The Importance of a Buyer's Search Criteria

C'MON MAMA, BABY NEEDS A NEW PAIR OF SHOES

In the movies, this famous line is often uttered by the actor as he prepares to throw the dice at the Craps table.

The game is played like this:  A throw of 7 or 11 wins; a 2, 3, or 12 lose. #5, as well as other previously unmentioned combinations, dictates you have to keep on trying until you repeat your original number before throwing a 7 or 11, which loses the bet and the dice.

I was meeting my clients for the first time.  They didn't have access to a car so I offered to pick them up at their house. I paid little attention to their home address. Mom greeted me warmly with a big hug and a kiss on both cheeks; my first clue that this was someone of a different culture. Americans tend to be a little more reserved with people we don't know, usually falling back on a handshake at the first introduction.

There were several homes to see that afternoon. It turned out that mom spoke no English at all and I could only converse with her adult son. We had a nice time. They were lovely people and we got through the showings with the use of universal hand motions and a great many humorous attempts at translation.

The 1956 episode of I Love Lucy "Paris at Last" came to mind. Lucy is arrested in France for inadvertently becoming involved with a counterfeiter and she is unable to make herself understood with the existing language barrier. Hilarity ensues as additional people are brought in to the police station, each one proficient in his own language plus one more which he has in common with the person standing next to him. All these people are necessary to help explain Lucy's ordeal to the police captain. She is, finally, extricated from the mess and released.

 

I brought them to see a house that was well suited for them. It met the majority of their requirements. It was only towards the end of the day that the rest of their "must haves" became clear.

ORIGINAL SEARCH CRITERIA:  4 Beds/2 Baths, renovated kitchen and baths, if possible, $300,000 and under

Mother and son began discussing the address of this particular house. I was able to make out that the numbers on the door needed to be or add up to the #5. They were big believers in Numerology and #5 meant lots of good luck for them. The son asked me whether the post office would consider changing the address. I didn't think this was possible without a really valid reason. For example, I learned from a newspaper article that the address was changed on the Amityville Horror house.

To this day, especially on Halloween but also throughout the entire year, there's an unusually large number of tourists that parade before this house; car traffic, horn honking and general disruption goes on until all hours of the night.

A good reason, indeed!

 

Because of this additional requirement, the home in question could no longer be considered.

REVISED SEARCH CRITERIA:  4 Beds/2 Baths, renovated kitchen and baths, if possible, $300,000 and under

                                           Address must be or add up to #5

 

C'MON BABY, THE RIGHT ADDRESS WILL GET MAMA A NEW PAIR OF SHOES!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                    Craps image courtesy of Ben McLeod via Flickr.com

                    "5" image courtesy of svenwerk via Flickr.com

                    Stiletto image courtesy of devittj via Flickr.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

COLDWELL BANKER RESIDENTIAL BROKERAGE  *****  "SAID AND DONE"  *****

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Jill Sackler, 50+ Market Specialist

cell (516) 395-8376

As a long-term resident of Long Island's south shore, I serve all communities from Queens to western Suffolk, south of the L.I.E.

I'm also a New York Relocation Specialist.  As a member of the Cartus network, I can connect you with a qualified real estate agent anywhere.