Apartment Hunting Tips For Buyers

David Goldsmith

All Powerful Moderator
Staff member
Way back in the 1980s half the first calls I took from buyers were the same:
"I want a 1 bedroom apartment in a Prewar doorman building between 9th St and 12th St from University Place to 6th Avenue."

May 5% of those buyers actually ended up in units which fit that original ask. I have suspicions that when buyers first start their searches they sometimes base them off what they have heard they are supposed to like, but may never have actually seem it IRL.

The result is that they start off with parameters which are too restrictive. They end up spinning their wheels seeing every example of units which fit the parameters they have set and being frustrated because they can't find one they like. Then they somewhat alter those parameters and do the same thing all over again.

In my experience a good number of the happiest purchasers are those who ended up buying a unit which was nothing like what their original search was like. Perhaps some broker pithed them a unit which was totally outside their comfort zone and they rejected it, but the agent convinced the to set it anyway and once they did they fell in love with it.

So my call to action is this:
Don't start with rigid sets of wants in the beginning. Go out and try and see at least one example of everything in your price range. Go to neighborhoods you don't think you want just to see what the options are there, especially if you can get more for your money. See different styles of buildings: I once had and agent working for me who hated 1960s white brick buildings so much he never showed units in them. Meanwhile all those buildings are full of owners. Don't dismiss them until you've actually looked at at least one unit because you might find you think it's worth the tradeoffs afterward.

Tip for agents:
If you have a unit which you think a potential buyer should see but they are pushing back try "Just come and look at this unit and then if you don't like it we never have to talk about it again."
 

Noah Rosenblatt

Talking Manhattan on UrbanDigs.com
Staff member
Way back in the 1980s half the first calls I took from buyers were the same:
"I want a 1 bedroom apartment in a Prewar doorman building between 9th St and 12th St from University Place to 6th Avenue."

May 5% of those buyers actually ended up in units which fit that original ask. I have suspicions that when buyers first start their searches they sometimes base them off what they have heard they are supposed to like, but may never have actually seem it IRL.

The result is that they start off with parameters which are too restrictive. They end up spinning their wheels seeing every example of units which fit the parameters they have set and being frustrated because they can't find one they like. Then they somewhat alter those parameters and do the same thing all over again.

In my experience a good number of the happiest purchasers are those who ended up buying a unit which was nothing like what their original search was like. Perhaps some broker pithed them a unit which was totally outside their comfort zone and they rejected it, but the agent convinced the to set it anyway and once they did they fell in love with it.

So my call to action is this:
Don't start with rigid sets of wants in the beginning. Go out and try and see at least one example of everything in your price range. Go to neighborhoods you don't think you want just to see what the options are there, especially if you can get more for your money. See different styles of buildings: I once had and agent working for me who hated 1960s white brick buildings so much he never showed units in them. Meanwhile all those buildings are full of owners. Don't dismiss them until you've actually looked at at least one unit because you might find you think it's worth the tradeoffs afterward.

Tip for agents:
If you have a unit which you think a potential buyer should see but they are pushing back try "Just come and look at this unit and then if you don't like it we never have to talk about it again."
Its good advice. Product knowledge is so important, even if that means going outside your original scope. Often the buyers we represented would buy something that was outside of the original parameter list, and in the end, the buyer always ended up happy.
 
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