I mentioned in another post about taking a "foreclosure bus tour" last Saturday. I didn't talk to everyone there, but my impression was that we had about 6-8 experienced investors and the other 35 or so were "noobs". There was one house on the tour that tended to impress everyone; it's a 100 year old "Craftsman" cottage for $85K. It needed a kitchen (there was a sink on a box with a faucet attached) and the wood floors needed refinishing.

I'm sure it needed lots of other stuff too, but these were pretty glaring. The bathroom looked very "late '40s-early '50s" and there looked to be 3 coats of paint on the (I'm sure nice underneath) moulding. Anyway everyone was saying how they'd surely have contracts within a couple of days.

Then a couple of days later our local "informal group" met and it turned out that 3 people from that group had seen the house, including one who had been shown by the Realtor who calls the meetings. We had about a 10 minute discussion on the house and I was the only one that said I thought it was overpriced by $20K minimum! The Realtor told me that's why I don't get many "deals", because I refuse to overpay I guess.

Anyway when I got back from the meeting I went into the MLS and found at least 10 that were probably pretty comparable, without going and looking in them. All were at least as large, some had 2 baths, the subject only had 1. The price range was from $3K up to $25K over the list price of the REO, and all of them were privately owned so some easier negotiating on price would be likely.

It's in a "transitioning" neighborhood so once you get outside of a 10 block radius you can find some real "beaters". Although I'm sure those neighborhoods have a great chance of turning around as the "goodness" radiates outward.

So, I called the listing agent last night and sure enough, 3 offers on it, ALL OF THEM OVER LIST.

Please, for your sake and ours, if you don't know what you're doing keep your money in your pocket.

all cash