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Case Study: Double Transaction

Trading Up For Space, While Trading Down In Price (easier said than done)

Overview. A client of ours was yearning for a home they could call their own as opposed to the cooperative life they had been living in for the previous 6 years. While their coop apartment was both stunning and extremely functional – they combined two units, carried out a gut renovation and customized it with all the bells and whistles a young family would need for urban living – they were ready to try townhouse living.
We worked with them intensely and over a period time that in the end provided them with enough knowledge to act with confidence on an opportunity, that while not in their first choice neighborhood, fit the bill for interior and exterior space and did not require any significant capital for improvements above the purchase price, as the townhouse was relatively new.
While the home they found was the perfect fit for their needs the most important consideration for this sell and buy double transaction was to maximize the value in the coop they possessed and minimize the going in cost of the home they were planning on buying. With our professional guidance our client was able to execute a very complicated but fruitful double transaction.

The Process

Step One. The first thing we did was carry out a comparable market analysis for the cooperative apartment our client owned. Our comparable market analysis is a summary of closed sales, listings in contract and listings on the market of nearby similar-sized properties. Our analysis helped us guide our client toward an asking price that would be the most likely to result in strong buyer interest and a signed contract within the 90-day time frame the client had after listing the property.

Step Two. Once our client was confident with the price they could achieve on their sale, we set out in earnest to identify new home options. Since we are generally patient and prudent buyers ourselves we have no problem devoting the required amount of time looking for the right property. Finding the right home at the right price is not something that happens overnight. Its hard work that in the end typically pays off. We looked high and low with this client and finally settled on a town home in a quiet family-oriented neighborhood, close to all the necessary amenities needed to live in our urban environment.
Step Three. We carried out another comparable market analysis for our client on the buy side. This analysis helped them understand the relative value of the townhome they had identified and was used for guidance in making an offer and subsequent negotiations with the seller. After a few rounds of offers and counteroffers both our client and the seller came to terms and a purchase contract was entered into. We then had 90 days to sell their existing cooperative so they could use the proceeds to close on the purchase of their new home.
Step Four. In order to sell their coop for the highest price in the shortest amount of time we put our proven marketing plan into full gear. At our expense we produced beautiful full color listing brochures to place in the hands of all interested parties — making sure the product was presented in the best possible light. Open houses, private tours, day, evening, weekdays and weekends — we did what it took to make sure that all interested, qualified buyers got to see the property. We know the more interested buyers, the greater the competition, the higher the sale price.

On the sell side, our polished, intense and professional marketing effort resulted in multiple offers for our client to consider. Their property sold for $2,850,000 – about $100,000 over the asking price – which set a new record for the building.

“The team at Brennan helped us navigate an extremely complex double-transaction in which the sale of our existing apartment needed to closely coincide with the purchase of our new house... It was their expert advice and calming influence that provided the reassurance we needed to manage such a challenging situation."

– N. & K. Gould