\u201cThen play Lotto\u201d \u201cOk, 500.000 is ok?\u201d<\/p>\n
Today I am in Timisoara for few hours, but on Friday I was in Cluj. The day was full of meetings there, as my \u201cnever ending quest\u201d to find and purchase good properties continues. Cluj is also hosting these days TIFF festival, a Film Festival which is described (by the locals) as the most important Romanian one. So, if you want to have a taste of glamour, meeting VIPS and \u201ccelebrities\u201d, Cluj is your destination these days\u2026<\/p>\n
Cluj, a city full of memories\u2026
\nThis time my visit there, except a potential new deal which is almost sealed and some other positive discussions, offered me the pleasure to remember some nice old memories\u2026 Usually I have 7 – 14 meetings daily. I have worked hard and achieved almost all of them to be with serious people, discussing about business in a civilized way. In the end of the day, it does not matter if we will agree or not, the important issue is to respect each other. But\u2026 you know, lately I missed meeting also couple of unserious people too, who try to trick me as if I am completely idiot. Am I masochist? Maybe\u2026 Did I ever bite the bait? No, but I still miss the feeling of meeting someone who finds himself much more intelligent than me, able to sell to me garbage in the price of gold.
\nSo, an experience I had on Friday reminded me of a story that happened to me a couple of years ago in the same city. Allow me to share this with you, as what happened last week is almost similar\u2026<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t point the properties I showed you on a map, because you are a man = you are a pig\u2026\u201d
\n2007\u2026 year end. That day started with a \u201csweet\u201d real estate agent who refused to point the properties on the map, telling me that I am man = I am a pig = I am too demanding = I have to be punished and she will not do what I asked her to. This strategy worked good with her husband and her sons, so she informed me that she did not intend to change behaviour her early 50s (you can guess that I never met her again, I searched for other \u201canimals\u201d like me in our zoo\u2026)
\nThen it was another lady, having similar age, a bit na\u00efve, but very honest and serious with me. She was trying her best to be professional and I always appreciate good intentions (at least for starters). We did together a couple of deals and then it was the time to go together for \u201can opportunity\u201d. We visited together a commercial space in the center, where \u201cby coincidence\u201d one of the owners happened to be there too.<\/p>\n
Suit, no tie and\u2026 sleepers on feet!
\nI love feeling the cold air on my face, it refreshes me so much. That December\u2019s evening, Cluj was cold enough so as to make me try to arrange my clothes and make them be tighter on me, but I still enjoyed that freshness\u2026 It helped me to forget about the previous set of meetings during the day. I saw the famous church of Piata Unirii on my left and walked faster to my destination\u2026
\nThere I met a lovely foreigner, dressed in an orange suit without tie, but another detail was the \u201clethal\u201d one: Sleepers on his feet, no shoes! His beard was \u201cartistic\u201d, his eyes a bit \u201clost in space\u201d, he was obviously bored. Who knows why? Maybe because there were plenty of people promising to him deals and no one was actually finalizing something. His purple shirt was out of the trousers, as a \u201cstatement of free spirit\u201d, I guess. You know, each of us has his own style, so I didn\u2019t comment about this, I was just worried for his feet, as they were entering inside the dirt, that place was really very dirty\u2026 He was not so willing to show me around, actually he was a big upset I was asking questions etc, so in the end he interrupted me and decided to set up the rules of our conversation\u2026
\n\u201cAnd why should I tell you a price?\u201d
\nThe owner started talking\u2026 \u201cOk, you saw a lot. If you want, show me the money and buy it, if you don\u2019t have money, you can leave\u201d. \u201cWhat is the price of this space?\u201d \u201cHmmmm, how much do you think it worths?\u201d \u201c128 euro\u201d \u201cWhat 128 euro? What is this?\u201d \u201cThis is the price I think it worths\u201d. \u201cLady, why did you bring to me this guy? Why do you lose my time?\u201d \u201cMister, don\u2019t be upset\u201d, I interfered. \u201cI suggest to you to be kind enough and transmit to me a price for your property, a price that you avoided mentioning to this real estate consultant I collaborate with\u201d. \u201cAnd why should I tell you a price?\u201d \u201cI guess because you invited me here so as to purchase your property. I hope you didn\u2019t think that I work in the national company for statistics and I just make a market research\u2026\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t want to sell, she begged me to bring someone to me and she said this someone has an offer which will impress me\u201d. \u201cSo 128 is not impressive enough?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201c1.500.000 euro, not negotiable\u201d
