Househunting II
Two weeks ago we went to see a house in the Bronx. The broker refused to give out the address and told us to meet us at the corner of so-and-so street instead. We were very suspicious, but oh well, we had the time. We got there a little early and called him up to ask if we could meet him a little bit earlier. We ended up waiting for 30 minutes by a park. It was a nice day and various vehicles came by to drop parents and kids off at the playground. We sat in the car and made bets about how the broker would look. We made numerous calls to the mysterious broker, and unwittingly revealed which car we were in. (We later realized he could just be in the vicinity WATCHING us).
About fifteen minutes after our scheduled meeting time, a guy in a blazer and jeans finally got there, waving his official-looking folder in our general direction. The house he was going to show us was one we'd already seen several times, and had given up on because it had two offers for the asking and more back-ups.
My friend said a lot of real estate agents do this, i.e. put out listings of attractive properties already spoken for on the market hoping to bait potential customers to look at other, less desirable properties.
So that was a magnificent waste of time.
---
Inspired by a recent viewing of Friends with Money, I finally saw Fargo the other night, starring Frances McDormand as a very pregnant sheriff. It's hilarious.
Two weeks ago we went to see a house in the Bronx. The broker refused to give out the address and told us to meet us at the corner of so-and-so street instead. We were very suspicious, but oh well, we had the time. We got there a little early and called him up to ask if we could meet him a little bit earlier. We ended up waiting for 30 minutes by a park. It was a nice day and various vehicles came by to drop parents and kids off at the playground. We sat in the car and made bets about how the broker would look. We made numerous calls to the mysterious broker, and unwittingly revealed which car we were in. (We later realized he could just be in the vicinity WATCHING us).
About fifteen minutes after our scheduled meeting time, a guy in a blazer and jeans finally got there, waving his official-looking folder in our general direction. The house he was going to show us was one we'd already seen several times, and had given up on because it had two offers for the asking and more back-ups.
My friend said a lot of real estate agents do this, i.e. put out listings of attractive properties already spoken for on the market hoping to bait potential customers to look at other, less desirable properties.
So that was a magnificent waste of time.
---
Inspired by a recent viewing of Friends with Money, I finally saw Fargo the other night, starring Frances McDormand as a very pregnant sheriff. It's hilarious.
