Diving into para-normal: Searching for apartments in the center of Bucharest

Yesterday I was in the city of Pitesti, for an early morning tour. I left at 06.00, and I was back until 16.00 to Bucharest, together with my people. These “excursions” are very tiring, but they are the only solution if you want to study a city close to the capital, to see many properties / ask many questions and still have time for your daily programme in Bucharest. When I will present to you my experience from there, you will be so surprised, that you will think I am joking (especially when you will see the “map” which I had to use, so as to guide myself…).
I heard in the news that the Municipality will apply a new system for the traffic lights, which will coordinate the chaos of today and decrease the millions of hours lost “frozen in traffic”. Do you believe it? “Dum spiro spero”.
Also, it was amazing to watch CNN covering the “Super Tuesday” of American candidate elections. In many cases Americans know better than anyone else how to combine the news with the show…

Diving into para-normal:
Searching for apartments in the center of Bucharest

After the block which smelled like a stable of horses, any non smelling building was like paradise for me. It was evening and I already have seen a lot, so I didn’t pay attention to the size of the elevator. With a surface of 40 centimeters X 80 centimeters that “place” can not be described as an elevator of a block. It is the dream of every man who misses sex for a long time. If he enters inside this “place” with a woman, he can not even be accused for raping her, he will declare in court “I did not have space to move”…
The apartment had “3 rooms”, which means 2 bedrooms. It was declared to me as an “opportunity” by my agents, who really tried hard to find it. The owner opened the door. He expected us, but did not find important to be dressed, I guess he thought that a hairy chest under a white underwear is a plus for the sale. His wife was quite angry with him, as he “prisoned” her in a small place (she assumed that neither my Romanian agents nor I could understand her Romanian words). And the detail that “kills”: The washing machine was in the middle of the corridor, without its cover, in action!

“Special species” requires special nerves to be handled…
So, “every day we meet people like this” you may say. Theoretically talking you are right. In reality no. The owners of the apartments in the center belong to a special species, for many reasons. I could easily choose one of them: They know they have something “good in the center” and this provides them the right to behave sometimes crazy. In a “sellers market”, like Bucharest of February 2008, a “crazy seller” is the worst you can find. Being correct, I would say that ofcourse there are always many exceptions in this rule, but the majority behaves without any seriousness, sometimes not only towards the potential buyer, but even towards the real estate agent who is supposed to help them sell…
Is it MY impression? Am I the only unlucky guy? I don’t think so. The truth is that I checked by myself more than 15 apartments in January and (except 2 of them) all other owners did all possible to convince us (my people and me) that the main reason to purchase the apartment was not the property itself. In this point I should comment that probably this does not happen in the luxurious very expensive apartments. But as I want to create this year a portfolio of properties with “normal” prices and I search for many of my clients too, this category was excluded from my list.
Let me share with you what happened when I went to see the apartments which belong to the category: “Ultracentral location – from Piata Unirii to Piata Victoriei, old building, not renovated property, with surface of more than 100 sq.m., after all problematic owners and locations were spotted and removed by my people”.

