I would hate to be a real estate agent in this market, everyone thinks their house is worth more then it actually is. I remember watching a couple real estate shows where the agent was absolutely handcuffed, the realtor knew the house was worth way less then the offer price, but the people owning the home thought it was an insult to lower their price. I say you should throw in a total lowball offer, especially on a property that has sat that long, i did it, and i got exactly what i wanted, i thought i drilled the bottom of the market but i am probably 50k underwater from my purchase price, the thing is it really doesnt matter for me as this is the home i want to live in for a long time, and i could have paid cash if i wanted to, plus its less than 1 quarter the price it would have been 2 years ago. Im thinking about picking something up in arizona as well, i have looked at a couple of good properties which back golf courses (im an avid golfer)starting in the 250k range. My only issue pertains to whether or not we(the u.s.) will be solvent at the end of this disaster. The one thing which always holds its value is porperty, so i think it should work out. Barring an absolute collapse you should be good, low ball the offer, and they should come back with something, most of the sellers are desperate right now. Its a good market to throw shitty bids at. Hope this helps.
What are you trying to buy a mini Boldt Castle? Anyway the problem is that it is a unique property. These are treated much differently. Since you cant go down the road and buy one next door you are probably not going to get anything near the price you want.
A very apropos addition to the lexicon. "Let's get an update of the porperty in our Real Estate Poorfolio."
In the Real Estate investment business, if your offer does not offend the seller...you are paying too much for the property.
My girlfriend does her nails with white-out. When she's asleep, I write misspelled words on them. I think I'll use that.