Our first open house visit - If a deal fell in your lap and you weren't ready for it, what would you do?

[Nicholas DeLouisa Jr]

Hi,

I was just curious about something.  I went to my first ever open house last weekend.  Not because I am in the market yet (I'm still learning the basic principals of this business, putting together a bank roll and a team, etc.), but because I've never done it before.  I figured I should start practicing now, trying to learn to see property the way an investor should, being able to ask the realtor/owner the proper questions, and just to calm my nerves so that when I'm on the hunt for real I'm not so nervous.  Plus, I figured it would be a good way to learn about a market, maybe even make some realtor contacts.

[I just wrote this whole big post with details and my impressions of the house, but I realized none of it is relevant to the question, so I deleted it all.]

Anyway, during the walk through, the realtor kept insisting that the seller was very motivated, and every time she said it, she would lean on the "very" harder and harder.  Almost to the point that I got the impression that they would practically pay someone to take it off their hands.

So, my question is, suppose you were in a position where you weren't ready to make commitments, but something fell in your lap, like a house being sold for far less than what it might be worth, what would you do?  Would you pass the info along to someone you knew was in the market?  Sell the info (whatever that means)?  Lock it up and wholesale it just so you don't miss out on the deal?  Or jump into the pool, having little to no idea what you're doing?

Just curious, because I was running some numbers on this (what numbers, you ask? I'm not really sure), and the house is big with plenty of potential, but unless they are willing to come down oh say $400k lower than what they listed it for, I am in no position to do anything about it.

And yet, part of me wants to make that offer, to say I would be a buyer at like $119k, rather than the list of $519k (I really don't have the time for a project like this, so I would be wholesaling it).  I think the house would be a good investment for someone that wants to flip, or you could probably make three separate apartments in it and rent them out,  But it's just so old inside (built in the fifties and never ever updated, except the siding and the roof) that I could see it taking well over a $100k, closing in on two, to get it up to par with the houses in the neighborhood.

Anyway, I was just curious what some of you would do.  A potential deal falls from the sky, you're not ready, but it could be something good - WWYD?