A painful story of life waits you to discover it
To finish with the story I started before… The guy showed us his apartment, while I stayed aside and focused on the details (as always). Starting with the small and very dirty bathroom, the nude girls posing on the walls of one room, the television turned to “telenovela” (soap opera) programme and most of all, the fight between the wife and the husband, which was barely hidden anymore. In the end, although we agreed upon a price with this distinguished gentleman, the deal was off. He wanted to sell in the center and buy an apartment with more space in Drumul Taberei neighborhood and in the same time to save another 60.000 euros in his pocket. But Drumul Taberei is rising fast every day, being one of the most preferred areas for Romanians to live today. So, he kept on changing his price, because he had to prove to his wife that, except a macho guy who does not respect the “bastards with the money”, he can combine an excellent new home and cash in hand.
Another lady tried to sell to us an apartment that did not belong to her (we found out while checking the papers with the lawyer). She showed us a place without even a bed inside, as if she just moved in together with her family. Cartons and boxes everywhere, people disturbed because they invited you and you entered in their “private territory” and the lady telling us how she had to fight with her husband, how difficult is now that she is single and why she needs the money. To my eyes, she was a typical face of a 50 – 55 y.o. woman who visits casinos. When I proposed to her to visit my home in Greece where we have the second largest casino of Europe, her eyes shinned automatically.
We lost a transaction 2 hours before the signatures, because a cousin of a daughter of the owner interfered in the deal, advising them to step back and to ask for more money. Then to ask for less money, but without showing us the papers, then not to sell at all, because the property can bring to them good profits. While her aunt (and owner) complained that she needed the money, a huge fight started, relating the deal with family problems and stories from the past.
In a super apartment very close to Magheru boulevard, the old owner of first floor changed his mind when he saw me (I know, I look “tooooo foreigner” in their eyes). My people told me that he is an ex member of Securitate (the mighty police of communistic period that most people were afraid of) because he has blue eyes. We offered less than what he asked and he got upset. Later on we “put on the table” the money he wanted, but then he said that a person must really desire his apartment and he has to prove it(???). Before to abandon this case too, he asked my agent to “borrow” him with 100 euros, as he “didn’t have money to eat”. But in the end, he just raised the price 3 times and my agent thanks God he didn’t lose his 100…
Around “Fratelli” café, I was presented a “gorgeous chance” of a garsoniera and I discovered a place which smelled like a closet locked for 15 years. The building had a very bad smell, the apartment had that smell “included in other smells” and the young lady owner was ready to accept any amount, as she was packing for abroad. Too bad, if I would have less senses (for sure not smell), I would have helped her re-build her life.
The owner of an apartment in the area of Natiune Unite boulevard did not show up, he sent a friend instead. I found out why little later. I heard he is quite old, over 70, and it would not be easy for him to… climb to the fifth floor. The elevator was used last time when Romania was not in E.U. (this means for sure not in 2007). The whole block looked “bombarded building of Berlin in 1945” and the apartment was well equipped – with only electricity. The price for 100 built sq.m. (God knows the useful ones, I didn’t enter too deep into this) was 170.000 euros “because the owner has 2 children and he wants to leave some money to them” and I promised myself not to climb again like this. If I want to practice, I have a steady bicycle at home…

Easy Questions – Obvious Answers…

• “All these in January?” you may ask. Yes and not only these. I avoided describing you about the endless cases that we rejected, as in half of them there was a real estate agency which was trying to trick us, raising the prices (they still think its 2005 and continue with the old tricks, poor people…)
• “So everyone behaves like this, in this city?” No, right now we negotiate and (hopefully) we will purchase what we want. We = My clients and I.
• “Is it THAT hard to get the apartment I want?” Not exactly. If you have a serious real estate agent by your side, he is supposed to spend his own time “exploring the hidden side of human souls” and to bring you only the serious cases to check. Ofcourse you can not avoid surprises. Would you conquer Monica Beluci or Brand Pitt in 5 minutes? (I want to have a discussion with the brave ones who answered yes – even if they lied).
• “Is this the reason why my real estate agent shows me only expensive properties?” This is ONE of the reasons. Yes, he doesn’t want to mess with crazy people, that’s why he prefers to nice owners with expensive prices, who usually behave to him nice too, but also allow him to “deal with them better” (if you know what I mean…)
• “In the end, what can I do so as to find the property I need?” A good start is to avoid the agents who smile TOO much while presenting something TOO expensive. Search for people who WANT to work, while many real estate agents in Bucharest received very good money last year and have lost their “the eye of a tiger” look of the person who wants to succeed.
• “Does it worth the trouble purchasing an apartment in the center of the capital?” Yes, it does, if you know why you want it. If not, don’t bother. You are supposed to have an investment strategy, don’t you? If you do, you buy it because you know what to do with it. If you don’t have, the price is not THAT low, to allow you speculating in the future. For me, it is an excellent period to invest in apartments in the center, when the price is normal.

On Monday, 11th of February, you will find the “Tribes of sellers” and many useful tips, in order to provide you with a torch while you are entering into the “darkness of unknown” in the center of the city.
I remain at your disposal for any information and help you might need.

PS.1. I guess the same situation stands in most places of the world nowadays, good properties are difficult to be found.
PS.2. Did I tell you that my company is perfect? Nope, we also have made mistakes in the past. But at least we are proud of only being tricked by owners, avoiding to trick anyone ourselves.