It pays to be patient

We are buying a new house.  House shopping can be fun.  It can also be frustrating.  This is supposed to be a buyer's market, so I anticipated getting a good deal.  However, a lot of people paid too much for their home and now they just won't be reasonable about the current value of their home. 

My plan was to look at a few homes and then buy one.  That was not how it worked out.  We saw so many homes that had major problems but were priced as if they were move-in ready.  We put in offers on several homes.  One was a foreclosure and, even though we put in the highest offer, we were beat out by a cash offer.  It just didn't seem to be coming together.

The last offer we put in on a house was also rejected and I was beginning to think I would have to pay more than I was willing to pay.  Our realtor told us to stick to our plan and I'm glad we did.  The owners called back a few days later and accepted our offer.  It really does pay to be patient.

It never hurts to ask

I got an amazing deal today.  All I had to do was ask.  Well, and be a little persistent.

I saw a chair (in a box, not assembled) that would go perfectly in my living room.  It had been ordered online and returned to the store.  Originally it was $140, but was marked down to $100 because they don't carry them in the store.  I was excited already.

I took it out of the box and noticed some damage.  It was on the back and I thought I could live with it - for the right price. 

I took it to the front and asked to speak to a manager.  I showed her the damage and asked if they could give an extra discount.  She said she couldn't.  Not that it couldn't be done, but that she couldn't.  So I asked to speak to a higher manager.  Another woman came out and quickly agreed to discount it further.  I was hoping for another $20 or $25 off.  Surprisingly, she marked it down to $50!!  What an awesome deal!  Plus, I got another 5% off with my Target card.  That's a total of $47.50 plus tax for my new chair.