Buying My Dream Condo in Chicago - And a Bit of Good Advice

by Amy
(Chicago, IL, USA)

I had always wanted to live in this particular building. Great views, great location, a really nice building. However, units rarely came up for sale, and those that did were quickly snatched up by people in the building who saw the ad posted in the laundry room.

Finally, a friend in the building called and told me that a unit was for sale with the exact view I was looking for. I absolutely had to have a lake/city view. I called and made an appointment, and told the guy directly that I was very interested, and that I hoped he would let me see it before anyone else. In hindsight, this is not the best negotiating technique, but it turned out just fine.

A friend came with me to see the place...and it was perfect! Exactly the view I wanted, hardwood floors, recently remodeled. Absolutely perfect! So I asked how much they were asking. He said, "$225,000". Thankfully my friend was with me, because I was so excited I would have said, "Sold!", but my friend asked, "And how did you arrive at that price?" GENIUS!

Genius especially considering his answer, "Well we didn't expect to actually get that, we just came up with that number." I said, "What do you feel is a more reasonable number?" (Making him negotiate with himself.) Then my friend said, "Let us have some time to think about it, can we call you in a couple of hours?"

I thought I would kill her! What if someone else came in and gave them the asking price? It was the longest two hours of my life. I wanted this condo badly!

Two hours later I called and gave them the low-ball offer my friend and I had decided upon after looking at the prices posted in the laundry room. They accepted it. Hooray! I have lived here for ten years and I still stare out the window at my beautiful view every single day.