open house

There is no such thing as 'reserving' anything.

You make a verbal offer, and if accepted back it up asap with a written offer, and then you are usually given a certain amount of time (2 - 5 working days, normally) to have your lawyer review the purchase contract, board minutes, and financials (or offering plan, if applicable) and get a signed contract with your deposit check on the seller's/sponsor's desk.

If they did go that quickly it's hard to imagine that they went for less than the asking price. It does show that if you like & want something you need to be ready to act quickly.

#2 how does the verbal offer work (sorry i'm a newbie), do you just give a price and the broker is authorized to accept or reject on the spot or do they say we'll get back to you.

Offers should always be in writing, and indicate who you are, offered price, your terms (esp if you want a financing contingency or not), your job, salary, pre approval bank letter etc. The seller's broker will always get back to you after submitting to the seller. Sounds though as like you may be talking about a new conversion, in which case--certainly early on--there is no negotiating, the price is what it is. The onsite broker can lead you through necessary steps.

Also, if you are looking seriously to buy, get preapproved for a mortgage, and get a real estate attorney. Once your offer is accepted things need to move quickly, and you need to have a lawyer on board immediately to do your due diligence and review contract, financials and all the rest.

Poster#1: what general location are you looking into?

#5 but I see prices different in streeteasy even for new conversions. Like a 5-10% difference at times.

#8--What do you mean by price difference?Do you mean price reductions?

yes

I havent seen many price reductions in new developments. Maybe late in the game after a while if it hasnt sold. Certainly not early on in the marketing on desirable properties which sounds like the circumstances in the original posting