\nThe distinguished gentleman thought for a while, scratching his head with his long nail (from the left hand\u2019s small finger). \u201cNo, you tell me a price, I don\u2019t intend to tell you mine\u201d. \u201cOk, in this case I would have to thank you for your time, but I don\u2019t buy properties without any price, even a theoretical one, just as a basis of discussion\u201d. \u201cOk, 1.500.000 euro\u201d \u201cYou intend to sell to me many more spaces with this price?\u201d \u201cNo, just this one\u201d. \u201cSo, without a tenant, something empty, ruined\u2026 and you want so much money, for such a small surface?\u201d \u201cYes and for you it is NOT negotiable. One million five hundred thousand euro, read my lips\u201d he spelled each letter slowly, I guess so as to help me understand the number easier (I know some people find me stupid, trying to trick me, but he is the first one who considered me retarded too, a nice progress, no?).<\/p>\n
\u201cBetter for you to play Lotto instead\u201d
\n\u201cOk, thank you very much for your time, I don\u2019t want to steal any more of it\u201d. \u201cWhy? They told me that you buy a lot of properties, what is for you 1.500.000 euro?\u201d \u201cExactly what it is for you and for all the rest of the people in this world. So in case you want 1,5 million, I think it is better for you to play Lotto instead. I understand that they have plenty of jackpots, so sooner or later I will be happy to hear that a lucky foreigner living in Cluj was the winner\u201d. I started walking my way out, being careful so as to identify a \u201cnot extremely dirty\u201d surface and step on it.<\/p>\n
\u201cOk, 500.000 euro is good for you?\u201d
\n\u201cWait, wait\u2026 @#$%^&#@\u201d (I guess some words of great compassion and appreciation for me, expressed in his own language). \u201cOk, 500.000 euro is good for you?\u201d I stopped and turned around: \u201cBut you said that the price was not negotiable\u201d. \u201cYes, I thought that you would buy like this, but if you really want the space, the price can be 500.000 euro. If you have money ofcourse, because I am sure you don\u2019t have one euro in your pocket except the suit you wear. If you have, come on, prove it to me\u201d \u201cHow to prove it?\u201d \u201cGive me 500.000 euro and buy the property NOW\u201d \u201cWithout to check it with lawyers etc?\u201d \u201cYou have my word, it is enough\u201d.
\n\u201cI prefer us to stay friends, to drink together, probably you a glass of whisky, while I will enjoy my fresh orange juice\u201d. \u201cWhat to talk about?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t know, I am sure we will find something. For instance, do you know any Romanian team? Are you a supporter of Dinamo? Or Steaua, like most of my friends, because the majority of women support Steaua too?\u201d<\/p>\n
Talking and spitting = an unpleasant \u201cbath\u201d
\n\u201cI don\u2019t understand, are you lost in space? What the f\u2026 are you talking about?\u201d \u201cMister, would you sell to me your property if I would have insulted you with my words?\u201d \u201cNo\u201d. \u201cSo for the same reason I will not buy yours, you do not inspire me trust\u201d. \u201cAnd you tell me this on my face?\u201d \u201cWhy? Should I better write it on a paper and hand it to you?\u201d \u201cGo, before I will invite my \u201csquare body\u201d friends and they will beat you to death\u201d he started screaming, talking and spitting around in the same time, offering to me an unpleasant \u201cbath\u201d.
\nThe cold air was not so refreshing anymore\u2026 After the \u201cimpossible to avoid bath\u201d I just had, I left the agent to discuss with him, probably to listen to him complaining to her that \u201cshe has to come with serious investors, not with stupids and poor people, because he doesn\u2019t have time to lose etc\u201d. I was walking towards my hotel, definitely feeling uncomfortable. But when I had my bath there and thought the whole situation again, a great smile appeared on my face\u2026<\/p>\n
PS. This lovely gentleman did not manage to sell this property in the end. It was proved out to be an intermediary, who simply tried to negotiate on behalf of the owner of the space, with the wish to arrange his fees too. I met him again during 2009, dressed with that characteristic purple shirt, this time in Bucharest. I said hello to him, he didn\u2019t remember me. Too bad, a potential new friendship died before it was born\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cThen play Lotto\u201d \u201cOk, 500.000 is ok?\u201d Today I am in Timisoara for few hours, but on Friday I was in Cluj. The day was full of meetings there, as my \u201cnever ending quest\u201d to find and purchase good properties continues. Cluj is also hosting these days TIFF festival, a Film Festival which is described […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":59454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[204],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/59454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.iliaspapageorgiadis.ro\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}