The building had twelve apartments. Eleven were occupied. The twelfth, Apartment 7, was empty. This was considered a serious defect.

The broker described Apartment 7 as an opportunity. The seller described it as temporarily unoccupied. The lender described it as a risk. The appraiser described it as a unit, although he had not been inside.

Apartment 7 had never objected to any of these descriptions. It had two bedrooms, one bathroom, and a window overlooking a parking lot. Its plumbing worked. Its electricity worked. Its front door locked properly. Nevertheless, it was summoned for inspection.

The inspector found nothing wrong, which made his report unusually difficult to complete. After some consideration, he recommended further evaluation. The lender requested an explanation for the vacancy. The seller explained that the previous tenant had moved out. The lender found this explanation insufficient. Why had the tenant moved out? "Because he had found another apartment." "Why had he preferred the other apartment?" Nobody knew. This uncertainty was entered into the file.

The buyer proposed reducing the purchase price by $30,000. The seller objected that Apartment 7 was worth considerably more than that. The buyer replied that an apartment producing no income could hardly be worth as much as one producing income. The seller pointed out that the apartment was perfectly capable of producing income. The lender requested evidence of this capability.

A property manager was hired to prepare a rental estimate. He concluded that Apartment 7 could be rented for $1,800 per month, provided someone agreed to pay $1,800 per month. His report cost $450. The appraiser subsequently valued the building using the projected rental income of Apartment 7. The lender then questioned whether projected income could be relied upon, since Apartment 7 remained empty. Another report was ordered.

By this time, Apartment 7 had acquired a considerable file of its own. It contained photographs, estimates, objections, explanations, and several signatures from people who had never visited it. The other eleven apartments continued collecting rent.

Eventually, the transaction was postponed until the status of Apartment 7 could be resolved. Nobody could explain what resolution would look like.

One afternoon, a prospective tenant arrived, inspected the apartment, and offered to rent it for $1,800 per month. The property manager declined to sign the lease. The building was under contract, he explained, and any change in occupancy would require the lender to review the file again. Apartment 7 remained empty. For the first time, everyone agreed that this was necessary.