It happens to me from time to time. I am sure it happens to other Realtors too; especially, if they have been in the Real Estate business for some time.

On Wednesdays of every week, I try to go to the "La Jolla Caravans" to see the new properties that come out to the Active Market. Sometimes, a property that I want to see, is in the immediate area of another property that I wrote an offer on it at some point. This time, the particular property that I wrote an offer on it was two blocks away from the property that I went to see on Caravan last Wednesday.

The offer I wrote was 25 years ago. I was representing a very wealthy couple from Mexico City that happened to be friends of my wife and I. The particular home, was a beautiful Spanish ocean front in the Bird Rock Area of La Jolla. The home was only 2500 sq.ft. It was perfectly decorated and showed like a model. The view, unobstructed of course, was a South view looking at Pacific Beach, Point Loma and the Coronado Islands. The price, only $325,000. We wrote the offer for full price.

My friends happened to travel a lot on their big boat; I should say small yacht. The wife was the skipper and the husband was the assistant or the other way around. Their trips sometimes took more than 6 months and they always traveled by themselves. That night, before presenting the offer, my friends called me and asked me to hold on presenting the offer, because they wanted to speak with me.

Next morning we met and they informed me they had changed their mind. They had decided that instead of purchasing the home, because of security reasons, they were purchasing a condominium in a security building with a 24 hour doorman. I immediately reacted telling them that ocean fronts can not be duplicated and the appreciation on the home, to my eyes, would be substantially higher than the condominium they were thinking of buying. Also, I suggested that they could have someone living on the home while they were away. My friends are very private people and did not feel comfortable with someone living in the home while they were traveling. I tried to show the home again so they would reconsider but they were pretty firm about their decision.They were sorry they had made me spent my time, so, the offer was never presented.

Time went by and life went on. My friends made huge investments in gold. Gold lost it's lust and they lost a lot of money on their investments. So much money they lost that they were forced to sell their boat. The condominium they purchased, fortunately they were able to keep.

Prices in La Jolla kept going up. The ocean front that I went to see at this Wednesday's Caravan, 25 years later after my botched offer, was smaller and priced at $ 4,500,000. The next door ocean front home came out to the market the previous week at $ 4,900,000 and today, I found out that the home that I almost sold came out to the Active Market yesterday at a whooping $ 9,900,000. I feel bad that my friends decided not to purchase the home at that time. Surely, they could have used the extra cash.

That is why recessions scare me only a little. Prices will go down but eventually will go up and up and up and stay up. That is why so many billionaires and smart people recomend the purchase of Real Estate.

"BUYING REAL ESTATE IS NOT ONLY THE BEST WAY, THE QUICKEST WAY, THE SAFEST WAY BUT THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME WEALTHY"      MARSHALL FIELD.