More than 30 years ago, Raffi Arslanian (@thompsonferrier_nyc) was a real estate developer and was building a tract of 42 houses.
At the time, Raffi was 32 years old. One Sunday afternoon, a young couple came to the open house and fell in love with one of the houses.
They asked how much it would cost to finish the basement and the space above the garage. Raffi told them it would be $48,000.
The husband nearly had tears in his eyes when they walked out, saying they couldn’t afford it. That night, Raffi lay awake, tossing and turning. He called the husband and asked him to meet at the house the following day.
When they met up, the man explained that they had just gotten married and bought a store that they had recently renovated and opened up.
He could afford the house, but not the renovations for it. He took care of his grandmother, who needed to stay in the basement so she could walk in and out. He also took care of his mentally challenged brother.
Raffi drafted a promissory note for $48,000 and gave him one year of interest-free money. So, that meant the husband would have one year to pay back $48,000. If he did not pay it in one year, the promissory note would be forgiven.
“My attorney thought I was completely off my rocker,” Raffi said.
“Guess what? Not on the 365th day, but a little earlier than that, both husband and wife came to me with a certified check in full, literally in tears, saying thank you for giving them a home where they had the ability to continue to build their business.”
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Another time, a guy came to Raffi when he was building a condo. He wanted to marry this girl from Canada, but her father would not allow them to get married unless he provided a fully furnished home for her.
However, he could not afford the apartment and furnishings. Raffi wrote a promissory note for him. Overall, Raffi wrote around 50 promissory notes, and each time, he was paid back in full.
“How many people do you think stiffed me?” Raffi declared.
“The real number is zero. Not one person stiffed me. Not one person dragged it out. Every promissory note, no matter how big it was, had the same clause: interest-free, and on the 365th day, it was forgiven. Why would somebody pay me back? And that was how I operated my real estate business.”
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
