How Eavesdropping in a NYC Cafe Changed my Finances
I was in a Chelsea cafe in Manhattan doing freelance architectural drafting work. I was prospecting for work on freelance platforms, taking whatever scraps the architects and builders didn’t want. Next to me at the same big table sits a high powered real estate agent and a tech worker (her client).
They chat for a good 20 minutes making pleasantries and talking about the real estate market in New York. They had a mutual friend, which made this conversation lean towards the personal side. She tells her client that the best time to buy in New York is in the Winter and the market will likely heat up again in the Spring. For context, this was November 2021.
The client asks the real estate agent, “how much do I need to make a down payment on a 2 bedroom apartment?” She tells him that he needs $80,000, and that he will need to come up with it in the next 3 months before the market heats up again.
$80,000 in 3 Months
At this point, I was super dialed in on this conversation. How is a salaried tech worker going to come up with this kind of money so quickly. She asked him, “are you working nights?” He replied no.
“You need to be working nights. You can bartend. Everyone works nights.”
