Navigating the apartment purchasing process can be both frustrating and daunting if you aren’t experienced with these kinds of terse negotiations.
I made the mistake of hiring a poorly rated real estate agent without performing any vetting on our area to make sure she was legitimate.
This was a strenuous experience because she didn’t have our best interests in mind. I should have understood that she would love to pay more for a property because that would mean she would get more funds for her work as well. She refused to negotiate for a better price on the apartment I purchased at the time and I realized a year later that I had paid at least $30k more than it was worth. Also, the real estate agent had me use her special apartment inspector and he neglected a number of things in his allegedly thorough inspection of the property’s interior. When I was ready to purchase an apartment a few years later, I decided to do the negotiations on prices myself. I realized that the apartment I wanted had an Heating, Ventilation and A/C system in it that was over 30 years old and I used that to our advantage. If an Heating, Ventilation and modern A/C system is past the 20 year mark, that essentially means the equipment has in turn expired and the cost of a current 1 will have to be factored into the price if the property is listed for purchase. I managed to get the apartment for $10k less because its a/c really needed to be fixed instantly. This is an important thing to remember whenever negotiating a condo sale.