I prepared for our visits by filling a ring binder with copies of the online realtor’s listing, prior sales information (when found), and a detailed review of the buildings from CityRealty. I also found useful information from StreetEasy, especially the price from prior sales. Ultimately, LaLa understood us better than I understood the data. The first apartment she showed us on Saturday morning was the last place we visited Sunday night. We were sold. Convening at a nearby café for our daily debriefing, it was time to strategize the purchase.

I was somewhat skeptical when LaLa insisted that we consider apartments outside our price range. Initially she wanted us to understand the market better, and make more informed comparisons. However, market valuations have been so volatile, some of the apartments that seemed out of our range lowered their offering price even while we were searching.

I was also naïve about asking vs. selling price. Far from set, asking prices are only a starting point for negotiations. Obviously, whenever I saw a baby’s crib in the one bedroom I knew we had a motivated seller. However, my usual reticence to bargain assertively was not a problem. LaLa was not shy.

During our second visit to the apartment we liked best, LaLa took the sponsor’s representative aside for a frank discussion about a realistic approach to their expectations. With this information, LaLa and Jean decided on a basis for negotiation. We shared our comfort range and fallback plans, and let them loose.

By the next day, the purchase price was set, 5% less than the offering price that had already decreased significantly in the prior month. I was satisfied, but LaLa apologized for not getting an even lower price. My accountant said I didn’t wait for the bottom of the market. But this was not just a property for investment, and he readily agreed there was “psychic value” in having a preference and making a choice. My attorney had other ideas.

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