Qatar’s prime minister denied apartment by co-op board

GlobalPost

New York real estate really is a pain, just ask the prime minister of Qatar who was denied sale of two apartments at 907 Fifth Avenue. 

According to The New York Daily News, Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani placed a $31.5 million dollar bid on an apartment previously owned by recluse New York heiress Huguette Marcelle Clark.

Clark died last year at the age of 104 with a $400 million fortune. The Daily Mail reported that Clark had not lived in the two apartments for decades, but kept a doll collection worth $3 million in one. Clark also owned two more apartments in the city. 

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NBC reported, Hamad was selected by the Clark estate after the apartments went up for auction. Hamad offered $31.5 million for Clark's two apartments on the 8th floor. While he did offer a half a million more than the asking price, Hamad was not the highest bidder.

However Hamad's purchase was cut short after the co-op board changed its mind and decided to decline him an interview. 

A person close to the co-op board told NBC the reason the board refused to interview Hamad was because he wanted to join the two 8th floor apartments into one.

NBC also noted, "Besides the security issues, the board was concerned about the disruption of construction, as well as the long-term imbalance of having a single owner with so large a share of the building."

The New York Post reported their source claims Hamad was rejected because he has too many children.

Hamad has two wives and 15 children. The New York Post source said, "It was just too complicated. There was not a chance in hell of his offer being accepted."

The apartments do have two back-up offers, however they were both made under the pretense that the apartments would be combined into one. 

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