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Widow Puts Her House Up For Sale, Investor Offers $450k Without Looking At The Lot, Is Horrified After Seeing It When The Deal Is Done
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Widow Puts Her House Up For Sale, Investor Offers $450k Without Looking At The Lot, Is Horrified After Seeing It When The Deal Is Done

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Warren Buffett, arguably the greatest investor of all time, once said, “Seize an opportunity while you can.” This sentence is often quoted in beginner investor courses and is so well remembered that people forget another equally great quote: “Be skeptical. If something looks too good to be true…”

Investors in the market are always advised to be fast, like gunfighters in the Wild West, so as not to get ahead of competitors. Unfortunately, sometimes this leads to the fact that people, in pursuit of speed deals, do not look at what they are buying at all. As a result, it is almost impossible to return at least the initial amount of investment.

A good example is this story in the MaliciousCompliance community on Reddit. The post describing it got about 18.4K upvotes and over 1K comments. It is unlikely that all the commenters were investors, but it’s so nice when inconsiderate incompetence is punished!

More info: Reddit

The OP’s parents’ neighbor lived in a big house in Florida with almost no repairs for the last 20 years

Image source: Images Money (not the actual photo)

So, we’re talking about the neighbor of the Original Poster’s parents, who, together with them, bought a 1/2 acre lot with a large house in an up-and-coming part of Florida twenty years ago for $130K. The house was large, but without a pool – however, over the years, only the roof has been repaired. Everything else remains the same as it was two decades ago.

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Image source: dodohead9743

The house owner was widowed and decided to put the house up for sale for $400K

Some time ago, the house owner was widowed. She realized that she was not comfortable living in a big house alone, and decided to put it up for sale for $400K. A few days later, she was contacted by an investor from California, who offered another $30K on top – the main thing was that she quickly removed the house from the auction.

Image source: dodohead9743

The investor from California offered $430K for her to remove the house from the auction ASAP, without even looking at it

The neighbor, well aware of the condition of her house, cautiously asked if the potential buyer would like to see the house. The investor, in turn, said that she wanted to rent it anyway so just needed to get the rights to the house as soon as possible, so she was ready to deposit funds with the management company and the owner could receive them in exchange for the keys.

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Image source: dodohead9743

The owner certainly agreed, but the buyer soon found out that the house needed at least to be painted

The woman thought… and, of course, agreed. According to the OP, the total cost to the investor was about $450K. A few days later, the former owner received a call from the same investor saying that the house urgently needed painting – and that she would like her to take care of this issue.

Image source: dodohead9743

The former owner refused to take care of the issue so the investor definitely lost a lot of money

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The answer was quite predictable – the former owner reasonably objected that the house no longer belongs to her, and the problems are not hers either. According to the OP’s parents, after some time, they saw an ad for $430K on the house, but there weren’t a lot of people who wanted to even look at it.

Image source: daveynin (not the actual photo)

People in the comments recalled a lot of similar stories of incompetent investors

Commenters noted that the house owner acted quite logically – if you are offered money above the market value, you definitely need to take the money. People add that those who have a lot of money don’t always know how to invest wisely. As it turns out, there are a lot of examples when large investments have turned into a complete failure.

 

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However, some folks note that in Europe, a twenty-year-old house is considered brand new, so the situation in the United States is quite different. On the other hand, the investor frenzy is the same in any country. And perhaps the most amusing comment contains advice for the OP’s neighbor to buy this house for $390K.

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We, for our part, will be happy to read your opinion on this situation, or get acquainted with a similar story. After all, to paraphrase another Warren Buffett quote, “a comment is what you pay, respect is what you get.”

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zak_1 avatar
zak
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think OP knows what "malicious compliance" means. I get that it's a popular phrase, but it's not one that fits EVERY scenario lol

john_a_carr_1 avatar
John Carr
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Think it might have been from the BP "author" when they copied and pasted....just added a wrong line by mistake

Load More Replies...
an-gu avatar
Anna Banana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, but in what world is the fact that a house "looks 20 years old" a bad thing? Houses are not cars, they're generally made to last quite a bit longer than that.

susannaental_1 avatar
Dynein
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, that tripped me, too... Like one of the reddit commenters noted, at least here in Europe that would still be considered a very new house (and in Asia, too, I'd assume). Also - did the average interior design choices change SO much that 00's walls and floors would be considered ridiculously old-fashioned? I feel like that would be only the case for someone who follows every single fad, and that kind of person would surely *not* keep things the same for 20 years... so I seriously doubt that it's that badly out of style. Probably just not *that* modern and somewhat worn but... surely you'd expect that when buying an "older" house?

