What a year it has been! Watch Triplemint agent, Elena Smirnova, share her incredible real estate sales stories from 2021 or read about them below. Filled with challenges and triumphs, this is a recap you don’t want to miss.
Hi, my name is Elena Smirnova, but people like to call me Supernova. This has been one of my best years in real estate, and I’m really excited to share some of my most rewarding and challenging deals with you. Let’s take a look.
Washington Heights
So the first one is a very special deal, as this client was a colleague of mine from the University of Colorado. He and his wife are actually really great musicians. And then the wife followed her other passion and became a doctor. They reached out to me on Instagram, and we started looking at places in Upper Manhattan where I used to live, and I actually currently own an investment condo there and know the neighborhood extremely well. They didn’t know they could actually afford a two bedroom, one bath renovated condo with a unit washer dryer, and it’s very hard to find buildings in Washington Heights that actually have washer and dryer. As you can see, the apartment has beautiful, exposed brick. They got a handsome, open kitchen and a renovated windowed bathroom. This one was a pleasure to work on, and I’m so happy to have helped my longtime friend and his wife find their very first home. The best part is actually that it’s only a 10 minute walk from where she works.
Lincoln Square
I remember this one well. This was a story of patience and perseverance. These buyers were actually moving from New Jersey, and they’re originally from India, but it was their dream to own a piece of Manhattan, so their kids are actually all grown up and they live in Europe. So they wanted two or three bedrooms so they could have their own rooms when they visited. We started looking at places back in January, and in total we probably saw close to 70 properties across eight different neighborhoods in Manhattan. Over the course of just a few months, I was able to pinpoint that they wanted to be in a newer condo building on a high floor like this one. But they also wanted a river and open city views. They also wanted a doorman, a gym and a swimming pool. There was one big issue, though this listing was priced at $2.6 million and the sellers were rigid on the price. After doing some research, I realized it was actually quite overpriced for the market. Since it was already over their increased budget, it took some convincing to get them to view it, but once they walked in, they really felt at home. And over the course of the next two months, we finally got an accepted offer at 10 percent below their asking price and within their budget. Overall, this was actually a very rewarding deal.
Hell’s Kitchen
Next up, I love this one. This deal actually would not have happened without my good connections in the industry. First of all, my buyer was looking for a two bedroom, two bath condo in Hell’s Kitchen. I showed her just 10 places, and this apartment that we saw was renovated to the dime. I mean, it was impeccable for a building from 2007. Look at this kitchen, it has amazing flooring. The toilets were upgraded to total toilets, which actually have more settings and buttons than I could ever imagine. It also has gorgeous open city and river views, so she decided to put an offer straight away. As in most cases of excellent finds like this one in the city, there was another offer. Still, people wanted a good deal, so both of our offers were quite a bit below asking. We ended up winning and we got it at 7% below the asking price. Moreover, the agent mentioned that the other offer was very close, but because he knew me and my great reputation in the industry, he recommended the seller pick us. So they did. The seller left the buyer with a six page welcome packet, explaining everything about the apartment, the appliance warranties and even where the best place to repair and shine shoes is in the neighborhood. I really loved this one.
Carnegie Hill
Well, let’s see the next one. Now we’re up to the fun part. This is a sell to buy miracle story. To start off, I met this buyer at my listing. She already had an agent, but she said she needed to sell her home in Brooklyn first in order to buy a place in Manhattan. So I asked her if she wanted a second opinion on the price of her home. After we met, she decided to work with me instead of the other broker because she felt more comfortable and we really connected.This deal, however, ended up being one of the most challenging of this year. So firstly, it actually started off quite well. I got her two offers on her listing in 30 days, and we got an accepted offer above the asking price. Next, I showed her this apartment and other 15 homes on the Upper East Side and Midtown, and they narrowed it down to two. We got an accepted offer on this one. Then she started to get cold feet, and her husband, who seemed to be a silent partner in all of this, came out of the woodwork and reneged on all of the terms. We had already agreed on their sale, as well as the accepted offer on their purchase because, he said, he wanted the sale and purchase closings to line up back to back. Of course, I explained to them that it’s practically impossible with so many moving parts on both deals. A miracle happened. I found a way for them to feel comfortable and they move forward with both transactions. We ended up getting board approval and closing on both of the deals and to my surprise, we closed in less than two months on both properties. This really was a miracle deal.
I think that’s it. Thank you so much for coming on this journey with me. I hope you enjoyed my year in review for 2021, and I want to wish each and every one of you a very safe, warm and joyous 2022. Bye!
To work with Elena Smirnova, contact her at 646.807.8311 or via email at elena.smirnova@theagencyre.com.
