You get what you pay for!

Anyone looking for an apartment right now (Fall 2012) in New York City knows that the market is tight, inventory is low and you need to have your agent monitor every search engine in order to dig up that needle in a haystack.

I am working with many buyers right now (and sellers) and every morning, I check multiple search engines to see if anything new and delicious has come on or are about to come on.

Because of my strong relationships with many of professional agents in the city, many times I get a whisper that they are getting something new and we will be the 1^st ones to see the apartment.

Last week I nearly struck gold. I found a combination 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment on the upper west side for under a million dollars. My buyer was drooling, but there had to be a catch.

Well there certainly was which leads me to the first sentence of my blog post, “You get what you pay for.”

The seller hired a discount broker to sell his apartment and it was clear for the following reasons:

• The apartment was in complete disarray and it was clear that the “Discount Broker” did not bring in his or her stager to get the apartment ready to show at its highest level. (by doing this, the seller is leaving money on the table)
• The owner was in the house during the appointment in sweat pants and a sweatshirt, watching the Jets game…..who does that?
• The show sheets looked like they had been printed on tissue paper.
• The agent didn’t really look like he wanted to be there, but he was also enjoying the jets game.

The bottom line is that if you need cosmetic surgery, do you fly to Central America for a deep discount, later to realize you nose is now part of your chest? When you need major dental work done, do you find the dentist that charges you $50 for the whole procedure???? NO, you don’t.

 Don’t be that seller!!!

You hire professionals to sell one of your most valuable assets  and I know that quality agents make a lot of money…..But remember, you get what you pay for.

Email me if you need our help…

pzweben@elliman.com