Load More Replies...
jameskramer avatar
James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We were lucky when we bought our house after quite a few sellers pulling out and then re-listing at a higher price. We offered the asking price knowing it needed gutting and new everything. Turned out someone put in a higher offer. When we went back to see the seller as he wanted to show us how the boiler worked he told us he accepted our offer because we were a family with a 1 year old and the person who put in the higher offer was an estate agent looking to flip the house. He wanted someone to actually live in.

iloveskamp avatar
Kitty 🇺🇦
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How is this the proper use of the phrase “malicious compliance”? An investor offers $30k over asking price, so cue malicious compliance? I’m getting really tired of this phrase. It’s turned into “literally” or “ironic”.

miriam-renken avatar
MiriPanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait - the owner lists the house way over its actual worth trying to take advantage of the market, but it is the investor, who offered a little more, who is the greedy a*****e?!? I don't think OP has got their priorities right...

thandeit avatar
Random Panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here, this whole story confused me. At best the investor was stipid not to cjeck the house first, but she's not any more greedy than the widow who listed her poorly maintained house for top dollar.

Load More Replies...
nikkisevven avatar
Nikki Sevven
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've received a number of text messages asking if I want to sell my house. I bought it in 1997 for $99k, intending to update it. Unfortunately, 2 years later, I became disabled after a work injury, so it still needs updating. Fortunately, I now have sufficient equity in the house to finance the update. Its current market value is $265k, which is ridiculous for a small 2br home that looks like it did when it was built in 1957.

southon avatar
Bobert Robertson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remind me again why we keep coming back to BP and don't just go to reddit? Everything now is ripped right from reddit, and don't kid yourselves BP - the "content" you add in between the screen shots you take explaining the clear as day stories? Nobody reads those. This site is going for a dump between the censors and the blatant plagiarism.

k-haslam avatar
Kate
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, check this place out: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26063-Pinzon-Ct-Moreno-Valley-CA-92555/17999693_zpid/ Note the price history. Bought in 2010 for $75k by a guy who intended to flip it. He then discovered that the previous owner had over a hundred cats there. Let your imaginations run wild with that. Flipper had to completely gut the place -- twice (he'd tried to cut corners the first time). He probably spent four or five times what he'd paid for it just to make it habitable. He finally unloaded it LESS THAN A YEAR AGO for $350k, and some idiot just offered $604k. The entire street can't wait to meet this sucker.

skidog911 avatar
Kusotare
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been to Moreno Valley. I spent two weeks in Moreno Valley one night. No thanks!

Load More Replies...
jaywalsh avatar
Jay Walsh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Who doesn't love it when greedy investors....", most aren't greedy, it's their job. And in a market like this need to be agressive, take risks (stupid ones in this story). But I mean, who doesn't love it when a greedy worker asks for a raise and get's fired, then handed a bill for $100k on the way out, amiright? (most "Greedy" investors make less than the typical factory worker) then again, this seems fake. This doesn't even pass the basic sniff test for investment properties.

ann_mohrmann avatar
Ann Mohrmann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel cheated (haha) that when I sold my mother's house (that also hadn't been much updated in 20-30 years) that I got 'below' market value. Oh well, not everyone gets that lucky.

andyfrobig avatar
Andy Frobig
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother grew up in a 3-unit brownstone in Brooklyn. The landlord offered it to my grandfather for $10,000 in 1953, but bringing it up to code would have cost about as much, so he couldn't swing it. The house sold most recently for $3.4 million.

maxblancke avatar
Max Blancke
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The "over asking" sales price seems strange to me. Where I live, things for sale usually have prices, and if you want the item, you pay that price. This seems like the opposite of haggling, and very inefficient.

dfreg avatar
Leodavinci
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where you live, what happens when more than one party wants to buy the same property? Doesn't the party who wants it more, offer to pay more?

