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"Let's Make a Deal" Real Estate

A friend on twitter was posting various riddles, and I remembered one that my dad told me when I was a kid. Unfortunately, it was too long for Twitter, so I'm posting it here, just for fun.

Riddle me this:

Closing Package Envelopes You're buying a house, and everything is set for a smooth closing. When you arrive at the closing table, there are two envelopes on the table. It turns out that the sellers were in a good mood because they had just won the lottery. They're still feeling a little giddy about the whole thing, and decide to have a little fun with you.

Although the envelopes both look and weigh exactly the same, one envelope has all of the documents you are to sign just as planned. However, the other envelope has enough cash to pay for the house in full. Pick one envelope, and you'll have a loan on the home just as you had planned. Pick the other, and you'll own the home free and clear - right then and there. Realtor

The only two people who know which envelope is "the winner" - are the two sellers. No matter what question you ask - one of them is guaranteed to lie to you, and one of them is guaranteed to tell you the truth. Unfortunately, you have no way of knowing which one will lie and which one will tell the truth. You are also told that you are only allowed to ask them one question. (You must ask each of them the same question.)

If you are only allowed to ask them one question, what question will you ask in order to pick the envelope that will get your home paid off in full?

Posted by Joel McDonald on 01/29/2009 08:08 AM

Comments (23)

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23 Comments on "Let's Make a Deal" Real Estate

JAN

How about we do not bail the lender out and make a deal to allow him to work for us for free to make restitiuion for the mess he caused

Sounds good in real life, but then I'd never get to tell this riddle. (For the record, I changed the "donors" from being lenders using bailout money to being sellers using lottery money so as to keep the focus on the riddle.)

Which envelop will give my client a home owned free and clear of any mortgage obligation? Fun brain question, think I need to go get more coffee to get myself going.

Thanks for the comment Connie, but that's not quite it. I hope to hear from you again after your cup of coffee! ;-)

I've been thinking for a few minutes ... don't know. I presume something I would never think of, but I'll come back if something strikes me.

I guess you would ask, "Do you have the envelope with the money?" No that wouldn't work. I give up.

When will we know?

What are you a member of Mensa, Joel? J/K

I suppose there is not a right or wrong answer. The question has to be one that causes the best opportunity to open the cash envelope. How about, "which one would you pick"?

Beats me!

That is a tough brain teaser which I spent a few minutes on and have no answer. Great Post! When will we know the answer...

Ted

If no one gets it, I'll give the answer later today. Keep tryin folks! I know you can get it!

Which one requires a signature? No, the one would lie. What question could you ask that would tell the envelope if one lies and one tells the truth? This is going to bug me all day.

I've got it ... you ask them, "Would you please write how many arms you have on the package I should pick?" That way the package with "2" on it should be he winner ... :P

Congratulations Steve!

That answer is quite a creative one, and I had to think long and hard to determine if it was correct. Nice work! As long we know for a fact that both sellers have two arms - it is a winner! Considering 99.9% of people probably fall into the "have two arms" category, I think we can call your answer a winner.

For those of you who care to continue thinking about it, there is an answer that isn't limb dependant. ;-)

Ask them if the first envelope holds the cash. 2 yes means yes, only one is a wrong envelope.

Steve M,

If the first envelope does hold the cash, the liar would say "no" and the one telling the truth would say yes. Vice-versa if the cash is in #2. Either way, you'd have no way of identifying the "winning" envelope.

Steve Kappre is onto it. Only problem is that his answer is "non ADA compliant". ;-)

Technicality, I know, but his answer is VERY close! (Close enough to call a winner if no one else gets it, but there is an answer that would also work if one of the sellers happened to be an amputee.)

... and you weren't sure you could tell.

Man we are getting in deep here. What if I ask them to make a donation to my charity for a tax write off.

JAN

I apologize Mr. Amputee. I was merely offering a scenario :P

Hey John,

Sure, we can have the sellers make a donation to your charity for a tax writeoff, but you'll still have to play the game because if you don't pick the right envelope, they keep the cash. ;-)

As I stated before, Steve's answer would probably let you arrive at the correct answer more than 99% of the time (assuming you're not at an amputee convention - in which case, you'd be completely out of luck!). Congratulations again to Steve for having the most creative answer I've ever seen to this riddle!

To identify the correct envelope (regardless of the number of limbs the sellers collectively have ;-), you should ask them both: "If I were to ask the other person which envelope is the one with the cash in it, what would he (or she) say?" They will both provide you with the same answer. You would then pick the OPPOSITE envelope.

For example, assuming the cash is in envelope A, the liar (knowing the truth-teller would answer "A") will tell you that the truth teller would say it's in envelope B.) The truth-teller (knowing the liar will tell you a lie and that the cash is in "B") will telll you that he/she would tell you "B".