@Jd Martin I think you were forgetting that the price of an asset is determined by the perception of value and that could change in lock step if panic strikes.

If its underwater, youre on like strike 5 with the deal.  

Imagine the scenario where you have the renovations completed and it's vacant waiting on a tenant - the copper thieves are going to strike again ...

Hey Rafael - thanks for the input, no offense taken...a little back story: I found an investor to buy the seller's remaining inventory 15 months ago for 4.2MIL, which the seller declined...since then, prices have dropped further, and now the seller is willing to take 3.3MIL...but now my investors are only willing to go as high as 2.4MIL, which he delined again...so the frustration comes from putting real offers into the seller's hands, and him balking waiting for the "pie in the sky" deal...he could have been done with this 15 months ago had he taken the 4.2, where now he would gladly accept that...problem is, market changed again, and he's not being realistic...so believe me, I did concern myself with the seller throughout this whole process, trying to get him the best deal I could, while still being fair to the investors...seller just seems to have unrealistic expectations, so my thought was to now see if I could go straight to the bank, and see if they maybe could help "convince" the seller to take what is being offered...you know, maybe hearing it from another source might strike a chord...in any event, since I started this post, the seller seems to be a bit more willing to discuss and compromise his position, and we are scheduled for a call in a couple hours with both potential buyer and seller.Keeping my fingers crossed...Thanks for your honest opinion...

Seller has it significantly overpriced, but the listing agent has given some indication that he understands the property's issues and may be willing to come close to my strike price (she doesn't know that number.).

I keep striking out on an heloc.

Commercial is definitely something that strikes my interest once I get comfortable and have my systems running smoothly and understand the process more thoroughly.

I would hate to have a CRE with a balloon payment coming due and by luck have a S&L crisis strike at the same time preventing you from refinancing it.

I'd meet both him and his subs onsite and try to strike a deal.  

Was there a lightening strike as the electrician suggested that burned out the components, I don't know.