable Magic: The Gathering game cards to pay the down payment.
Image: Zachary Anderson/Unsplash
