I Plan To Find My Man When Apartment Hunting
# 16 Real Estate Man
The male-female ratio in Center City Philadelphia is 47%male — 53% female. With the numerical odds stacked against females, what’s a girl to do?
In the days before Covid-19. showing apartments in Center City was somewhat of a party.
Living close to the building where you work is considered, by most, to be desirable. Young professionals flock to rent apartments in Center City .
To accommodate them, Real Estate Man’s office staged what we call a Mini Open House. These showing “parties” were usually held from 12:00 until 2:00 (lunch hour for most). We’d flood Craig’s List, Zillow, and social media with announcements of an apartment showing at a certain address. The time of the viewing was in the lunch hour window. We invited anyone interested in renting to show up. An added benefit, the present occupants of the place were probably at work themselves therefore not bothered by people traipsing through their space.
The system worked well. We’d serve coffee and doughnut-like fare to the apartment hunters. Real Estate Man’s office provided balm for a lot of hangovers in the process, he imagined. Agents usually would get upwards of 20 apartment hunters in a single Mini Open House. It seemed to Real Estate Man this method of showing was a more efficient utilization of an agent’s time. Much better than individual, time consuming viewings.
Real Estate Man saw the utilitarian value of Mini Open Houses and personally tried to conduct 2 daily during the workweek when the prospect were plentiful.
Real Estate Man’s story:
On a bright summer day I was hosting a Mini Open House entertaining a receptive group of 15 prospects at a place on 20th St. All was going well; no all out takers but possibilities were on the positive side. Business cards were exchanged for future contact. Lots of coffee and cookies left over, a good sign indicating prospects were actually looking and not eating and socializing only.
After the Open House group had dispersed. Back to work for most, lunch hour over. One woman remained; she was damn attractive, I may add. Why was she there after everyone had departed? Was she going to give me a deposit on the place? A rare first close rental? Superintendent, Bud, will ENJOY handling her complaints.
She approached me, introduced herself Amanda and questioned: “Do you mind giving me the phone number of the guy who rents this apartment?” This is commonly asked for purposes of discovery . Amanda probably wanted to ascertain the cost of heat, electricity, water, noisy neighbors and quality of management, no doubt. She undoubtedly wanted to hear the current tenant’s unbiased observation of the cost and quality of life in the apartment the she may occupy.
I don’t automatically divulge the phone number of present the occupant without getting permission from the him/her. I always mention, “If you give me a deposit, I’ll ask the tenant if he will allow me to give you the number. The deposit is refundable if he doesn’t. Time limit 2 days and it’ll be back on the market.”
Set to relay this information to Amanda, she said,”Oh, I don’t want the apartment, I want the guy who lives here.”
Uhmmm. Real Estate Man didn’t have anything going on back at the office until 4:00.
Amanda’s story:
She had been divorced for a couple of years. Enough time had passed to allow the 5 stages of grief to have run their course. Amanda was ready to try again. Something about computer dating, match making; the organized coupling process turned her off. Trusted her own instincts, I guess. Her ex was the result of a match made in computer purgatory she mentioned later.
She thought it wise to see her where potentials nested first.
Her initial requirement was very much a real estate maxim — location, location, location. She always narrowed her partner search to Rittenhouse Square. That’s more likely where the money is.
Amanda went on to reveal that she first noticed order in the place where her apart-man lived. Places can be cleaned by others women but the feng shui is usually the permanent occupant’s ideas. Amanda then goes on to the pictures family?on the tables and walls, any reading material books mostly, type and quality of computer laptop or desktop, even food in the refrigerator sneak a peak, what kind of alcohol in evidence, on and on….
This guy’s place apparently hit all buttons for her.
After, I thought about the unique logicality of this approach, I concluded — Amanda seems to have a good point!
Amanda pheromones kicking in a bit prematurely; “I THINK I COULD LOVE THIS MAN!”
Me ever the sentimentalist: “I’ll give the tenant, Tim, your number. I’ll describe the situation and leave it up to him to call you.”
I benevolently reasoned Amanda’s request was NOT in the deposit category. It was more in the interest of the advancement of the species. No deposit required in this situation.
I called the tenant the next day and explained everything. Tim was receptive in accepting the phone number. At least he wrote it down, I think.
I never even got a thanks from either Amanda or Tim. However, when Tim came into my office for his deposit 2 months hence, he told me he had called Amanda.
They weren’t a couple yet but had joined the same book club on the Internet.
My romantic nature compelled me to think of — the possibilities.
