Going... Going... Gone!

Yesterday I had a nice surprise waiting for me when I got back from working at the food bank. Someone had left a business card on my door with a short printed note. I seems "Patricia" had someone all lined up to buy my flat. I like people who show initiative, but I was baffled as I wasn't planning on selling the place. In fact, I assumed that, being merely a tenant, I couldn't legally do such a thing. But I put those doubts aside when it occurred to me that Patricia, who makes a living in real estate, must know more than I do about the intricacies of property law in Buenos Aires.

And the more I thought about selling the flat, the more it made sense. I've learnt that you should always have some leverage when bargaining. My landlord is holding a month's rent worth of deposit and I'd quite like it back when I leave. I can imagine squabbling over a broken glass or scuff on the floor, and it sure would give me an edge if I could casually mention the impending sale of his flat. The way I see it, he'd have to cave to my demands otherwise I'll be running around China with his money. Maybe as part of the bargaining I could even make him teach me the art of making mate like an Argentinian. Anyway, I digress...

As I was saying, the deal was starting to make a lot of sense. "Not only is this Patricia a go-getter, but she anticipated my needs," I thought. She sounded like someone it would be a pleasure to do business with.

So today I gave her a call. Being a clever businessman, I had prepared for the negotiations by thinking over how much my offering price should be. I needed to make sure I would be selling for an amount that would give me bargaining power with the landlord. After all, if I offered him only $400 in exchange for my $500 back, it wouldn't be very compelling for him. So I decided to use the deposit as a base and add a bit on top. $800 seemed like a fair price to me. I just hoped Patricia would think so too.

"I received your card," I said when she picked up the phone. And then added, "me encanta!" I'm not sure if this was the right thing to say, but I've heard it often in situations when someone is really enthusiastic about something, and I wanted to start the conversation off in a friendly manner.

I told her I was very interested in selling the apartment, and she seemed enthused. We talked a bit, and I asked about the buyer she had lined up. She was vague, but it appeared that her company had lot of clients, and lots of them were keen on purchasing it. She then said she was interested in coming to see the apartment. I thought it a bit strange considering she already had a buyer, but decided to let it slide until we got to the details of the deal.

Unfortunately things took a downward turn when the conversation turned to the topic of my renting the apartment.

"How long are you renting it for?" she asked.

"Two or three weeks more," I replied.

"Great. Well, give me a call when it's cleared out," she said, and before I could summon the correct phrases in Spanish to let her know that I would no longer be in the country by that time, much less in control of the flat, the conversation had ended. When I heard the "click," I knew Patricia had put the phone down not only on our conversation, but also on my dreams of running giddily through the streets spraying everyone with champagne from the proceeds of the sale. It seems I still have some things to learn about business negotiations in Buenos Aires. (I didn't even get to the price haggling, which I was looking forward to. I had secretly decided I would drop down to $600 if need be, but would put up a good fight first. I do quite like the place after all.) For now, I suppose I'll have to keep being careful not to damage the apartment before I leave.