Page 46 of The Fifth Avenue Apartment

The broker called her back and walked her through his client’s offer. It was slightly below the asking price, but they were cash buyers and eager to move quickly. Sophie called her client and delivered the offer.

“The offer is good for twenty-four hours. Since it’s a little below your asking price, I would suggest waiting to see if the buyers coming back today want to move forward as well. If not, then you can either accept this offer or counter it.”

“Let’s definitely hold off and see how your other buyers like it. And if they don’t move forward, I think I’d be inclined to counteroffer. I know buyers often expect a cash discount, but I am not under any pressure to sell quickly.”

Sophie agreed. “Perfect. I’ll call you this afternoon as soon as I meet with the buyers.”

Now she had a firm offer in hand, Sophie wasn’t as nervous about this second showing. There was still a lot at stake as of course she wanted them to offer, but she felt a bit more confident since she had a solid offer. It was a little below asking, but not much, so she felt good that they could come to an agreement if her buyers decided to pass.

Sophie arrived fifteen minutes early and waited just outside the building for her buyers. They arrived at one o’clock sharp and they all went up to the unit. They were a married couple, Peter and Kate Ingram. As they rode up in the elevator Peter told her that he was a software architect, and his wife had a high-level role with an investment firm.

“We have invested in real estate over the years and just sold one of our properties, so we will be cash buyers,” Peter said.

Sophie was glad to hear it. With the market being so hot these days paying in cash gave a buyer an edge over someone who needed to wait on financing or, even worse, who had to add the contingency of selling their own property first.

“We won’t overpay, though,” Kate said. “And we are very picky.” Where Peter was warm and friendly, Kate was more reserved and was even a bit cold. Sophie got the sense that she would likely be the negotiator—if she liked the property enough to offer.

Kate smiled though as Sophie unlocked the door and they stepped inside. The unit did present beautifully as it was a sunny day and light streamed through the windows and onto the gleaming hardwood floors of the living area. “Peter is excited about this unit though, so I am optimistic,” she said.

“Please, walk around and explore. I’ll be here in the kitchen if you have any questions,” Sophie said.

They walked off and Sophie pulled her phone out of her purse and checked her email and text messages. She was surprised to see an email from Emily, the woman she’d met at the Met volunteer training.

Sophie, since we chatted, I’ve been thinking a lot about starting to look. With the two kids, our place is feeling small. And life has calmed down enough, that I am ready to put some energy into this. Can we set a time to chat?

Sophie immediately texted back.Of course. Would you like to come into the office this week? Let me know what day and time works best. And also if you could please give me an idea of what range you are considering and ideal location, I can start to pull together some preliminary properties for us to look at when you visit.

Sophie didn’t expect to hear back right away, but two minutes later another email pinged through.How about tomorrow at ten? If that doesn’t work, then Wednesday at ten? We like our current area, near the Met. Fifth Avenue would be first choice if there’s anything available. Our target range is mid to high teens, but we could go as high as twenty for something really spectacular.

Sophie almost dropped her phone. Emily could go as high as twenty million! Though she was initially shocked, when she really thought about it, it made sense. She’d mentioned that her husband was a partner in a hedge fund company, and they already lived in the area.

She immediately thought of Tessa’s listing. She didn’t know if it would suit Emily, but it was spectacular and it was right on Fifth Avenue. She would do a full search and see what she could find in the mid to high teens as well. She wanted to have as many options as possible, so that when they met and spoke about what was important, Sophie could easily hone in on the properties that best matched what Emily and her husband wanted.

She looked up as Peter and Kate walked into the kitchen, and they were both smiling.

“So, what did you think?” Sophie asked.

“She liked it!” Peter said.

Kate laughed. “More than I expected to, actually. It is a great location, and it has everything that we are looking for. Do you think the owner is flexible on the price?”

“No, I don’t think she is” Sophie said. “She’s pretty firm on the price. And there is another offer on it that just came in this morning.”

“Can you share anything with us about the offer?” Kate asked.

Sophie hesitated. After she’d talked to Rick, she’d called the seller and asked what she would give permission for Sophie to share, if anything.

“I can’t share the amount, but I can tell you that it is also a cash offer.”

Kate frowned. “So, we can’t expect a discount for cash then?”

“Sometimes you can, but this seller is firm on her price and there is a competing offer,” Sophie reminded her.

“I don’t want to offer above the asking,” Kate said. She looked at her husband and smiled, “But I’m comfortable making a full-priced offer if you are?”

He nodded. “Absolutely.”

Kate pulled her checkbook out and wrote a check for the deposit and handed it to Sophie.

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