Honey and Vinegar (and How it Works When Buying a Chicago Home)
On Thursday night we came back. With a series of bankings, deaccelerations, accelerations and hydraulic whinings that I don’t recall in the past we made our way to a safe landing at Midway.
Nice to get back still wearing South Beach garb and not have to battle the elements on the way to the parking garage. Also nice to see the earth now that nature had done its magic on the massive mounds of snow that we last saw when we headed out of town to get some much-needed warmth and natural vitamin D.
In the brief time out of town a couple of interesting things happened. We reached agreement on the wonderful Bucktown loft at 2035 Charleston. And a number of showings took place at the Gold Coast duplex listing at 1224 Dearborn. And the day after getting back (yesterday on the calendar) my good friends Brian and Liz closed on their Bucktown home situated in the newly hot and desired Pulaski IB school district.
Funny how things work. Our negotiation on this home took a bit of time and more than a little statistical arm wrestling. We went back and forth in conversations, emails, spread sheets and maybe a little dose of ego-influenced one-upping.
But the common stroke that was heard throughout was a resonant chord of respect along with respect for our final goal of getting a strong and attractive home in a recognized school district. One of the things that sometimes happens in this or any other down market is a sense of aggressive entitlement on the buyers’ part. What this can do, at time, is create what I call an ossification of talks.
If you come in too strong, too fast, and perhaps without a dose of respect for the folks on the other side of the equation you may find yourself as the entitled buyer who continues to look. While that may be fine for the Chicago home seeker who has nothing invested in any particular home or condo, who thinks to himself that he will be just as happy at the next address, it is kind of a drag for the buying party (or the less aggressive spouse) who really likes the pursued home.
By the same token something that happens perhaps more often whether new construction purchases or resales is a subtle but concrete reticence on the seller’s part. So a simple request for the pamphlets to operate appliances gains no results. Or a builder is slow or entirely unresponsive during the warranty period.
What is boils down to is honey is sweeter than vinegar. I guess it also boils down to behaving with a simple degree of common sense. It makes me think of sitting in an English Literature class with the brilliant Professor Gary Adelman beneath the sun-dappled leaves of spring-time Urbana and discussing what a Pyrrhic victory was. The answer is that this form of victory is one where both sides are so damaged and bloodied that there is no true victor.
A bit overstated as it relates to Chicago real estate negotiations, perhaps, but it sniffs to the truth that there are better ways to gain an end result than swinging a terribly swift sword.
That’s not to say that we simply bow down in obeisance to the other side’s demands. Not at all. But we proceed in accord with a kindergarten directive of doing unto others as we would have them do unto us.
Proof in the pudding? Later today Brian and Liz move in to their lovely Bucktown home with a passel of emails from the sellers on what paint colors they used, what vendors they worked with, instructions on how to use the central vacuum and the furnace and who the neighbors are.
By the way, if you’ve made it this far in what I have written in the past 20 minutes feel free to call me when you have questions about where you live or where you want to move. My direct line is 773.848.9241.
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