THE GODFATHER

By Robin Shapiro

In the classic film, “The Godfather,” Brando “makes an offer that he can’t refuse.”  In Rockaway real estate, I’ve witnessed many instances where the seller turned down such offers. These situations were for expensive properties. In one case, the seller preferred to sell the house for a lot less (strangely) to a friend. Another seller stalled a top dollar buyer for a year while he/she searched for a suitable smaller, cheaper home. Finally, the buyer bailed out and bought a different property. The seller ended up selling the house years later for significantly less money. Other sellers have turned down good offers on multiple occasions because he/she waffled the listing prices up and down by sizable amounts. Some of these properties are still on the market at lower prices months (or years) later.

Finally, an illogical seller turned down a multi-million dollar cash buyer in order to accept a lower price – I don’t know why. This deal blew up for some reason; the house never sold. It’s worth a lot less today. Real estate can be strange. Some people aren’t certain that they want to sell. Others value money “differently”  – they have too much money (admittedly, unusual), or they don’t have enough money and agonize about it. Call me. Love, Robin