3 times a week during that period I would go out for running workouts in preparation for a race I had signed up for, a goal I had set for myself of running a half marathon.
That evening the phone didn't stop ringing during the workout, but I ignored it. After all, we are ultimately a firm that deals in international real estate, and I didn't think there was a crisis so urgent that it couldn't wait an hour... When I finished the workout I called back from the car. On the other end was a longtime client who had just launched a quiet presale of a project (meaning, for those unfamiliar with the term, a sale usually made to family and close associates at low prices before the presale to the general public).
I want you to buy an apartment in the project, he said.
Since I know the project as the lawyer who accompanies the buyers from the Israeli side, I thanked him and said I would think about it.
I went home and forgot about the call, but the client called again two days later to ask whether I had made a decision yet.
We arranged that he would come to my office, and there we sat over the building plans and chose an apartment together. We signed an agreement, I transferred the down payment, and we, as a law firm, continued to accompany the project.
And then came the surprising offer.
About two months before the set handover date he called and asked to schedule a meeting.
“I have an excellent offer for you,” he said as soon as he walked into the office. “I have someone who wants to buy your apartment. He is willing to pay a certain amount. You don't need to complete the deal with the developer. The developer agreed, of course. He'll sign the final agreement and you won't have to pay tax.”
The figure he named was almost double the amount stated in my purchase agreement with the developer.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית