No reasonably competent seller will allow a “buyer” to tie up his property with no earnest money, unless he’s mentally challenged or desperate to the extreme.  

Anything less I leave for people as you are describing as desperate.

We got a good deal on it because the sellers were desperate to sell.

It happened during the Great Recession because people were desperate to sell. 

Now that I have a company name, logo, and e-mail, I'm desperately trying to use these up; I bought them over 18 months ago and still have like 2 full boxes left.

I was looking around and getting more and more desperate.

The guy is so desperate he's practically crying.

When I want a car I buy it from my brother who has owned his used car business for decades.I can get him to buy cheap at the auctions for cash.I also look on EBAY for desperate sellers who need to sell cheap.I wait until the auction expires and offer them a much lower bid with cash.A friend of mine picked up a BMW this way that had a market of 12k and the seller was asking 10k for 5,500.I look at the dealer prices and laugh.They are a total rip off and it makes me sick to think someone buys new or almost new and right off the bat starts losing value and having a negative investment for years.The dealers like to make the outside look good on used cars and sell you crap.I can get a new paint job and a brand new interior for a few k at most.What I care about is the engine,tranny,axels,etc.

I learned a lot from this guy too he was a road warrior making all of America his back yard buying rehab apt complexes from the east coast to the plain states building a portfolio for a man that owned a factory that knew he only had a 5 year income expectancy left from his factory and was desperate to replace the income.

From personal experience, this is a great way to turn a little desperation on the front end into a lot of desperation, and cost, on the back end.