Violent Acres

Yesterday, I made an offer on a duplex. When I submitted my offer, I was very firm with the agent.

“This is the highest price I’m willing to pay for the property,” I told her, “I will not accept a counter offer of even $500 more. Please make sure your clients know that.”

This morning, she called me back. Apparently, her clients decided to write me a counter offer after all. If this wasn’t annoying enough, the counter offer was a full $7,000 higher than what I was willing to pay. (I originally offered $9,000 less than their asking price, so they basically decided to come down 2 grand. Chump change, in my book.)

My response was, “Do these people want to play games or do they want to sell their property?”

People in my area seem to be in total denial about the current market and it’s really starting to drive me nuts. In the city I’m interested in, there are over 20 duplexes for sale. They are all similarly priced, sure, but what is most telling about them is that they are not selling. I’ve been watching these properties like a hawk and not a single one has sold in the past year. Although, two people did give up and take their properties back off the market.

Keep in mind that properties like these are theoretically owned by other investors. Do they no longer pay attention to the market? Have they seriously overestimated the appreciation rate of a property located in Bum Fuck Egypt? Are these people out of their fucking minds? Do I look like some sort of patsy to them?

Investing in real estate can be tough if you’re dealing with morons who remain willfully ignorant about the state of the market.

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