Want to buy in building w/ no apartments for sale

talking to the doorman is the best idea. you will have to give some "incentive". he may know people who are considering and can forward your info. the only issue i see is the price some people will be willing to accept to depart without being on the market.

You could write a form letter to the owners, letting them know of your interest. It's worth a shot.

Send a letter to the board president.

That is how I sold my apartment. A buyer's broker left a note with the doorman for me.It works. Good Luck!

What Maly said. You can't lose.

That delisted apartment may still be available. It is possible the owners decided to pull it off the mkt for a while because it wasn't generating enough interest. I'd suggest reaching out to the listing agent to find out what's what. Can't hurt.

Another thing to do is to find out which agents are most active in this building and contact them (you can get that info on SE). Contact them and see whether they know of anything in the pipeline.

Who the hell tells their doorman whether they're selling or not?

Or, in the correct casual vernacular, "who in the heck gives his doorman inside tips?"

You can also contact the managing agent to see if there are any sponsor units left that might be coming up for sale - a shot in the dark, but it happens.

in those buildings that have doormen, they seem to know everything about everyone

Find the line you like, look up the owners' names in ACRIS and send them all a personalized hand-written card. If that doesn't pique any interest, you're out of luck.

Re: Bramstar's comment, why would you want to drag the old listing agent back into the scenario? It's a win-win situation for you and seller if you can cut out the broker, so either go the doorman route or send them a letter via gold old fashioned USPS. If you can't find the owner's name in Acris, then just address it to "Resident, apt.3A" or whatever is the appropriate number.

what building

@kas--Because it is often the case that agents who are very familiar with a particular building have their ears to the ground and know of planned sales, both sponsor and resale, long before the units hit the market. The blanket 'Dear Resident' letters usually find themselves quickly relegated to the circular file.

Bramstar, I see your point if the buyer is interested to know of any upcoming listings in the bldg; but if s/he is particularly interested in the delisted apartment, it's worth trying to work directly with the owner first.