Well, I think there are two ways of looking at this, one being your way, holding onto a situation that may just be 'past its prime' but you'll see if you can ride it out long enough to recoup whatever you want out of it if/when the market goes back up enough to match. Or, to "face reality", that it may never (in your lifetime) go back up to the level you think it should, and to at least try to make an omelet out of the egg. That's usually called free enterprise, and while I know these guys hustle, I'm not sure it's 'sleazy' to at least be doing something rather than being, i.e. squatters, or thieves stealing copper pipes, etc. I know it seems unpleasant for some to be taking advantage of your bad luck, but sometimes it's time to move on, cut losses, start a new community where you'll be happy again, and not hang on to what may only become, in the end, a shabby memory. It's bricks and mortar, not a person, and getting what you can out of a lousy situation and going to the next thing may be easier in the long run.

It sounds like the sleazy act was committed by your renter(s), not the investors.

You really can't blame an investor for taking advantage of an opportunity presented to him and trying to acquire properties as cheaply as possible. It is no different than when retail stores and businesses heavily discount their merchandise due to the bad economy and customers come in and buy the items for pennies (or nickles and dimes) on the dollar. The customers aren't being sleazy for shopping from the 80% off rack.

You have every right to say no to these investors, hold onto your property, fix it up, and then benefit yourself when the market finally turns. The next time an investor tries to lowball you, just remember what Tom Hagen told Sonny Corleone:

"This is business, not personal."

I agree with the previous posts. I don't think it was smart for the potential buyer to make the comment about foreclosure.
Of course, he will make you a low offer, many others in difficult situations will jump at it and be grateful. You can think of it as an open door to counter.
Don't take it personal, his doesn't appear sleazy.
I don't understand your emotional thoughts as you yourself are an investor. Many homeowners get personal about their own residence I understand that, but an investment property is just that an investment, there should be no emotional attachment, just financial.
Stand back, looking at the facts about your situation, is there any play that can work with him?

I'm with Cmarlin on this. this is an investment property, take the emotion out of it. Investor sees a house in need of work and makes an offer. if 1 in 10 take the offer, he's getting a house for a great price.

you really want to "show him" go around and make some of the same offers, and buy another property. in stocks its called dollar cost averaging. Sometimes I really wish my area was like that. 17K won't buy a trailer here. you're looking at $300K for the house you describe.

unfortunately houses in high forclosure low cost areas aren't selling to normal owners at all for a number of reasons.

area isn't all that nice, generally lower income residents. These residents can no longer get a mortgage. real middle class people don't want to live there as they are taking advantage of the better deals in the nicer areas.

the real boom/bust took place in the bad areas by me. yes everything went up, but the really bad areas saw huge gains and now are sitting with little to no real activity except REO.

Making a low offer is one thing;
saying 'call me when you go into foreclosure' is another, & it *is* personal.

but you can't do anything about someone else's poor/sleazy behavior.

Just shrug it off, jamist.

Thanks for your replies. Now that I've had a few hours to take some deep breaths, I can see the different viewpoints. He was simply "testing the waters" I suppose.

BUT, I do agree with sylviatexas. He was SOOOO pretentious. Like he was throwing some crubs at the starving little mouse and I was supposed to throw myself at him and his money. Blech!

Thanks again

It's business. Nothing to get emotional about.

Nothing was sleazy as far as I can see...
rude, sure!

Sure it's business, but so is dope dealing. To walk into my private property and tell me that I'm heading to foreclosure unless he "saves" me...well, I'm not going to beat it to death.

I have to say that I replied to this thread more hastily than I should. I have my house up FSBO now, I'm in a nice area without the depressed RE market, down but not hugely.

I got a call from someone yesterday who really just struck a nerve, He apparently took an info sheet, asked questions, criticized all my answers and my 1 page typed info sheet for not having "certian" info, then brought up things on the sheet that he didn't like, then said do you really think you can sell this house for that? etc etc Essentially he called to tell me how much he didn't like my house, without setting foot in it.

I should look at this as, the guy wanted the house for cheap, or wasn't thrilled with the details. I did take it personally a bit and it seemed very hurtful.

I do see where people are coming from now when they sometimes let emotion cloud their point of view on this stuff. I guess I was always taught if you don't have something nice to say....

Wow, if someone is just outright rude, that's not a reason for you to feel constrained - I'd have told him what to do with his ideas!

Wow, if someone is just outright rude, that's not a reason for you to feel constrained - I'd have told him what to do with his ideas!

Why, one never knows when they will meet again.

I own investment property and have had phone calls for years from brokers. Most are very nice and I tell them nicely I'm not interested in buying or selling, but to call again in 6-12 months.
Some are funny that they tell me NOW is the time to sell, property is crashing, get out now before it is too late. Of course they want my listing to sell to a buyer who they are telling NOW is the time to buy.
Also when I tell them I don't want to sell, they ask if I want to buy, as they have a nearby property. This is after they've tried to convince me I MUST sell now as the market is crashing.
One broker, after I told him I already worked with another broker in his office was irritated and explained to me there were plenty of other good brokers, not just John. He was rude but I always stay nice and get off the phone.
Real Estate is a small world, fair or not, I don't want to make any bad relationships. Who knows, that irate M&M broker might hold a listing I want in the future. Another agent may not bring buyers if they have a personal grudge or think you may be difficult.
We still laugh about a neighbor coming over when I bought a fixer down the street from her. She asked how much I paid, then looked at my kitchen sneering about how small it was. Funny thing I remodeled it, sold it for double the price. She was shocked the weekend we moved out when she asked what we sold if for. Almost fours years later her house is still on the market for about 50% her original asking price. I didn't get mad, I laughed all the way to the bank.

I have the same philosphy CMarlin. As much as it sometimes pisses me off to hear someone spout wrong info, or bad remarks, I'm as nice as can be. I'll defend my ideas to a point, but you can't lose your cool.

I'm an accountant. There are a lot of us out there in my area, but really, the degrees of seperation between people are staggeringly small in my industry. Its the same way in most industries and towns big and small.

One potential buyer who put an offer on my house when it was up for sale previously(but pulled from market), now currently works at my largest clients in a group I interact with regularly. She was nice, there was no conflict there, but if it were different, it would have created problems.