Not every seller makes money. And not every seller is upset about it.

Our Upper West Side seller had moved to Connecticut with her family. New schools, new energy, and new outlooks. And it was time to put New York City behind them. The only lingering item was their apartment. We were hired in early 2025 to prepare it for market. And despite the gorgeous photos, it took a little doing. What did we need to tackle?

• The leftover mess from two kids whose bedrooms were not ready for prime time
• An space that had accumulated a bit too many books and too many knick knacks
• A market that was stubborn as could be!

Our team came in and decluttered. We moved out the son's weightlifting equipment and the daughter's myriad doodads. We put many, many pieces of furniture on the moving truck and were left with a shiny gem of an apartment. This property has three exposures from a high floor, with sweeping views from the Southern tip of Manhattan all the way to the George Washington Bridge, and beyond. The property had been renovated in 2017-2018 and was in lovely condition. Despite their paying $3.5mm and then investing a few hundred thousand dollars into the unit, the market had spoken. We priced it at what they paid. 

Everyone Has A Plan

As Mike Tyson once said, "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face." As we prepared the unit for market, we took note of the properties lingering on the market that should have moved quickly. One property on West 106th Street should have sold for $3 million. It kept getting its price chopped. We were concerned, to say the least. 

We brought in prospective buyers before we went to market. One was almost ready to make an offer, then had second thoughts. Another told me she was too nervous in light of a variety of reasons. So we didn't have anything in hand when we went to market, and look around with some concern.

Our Buyer Emerges

Our buyer came from the neighborhood. They were upgrading from a 5-room apartment without a view this this majestic perch. The only issue? Their broker gave me a $3mm offer. 

We negotiated for two weeks. Surely these buyers loved the apartment more than they loved trying to rip a seller's face off. More reasonable angels appeared and we hammered out a deal around $3.3mm. I learned later that the first pre-market buyer who changed his mind would have made an offer of $3.2mm and their agent didn't think it was worth more. So we felt good about the deal in hand. 

Meanwhile, the other unit that concerned us sold for the lowest price we had seen in more than 15 years. Even if we were sad for our sellers, we still felt like we were outperforming the market. 

Win-Win

Our seller was able to be fully in Connecticut without any lingering worries about her last chapter. The buyers were absolutely thrilled, and I believe moved in the day after the closing. And everyone's face is intact. The buyers got a good value for the market. The seller got a market price. And everyone can feel like they gave a little, but not too much. In other words, a win-win. Congratulations to both buyer and seller! - Scott & Magnetic