Your commercial business took off like a rocket, and now all you need to expand your capacity is to purchase the small property adjacent to your company. That will allow you to meet your customers’ demands for your product.
But there is one problem – and, unfortunately, it’s a big one. The owner refuses to sell it to you. You don’t understand the logic. The property is vacant. You offered a fair price for the purchase. What could be the deal-breaker here?
This property might be a spite strip
New York City has a history of “spite houses,” like the former Richardson house located near the intersection of 82nd Street and Lexington. Its history dates to 1887 when an established clothing-maker decided he would extend his building ownership all the way to Lexington.
But the owner of the property there wasn’t interested in selling. So, the developer constructed multi-story apartment buildings on either side of the homeowner’s property. These two oddly configured “spite buildings” effectively shut out all sunlight coming into the man’s house. This made it unpleasant to occupy and also lowered its value.
The odd buildings stood until 1915. Then, the buildings were demolished, and a single, larger building was erected on the site.
Not all spite strips are that dramatic
Your situation involving commercial transactions of NYC real estate is hopefully not as fraught with drama as the above 19th century incident was. Regardless, when faced with a complex real estate sale or purchase, you should seek knowledge and guidance to make your dreams become realities.