The owner of one of ’s most desirable
apartments had four equal, sealed bids after listing
it in the spring . The owner decided to sell to the
bidder who could solve the following problem: There were
three light switches outside in the hallway that lit
three different lamps inside the apartment’s foyer.
The door was closed and there were no windows in the
hallway so there was no way of seeing which switch
turned on which lamp . The owner allowed each
bidder to enter the foyer only once to determine which
switch turned on which lamp . One of the bidders
immediately called her accountant who
gave her the solution and she became the proud owner of
the classic junior six. How’d she do it?
2011 Marks Paneth & Shron LLP
Riddles are easy. You want something harder? Try the real estate market. We won’t venture a guess as to
which direction it’s heading. But we can help our clients answer other big questions like how will recently
proposed tax changes affect property values. We’re Marks Paneth & Shron and for the past 100 years,
we’ve been helping real estate owners, builders, developers, investors, property managers and REITs make
smart financial decisions. We’re trusted advisors to some of the top real estate developers, management
companies and prominent real estate families in the New York area. So if you’ve got a riddle, call us at
914.524.9000 or visit markspaneth.com. We’ll shed some light on it.
VISIT
MARKSPANETH.COM/LIGHTSWITCH FOR THE SOLUTION.
