THE EXPENSIVE "NO"

Once upon a time, a buyer was on the verge of closing a condo purchase. Her name was already on the Contract to Sell. Everything was in order. Everything was moving forward.

But a few days before closing, she had a change of heart.

As a senior citizen thinking ahead, she decided to put the unit in her son’s name instead—a thoughtful move tied to estate planning. She instructed her broker to relay the request to the seller.

It seemed like a minor tweak. The price, terms, and timeline would remain exactly the same. Only the name on the deed would change.

But the seller—a prominent lawyer—flat-out refused. No explanation. Just:

“That’s not what we agreed on.”

Perplexed, the buyer tried to reason with him.

“You’ll still receive the same amount. Nothing else changes.”

Still, the seller wouldn’t budge.

So she called in a favor—asking a lawyer friend to speak with the seller, hoping that perhaps peer-to-peer, lawyer-to-lawyer, he’d reconsider.

Nope. Still a hard no.

With no other choice, the buyer decided to walk away from the deal.

But then came the final blow: the seller refused to return the earnest money.

He claimed the cancellation was the buyer’s fault.

The lesson?

Sometimes, what seems like a small request can unravel an entire transaction—and good faith isn't always reciprocated.

Lesson: While this situation is rare, it highlights a simple but powerful safeguard you should always include in your Offer Letters or contracts:

“The BUYER reserves the right to use or nominate either a corporate vehicle or another individual as the acquiring entity in the completion of this transaction.”

One sentence could save you from a very expensive “no.”