More than the money...

Sometime last month I think it was a Monday or a Wednesday ( my gym nights ) I was debating with myself if I should go workout because it was already getting late, around 8pm. My wife was of no help in my 'struggle' to go to the gym. She wanted me to stay home and do some stuff around the house. ' But not tonight Honey '. And so I went. Victory.

My plan was simple. 30 minutes to shoot hoops. An hour to lift some weights and  be home by 9:30pm.

I Got to the gym with a mission and a time limit at that. I started shooting some hoops when all of a sudden I saw a friend of mine and said the usual, "What's up? how are you?" So I figured that would just last, at most, five minutes because remember I had a "time situation"

Then my friend asked me some questions, "How's the market? is it still going down? is it the right time to buy now?   Now if you have been reading our blog and know what we are about. You know that I cannot leave those questions unanswered and the answers cannot be just yes or no.

To make a long story short I ended up shooting for 10 minutes, lifting for 20 minutes and talking about the Market for ONE FULL HOUR .  I also found out that he was already in contract with a builder at Sparks, closing on November. Which, I admit was disappointing  (Why didn't you wait for me before going to the builder!) . But Just like everyone else he wanted to find out if he got a good deal and that he won't be losing money on this property. I told him that he should NEGOTIATE the price because by the time the home closes the price would be LOWER.

I did my research the next day and it seemed that for the size of the property, he was getting it at the current market value. Which is ok if the market was more stable. But because the market is still going down I knew that by November the price of the home will be lower.

I went to the builder in the afternoon and asked them about any standing inventory. Sure enough they did have a few. And what's more amazing one of which is exactly like my friend's property (that he is already in contract with) but only CHEAPER by $20,000.

The home was scheduled to close on October so they want this home GONE. I took the print outs and immediately called my friend. He was there the next morning to negotiate the price. But the builders refused to give in to the $20,000 discount we were asking for "There is no way we would lower the price " is what they told him.

Hmmmm.. ok.

My friend and I reviewed the print outs (the standing inventories) and thought about what to do. We decided that he would go back there and NEGOTIATE the price that he wanted ( - $20,000) and to tell the builders that he will be calling the deal off if they do not give it to him for that price.  I told him to MEAN it.

During the waiting game I was traveling the city to see if there was any competitive or comparable property that would attract my friend. I wanted to show them some houses in case the builder does not call their bluff, at least they have an alternative.

It took the builder three weekends before they agreed to lower the price by $20,000. The Same as the standing inventory. Mission Accomplished.

My friend got the house that they wanted. But for the price that they should've gotten it for in the first place. And as for me, I lived my PASSION once again.(I know it almost sounds too melodramatic)  Get the best deals for my clients, in this case to get the best deal for a friend. That feeling of satisfaction makes my job just a little bit more meaningful.