Life is Tough
I'm experiencing a very tough phase in my 45-yo life right now.
A month-or-so back, I had been excited when a "friend" informed me about a building owned by his company is (was) for sale. The high-rise building is in KL CBD. He had told me "I want RM1,000 per-square-foot" when I had asked him about selling the building. The "friend" holds a quite senior position in his company's real estate investment department; I had no reason not to believe that if I could find a potential buyer at the price he mentioned that a deal could potentially be on the table.
And so, I had approached a company/potential-buyer about this. This company was extremely interested; I was ecstatic. But when I went back to my "friend" about this, that's when -- in hindsight -- trouble loomed. This "friend" then told me to be very careful when corresponding with him via email, that I should never ever say that I "found a buyer for XXX building that you said can be sold for the price you mentioned". His reason was that the building was never on the market and that even though he said he "wanted RM1,000 psf" for it, his company must never know that. I understood this at the time, since his company is a HUGE company in the world market, and so I adhered to his instructions on being extremely P&C about this. Note that when I initially proposed the building to my potential buyer, I had explicitly said that this matter was very very VERY P&C, that the building has not been put on the market for sale.
After having obtained a formal Expression of Interest Letter from my potential buyer and having informed my friend about this (since this letter indicates the serious interest my potential buyer has), my "friend" then had the following responses :
- when I asked for financial details/operating statements from him (since this is required by my potential buyer when it comes to investing in properties), my "friend" said this "takes time"
- after some time, I asked my friend again about getting the required info and he then said he heard rumors that my potential buyer may be under investigations for accounting irregularities and therefore he needed confirmation on this before he can proceed to deal with my potential buyer
- still later on, my friend then tells me that my buyer seems to have blabbered that they are in negotiations to buy this building and that the market now knows that the building is for sale and that a reporter had even asked him about this. He said this was supposed to be extremely sensitive matter and strictly P&C. I said I had informed my potential buyer on the sensitivity of this deal/matter and that if what happened was the case that I had nothing to do with it.
After the last incidence above, my friend then told me the building will not be sold, not to my potential buyer nor to anyone. I countered if he could let me approach other potential buyers with strict NDAs to be signed but my "friend" said "No, building won't be sold".
Having gotten excited about a potential deal that could've netted my company RM3.5 Million in professional fees and having reflected on what happened, I cannot help but think that my "friend" was never in a position to say something like "No, I want RM1,000 psf". To me, I held his position in his company in high regard ("VP" in his company's specific division) and therefore took his words to mean that I am allowed to find a buyer at the price quoted. But after having reflected on all that happened thereafter, I believe my friend was just saying something he was never in a position to say so i.e. the building his company owns was, is and never is to be sold at the moment, regardless of his "I want RM1,000 psf" comment.
I wasted my time. I spent a huge amount of time and money marketing the building. I was, in short, given the run-a-round, trying to sell something that I think is not for sale at the moment.
This was, and still is, a huge disappointment to me. The commission would've set me up for life. Don't ask me for the name of the building; I will give this "friend" of mine the courtesy of not being truly nasty. I could still be wrong about what I think of him/what happened, and he could be absolutely true about everything he told me... but I think not. It could also be true that he was trying to make such a potential sale/deal go through just for me as a friend when the building was never ever on the market... but I will never know and I prefer not to ask/talk to him anymore about this.
So, that goes
A month-or-so back, I had been excited when a "friend" informed me about a building owned by his company is (was) for sale. The high-rise building is in KL CBD. He had told me "I want RM1,000 per-square-foot" when I had asked him about selling the building. The "friend" holds a quite senior position in his company's real estate investment department; I had no reason not to believe that if I could find a potential buyer at the price he mentioned that a deal could potentially be on the table.
And so, I had approached a company/potential-buyer about this. This company was extremely interested; I was ecstatic. But when I went back to my "friend" about this, that's when -- in hindsight -- trouble loomed. This "friend" then told me to be very careful when corresponding with him via email, that I should never ever say that I "found a buyer for XXX building that you said can be sold for the price you mentioned". His reason was that the building was never on the market and that even though he said he "wanted RM1,000 psf" for it, his company must never know that. I understood this at the time, since his company is a HUGE company in the world market, and so I adhered to his instructions on being extremely P&C about this. Note that when I initially proposed the building to my potential buyer, I had explicitly said that this matter was very very VERY P&C, that the building has not been put on the market for sale.
After having obtained a formal Expression of Interest Letter from my potential buyer and having informed my friend about this (since this letter indicates the serious interest my potential buyer has), my "friend" then had the following responses :
- when I asked for financial details/operating statements from him (since this is required by my potential buyer when it comes to investing in properties), my "friend" said this "takes time"
- after some time, I asked my friend again about getting the required info and he then said he heard rumors that my potential buyer may be under investigations for accounting irregularities and therefore he needed confirmation on this before he can proceed to deal with my potential buyer
- still later on, my friend then tells me that my buyer seems to have blabbered that they are in negotiations to buy this building and that the market now knows that the building is for sale and that a reporter had even asked him about this. He said this was supposed to be extremely sensitive matter and strictly P&C. I said I had informed my potential buyer on the sensitivity of this deal/matter and that if what happened was the case that I had nothing to do with it.
After the last incidence above, my friend then told me the building will not be sold, not to my potential buyer nor to anyone. I countered if he could let me approach other potential buyers with strict NDAs to be signed but my "friend" said "No, building won't be sold".
Having gotten excited about a potential deal that could've netted my company RM3.5 Million in professional fees and having reflected on what happened, I cannot help but think that my "friend" was never in a position to say something like "No, I want RM1,000 psf". To me, I held his position in his company in high regard ("VP" in his company's specific division) and therefore took his words to mean that I am allowed to find a buyer at the price quoted. But after having reflected on all that happened thereafter, I believe my friend was just saying something he was never in a position to say so i.e. the building his company owns was, is and never is to be sold at the moment, regardless of his "I want RM1,000 psf" comment.
I wasted my time. I spent a huge amount of time and money marketing the building. I was, in short, given the run-a-round, trying to sell something that I think is not for sale at the moment.
This was, and still is, a huge disappointment to me. The commission would've set me up for life. Don't ask me for the name of the building; I will give this "friend" of mine the courtesy of not being truly nasty. I could still be wrong about what I think of him/what happened, and he could be absolutely true about everything he told me... but I think not. It could also be true that he was trying to make such a potential sale/deal go through just for me as a friend when the building was never ever on the market... but I will never know and I prefer not to ask/talk to him anymore about this.
So, that goes
posted by Reverend at 10:32 PM
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