He had no idea what that was about (this was a first for him), called me to make sure we weren't listing it for rent, then he emailed the scammer pretending to be interested in the rental.

Sellers are still wanting "too much" as they typically think their deals should still be trading in the 4-5% cap rate range.While I won't pretend to have a crystal ball, I generally think: a) if you want to get a deal today, you are going to need to be more aggressive then you probably are comfortable with in your assumptions.  

i see a lot of pretending that capex is some kind of expense that lives in the sky and isn't associated with a specific property. 

Let’s pretend rents are $2,000 and they are paying $800. (60% below market you said.). 1) obviously they are “good tenants”.  

Pretend to be a renter and check the rents there. 

Here’s the hard truth, partnerships are never 50/50 but you always have to pretend they are.

It's amazing how many people suddenly stop pretending that the dog is a service animal once they realize that what they did is a crime.   

Inject yourself into the neighborhood and pretend you live there.

It is nonsense to pretend otherwise. 

If you can't do it, then quit pretending to want it.