Load More Replies...
mr-garyscott avatar
El Dee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Are US homes different from homes elsewhere? Appliances don't form part of the sale in my country and if the outside needs painted it would reduce the price a little but not to the extent it's not worth buying. Do US houses devalue as they age? I don't get this..

yaegerl007 avatar
Linda Lee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To get a decent price on a house in the US, the house has to pass a rigid inspiration and appraisal, otherwise the mortgage won't be approved. Cash buyers don't have those issues. If the house isn't renovated every 15 years or so, it's considered a fixer upper. Kitchen appliances are usually part of the sale in US homes. It's all about Keeping up with the Jones's.

Load More Replies...
laurabamber avatar
The Starsong Princess
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend has a house in Toronto that would probably sell for around $1.5 million. It’s a gut Reno or maybe even a tear down. Location, location, location! But anyone who expects to live in or rent a house without looking at it deserves what they get.

yar999 avatar
Ray Heap
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

House flipping is practically unknown here. The capital gain tax is designed to counter flipping as it would eat any profit that would make it interesting.

nicolenormand avatar
NicNor5560
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When we were looking for a house, there were two that interested us with one house in between. Two exact same house except the wall of the stairs in one was finished and the other wasn't. Turns out we both got our 2nd choice. We wanted the other one and the guy wanted ours. We both had to renovate the stairs to get the look we wanted. How funny is that? Been here since 2003.

canadianpanda avatar
CanadianPanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I assumed those are the only funds the investor-lady had? Just wondering if she can easily spent that much money at a very short time, then painting and minor renovations wouldn't have been an issue. Kudos to OP's neighbour.

zak_1 avatar
zak
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think OP knows what "malicious compliance" means. I get that it's a popular phrase, but it's not one that fits EVERY scenario lol

john_a_carr_1 avatar
John Carr
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Think it might have been from the BP "author" when they copied and pasted....just added a wrong line by mistake

Load More Replies...
an-gu avatar
Anna Banana
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, but in what world is the fact that a house "looks 20 years old" a bad thing? Houses are not cars, they're generally made to last quite a bit longer than that.

susannaental_1 avatar
Dynein
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah, that tripped me, too... Like one of the reddit commenters noted, at least here in Europe that would still be considered a very new house (and in Asia, too, I'd assume). Also - did the average interior design choices change SO much that 00's walls and floors would be considered ridiculously old-fashioned? I feel like that would be only the case for someone who follows every single fad, and that kind of person would surely *not* keep things the same for 20 years... so I seriously doubt that it's that badly out of style. Probably just not *that* modern and somewhat worn but... surely you'd expect that when buying an "older" house?

Load More Replies...
jameskramer avatar
James016
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

We were lucky when we bought our house after quite a few sellers pulling out and then re-listing at a higher price. We offered the asking price knowing it needed gutting and new everything. Turned out someone put in a higher offer. When we went back to see the seller as he wanted to show us how the boiler worked he told us he accepted our offer because we were a family with a 1 year old and the person who put in the higher offer was an estate agent looking to flip the house. He wanted someone to actually live in.

iloveskamp avatar
Kitty 🇺🇦
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

How is this the proper use of the phrase “malicious compliance”? An investor offers $30k over asking price, so cue malicious compliance? I’m getting really tired of this phrase. It’s turned into “literally” or “ironic”.

miriam-renken avatar
MiriPanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait - the owner lists the house way over its actual worth trying to take advantage of the market, but it is the investor, who offered a little more, who is the greedy a*****e?!? I don't think OP has got their priorities right...

thandeit avatar
Random Panda
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same here, this whole story confused me. At best the investor was stipid not to cjeck the house first, but she's not any more greedy than the widow who listed her poorly maintained house for top dollar.

