Right now

I have 1-3 apartments for almost all my clients. Unheard of. Now it is all about making all the moving parts come together. No small task in Manhattan real estate.

Tonight I may be showing a 500 sq.ft. (this is big for such a cheap apartment) 1BR ($1586) on East 30th Street to a girl who does window design for Ralph Lauren. She wants a 1 bed with a separate kitchen for $1700. Unbelievable. The only reason I am taking her seriously is that she said she worked with my company three years ago, she gave a list of almost impossible demands and the broker met them, so she was happy to pay the broker fee. Basically, she seemed well versed in the process of finding a home with a broker in Manhattan, didn't try to act like she was more knowledgeable than I am, has a reasonable understanding that she is asking for a below market rate apartment, and she is willing to pay the fee. I am expecting to close her by Saturday.

The pregnant lady with whom I was supposed to meet yesterday at 2pm stood me up, but I wasn't really prepared for our meeting anyway. Today I was looking at the new listings and I found something in the West Village that seems to meet her critera. The only thing I am worried about is that the apartment will be dark. Otherwise, the price is right, the location is right and I think I got her sufficiently whipped up into a frenzy that she wants to get in to see the apartment as soon as possible. I am hoping to take her boyfriend out tomorrow during the day. He's the one who "installs and maintains high end audio, video and security systems." I asked if he could demonstrate 40 times the rent on his own, since the landlord needs each applicant to qualify on his or her own and they do not accept California guarantors.

The client I got last night. I went to preview a couple of things for them today and only one was a possibility. The problem is that the landlord accepts multiple applications and acceptance is pending a face to face with the landlord. Another one I couldn't get in to see because the tenant said she was sick and didn't want to show the apartment. I'll try tomorrow. I took another agent with me to see a one bedroom in one of the Chelsea highrises. It sucked. It was totally overpriced, even for those kind of places. Lame carpet in the bedroom, no view, not an open kitchen or even a pass-through. Barf. I am not showing that apartment to anyone.

At noon I am going to the Upper West Side to show a Caran. Pre-war 1 bedroom, corner unit, laundry on the floor, 24-hour doorman. I prepped the girl to bring all of her paperwork with her in case she wants to proceed. I told her there is a deal on the table but that it is weak; her only chance of getting the apartment is to have a strong and complete application. All of this is true. It is good to tell the truth AND get the client all frenzied up.

I have some stuff to show the $3000 share girls. I am just ignoring the fact that they said they wanted 1.5 bathrooms. If it happens, it happens, but I not hunting for it.

Someone recently told me this: Every client deserves enough of your time to see at least one apartment. In the process of learning how to be a real estate agent, how to stop wasting your own time, it is quite possible to stop showing, stop trying, to qualify your customer to the point of deciding they aren't really intersted in moving and not want to show them anything. (*Yo, what's up with the grammar of that last sentence? Could someone help me reword that so it makes more sense?) Anyway, you can psyche yourself out of going out with clients. That little statement puts it all back into place, for me anyway. After all, these people wouldn't have called a broker if they didn't want to move, right?