Whats the WORST real estate deal you ever made?

[Ron Robin]

As a new investor I would love to hear about the Bad and the ugly deals...

[Don Konipol]

I purchased a old car dealership building at a foreclosure auction. AA couple days later I was approached by an attorney representing someone who wanted to buy the property from me and offered $25K more than I paid. I didn't even consider it as I was sure I could rent the property to two or three tenants and receive a return of 18-24% annually and then sell for double what I paid.

Three years later I still had not secured a single tenant. In the meantime I paid over $65,000 in property taxes and $9000 in insurance. I finally received an offer to purchase which I negotiated up to a price equal to my purchase price. So I lost $65,000 in the taxes paid, $9000 in insurance premiums, $13,000 in Realtor's commission on the sale, a total of $87,000.00 on a $275K investment, and that does not include the opportunity cost of tying up $275K for 3 years.