Chapter Four

More Fantasy

The following morning, at seven o'clock, the telephone beside my bed awakened me. It was Ben. He said he had been up most of the night, trying to work out a deal which would be satisfactory to me.

He was sure he had succeeded and asked that I meet him in an hour at the new house. I agreed, and it was not long before he was at the front door, while his girl friend remained in the car.

This time he removed his shoes and came in all smiles. He was short and slight and very dark complexioned. His general facial features suggested that his roots were in one of the Middle East countries. His girl friend conveyed the same idea.

He started the conversation. "Mr. Mac," he said, "I want to buy both of your lots, not just one."

"What did you do, win the lottery?" I asked. "Yesterday you couldn't finance the purchase of one lot, and today you want to buy both of them?"

He responded, "That is what I figured out last night. I called two contractors I found in the Yellow Pages. They both agreed that I could build a pretty decent three-bedroom house for $75,000. The lot would bring the total cost to $130,000. I feel that I could sell the house for $185,000, with a profit of $55,000. That would pay for lot #2. I would then get a loan and build my own house on it. So you see, anything is possible, if you think about it long enough."

I said, "We have a case here of you arranging figures, until they add up in your favor. That doesn't necessarily mean that they would work out the way you present them. For example," I asked, "Where would you get the $110,000 to pay me cash for my lots?"

"My brother would put an $80,000 mortgage on his home, and I am sure you would take that much as a down payment," said Ben.

I responded, "Your first assumption is wrong, so there goes your deal."

"By the way," he said, "I brought you a copy of the example that the guy used in the real estate course. It worked for him, and it should work for me. I only paid $475 for the course and it was really cheap, because it shows how a person can make a million without investing a dime of his own money.

"But right now, I must make some kind of a deal," he continued. "I have two hundred dollars in travelers checks, which I can put up as an option to buy your lots. You can write up the deal, and I will sign it."

I said, "You seem to be under pressure."

"All right, I'll tell you the whole story," he volunteered.

It seems that he and his girl friend had come to Hawaii for a ten-day vacation. The first day she expressed a love for the Island and a desire to live here. He had just completed his real estate course and felt that he had all of the knowledge necessary to acquire a home. He had no cash, but was sure he wouldn't need any.

He started looking immediately, but was unable to come up with a deal. One day led to another. His girl friend liked to lie on the each, but up to that point she had accompanied him and had not been near the water. That afternoon would be her last chance to bask in the sun, since their plane left late the following day.

He said he liked the girl and wanted to marry her. She had all the attributes he wanted in a wife. However, he said he had competition. Thus he must do something important, to become the center of her attention.

He pointed out that she had been sitting in the hot car for almost an hour. If I would give him some sort of a break, she would just about have time to spend the last afternoon of her vacation on the beach.

I said, "Okay I'll give you a break." I wrote up an option whereby if the lots became available for sale, he could purchase them for $110,000 cash, but the deal must be funded in no more than thirty days. Either party could terminate the option, with a written sixty-day notice. There were a few other details mentioned, including the $200 he had offered for the option.

He checked his wallet and said, "You had better make that $150 instead of $200. I have a few meals to buy before we leave." He added, "You will have a letter in about a week guaranteeing the money will be ready when needed."

I signed both copies and he scanned the agreement quickly and signed also. He started out the door, saying that he wanted to get his girl to witness the document.

They returned immediately, and he asked me to read the option to her. She listened, without comment and he bade her to sign it, as a witness, which she did. Ben jumped up and said, "Now we've got some land, let's go to the beach."

I said, "I think you have neglected one thing." He looked puzzled for a moment.

Then he said brightly, "Oh yes, let's all shake hands on the deal."

I agreed to that, but explained that I was really anxious to see the color of his money. He acted very penitent for his oversight and signed three fifty-dollar travelers checks and handed them to me.

He took off, literally bubbling over, as if he had just hit a home run which won the World Series.

I did not see or hear from him again. In about two months I sent a letter of cancellation and stated I would return his money, if he approved my letter. He accepted by return mail and I returned his three travelers checks, although I was under no obligation to do so.

Copyright ©1995 Robert A. MacDonald, All Rights Reserved.
Last revised: May 10, 1998.