Load More Replies...
nikkisevven avatar
Nikki Sevven
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've received a number of text messages asking if I want to sell my house. I bought it in 1997 for $99k, intending to update it. Unfortunately, 2 years later, I became disabled after a work injury, so it still needs updating. Fortunately, I now have sufficient equity in the house to finance the update. Its current market value is $265k, which is ridiculous for a small 2br home that looks like it did when it was built in 1957.

southon avatar
Bobert Robertson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Remind me again why we keep coming back to BP and don't just go to reddit? Everything now is ripped right from reddit, and don't kid yourselves BP - the "content" you add in between the screen shots you take explaining the clear as day stories? Nobody reads those. This site is going for a dump between the censors and the blatant plagiarism.

k-haslam avatar
Kate
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, check this place out: https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/26063-Pinzon-Ct-Moreno-Valley-CA-92555/17999693_zpid/ Note the price history. Bought in 2010 for $75k by a guy who intended to flip it. He then discovered that the previous owner had over a hundred cats there. Let your imaginations run wild with that. Flipper had to completely gut the place -- twice (he'd tried to cut corners the first time). He probably spent four or five times what he'd paid for it just to make it habitable. He finally unloaded it LESS THAN A YEAR AGO for $350k, and some idiot just offered $604k. The entire street can't wait to meet this sucker.

skidog911 avatar
Kusotare
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've been to Moreno Valley. I spent two weeks in Moreno Valley one night. No thanks!

Load More Replies...
jaywalsh avatar
Jay Walsh
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"Who doesn't love it when greedy investors....", most aren't greedy, it's their job. And in a market like this need to be agressive, take risks (stupid ones in this story). But I mean, who doesn't love it when a greedy worker asks for a raise and get's fired, then handed a bill for $100k on the way out, amiright? (most "Greedy" investors make less than the typical factory worker) then again, this seems fake. This doesn't even pass the basic sniff test for investment properties.

ann_mohrmann avatar
Ann Mohrmann
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel cheated (haha) that when I sold my mother's house (that also hadn't been much updated in 20-30 years) that I got 'below' market value. Oh well, not everyone gets that lucky.

andyfrobig avatar
Andy Frobig
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My mother grew up in a 3-unit brownstone in Brooklyn. The landlord offered it to my grandfather for $10,000 in 1953, but bringing it up to code would have cost about as much, so he couldn't swing it. The house sold most recently for $3.4 million.

maxblancke avatar
Max Blancke
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The "over asking" sales price seems strange to me. Where I live, things for sale usually have prices, and if you want the item, you pay that price. This seems like the opposite of haggling, and very inefficient.

dfreg avatar
Leodavinci
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Where you live, what happens when more than one party wants to buy the same property? Doesn't the party who wants it more, offer to pay more?

Load More Replies...
mr-garyscott avatar
El Dee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Are US homes different from homes elsewhere? Appliances don't form part of the sale in my country and if the outside needs painted it would reduce the price a little but not to the extent it's not worth buying. Do US houses devalue as they age? I don't get this..

yaegerl007 avatar
Linda Lee
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

To get a decent price on a house in the US, the house has to pass a rigid inspiration and appraisal, otherwise the mortgage won't be approved. Cash buyers don't have those issues. If the house isn't renovated every 15 years or so, it's considered a fixer upper. Kitchen appliances are usually part of the sale in US homes. It's all about Keeping up with the Jones's.

Load More Replies...
laurabamber avatar
The Starsong Princess
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My friend has a house in Toronto that would probably sell for around $1.5 million. It’s a gut Reno or maybe even a tear down. Location, location, location! But anyone who expects to live in or rent a house without looking at it deserves what they get.

yar999 avatar
Ray Heap
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

House flipping is practically unknown here. The capital gain tax is designed to counter flipping as it would eat any profit that would make it interesting.

nicolenormand avatar
NicNor5560
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

When we were looking for a house, there were two that interested us with one house in between. Two exact same house except the wall of the stairs in one was finished and the other wasn't. Turns out we both got our 2nd choice. We wanted the other one and the guy wanted ours. We both had to renovate the stairs to get the look we wanted. How funny is that? Been here since 2003.

canadianpanda avatar
CanadianPanda
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I assumed those are the only funds the investor-lady had? Just wondering if she can easily spent that much money at a very short time, then painting and minor renovations wouldn't have been an issue. Kudos to OP's neighbour.

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