This reminds me of a time I was standing in the bank in Summer 2001. I had just received my $300 check that was refunded to all US taxpayers and was getting ready to deposit it. The guy behind me in the bank said “Sending out those checks was a huge mistake by George Bush.” I asked him, “Did they send you a check?” He said yes. I told him “Then why don’t you just tear your check into pieces and throw it away. You will save our country $300.” He gave me a dirty look and didn’t say anything else.
GL,
Thanks, that was a good post.
I certainly could not have said this better myself, I TOTALLY agree with you.
I just had an attorney advise a seller to “Not proceed with the sale, because the investor is going to make a lot of money, re-negotiate”.
Ah, nope…contract signed/recorded, closing set, and the sellers are still in the game, after telling the attorney, “The buyer says, then why doesn’t your attorney buy it?, so we want your offer, otherwise we will sell to Jim.”
Gotta love it!
An attorney once asked me at a closing after reading my contract and stating that “IT SURE IS IN YOUR FAVOR HERE”, “Did you ever think about going to law school?”
To which I replied…“Nope, I have ethics and the pay cut would not be my idea of fun.”
He stopped smirking after that.
All because my “profit was too high”…according to his standards.
Crazy thinking at best.
Then again, that house was a week from sale, perhaps the sellers would have been better off letting the F/C happen…NOT!
I have been busy the past couple of days, so only now am I reading this thread. Do I have this right?
A drunk foreigner, who couldn’t speak English, from a socialism country, with a $5k Rolex, was losing his house valued at $300k for $50k; so the capitalist investor got the seller out of foreclosure and gave the seller $100k?
Seems as though the socialist enjoyed the benefits of capitalism at work.
Have you seen how much houses go for in foreclosure sales in Seattle Washington? You also assumed that these are rational and reasonable people. They don’t know any english and don’t even know what a foreclosure is…
I have sat across from many owners who were greedy/ignorant/lying/cheating. Many of them did end up losing $$ because of their attitude or unwillingness to get a clue, even when one was offered to them on a silver platter.
I still feel sorry for some of these folks, and have spent countless hours helping some of them out even when I knew there would not be dolar one in it for me. But I will not condem any investor who deals honestly and ends up making what appears to be a huge profit.
History does not reveal its alternative endings, but for the investor taking his time to work with these people we really have no idea where they would have ended up.
To me it looks like everyone won, and received what they deserved, in this case.
Perhaps my point on the tax cut example was unclear. What I’m saying is that if they don’t want the tax cut, then don’t take it. Go ahead and pay what they were paying before or even more if they feel it’s appropriate.
Lead by example, not by hot air alone.
Everyone is free to overpay their “voluntary” taxes, noone has ever gone to jail for doing so.
It’s a darn good thing the drunk foreigner, who couldn’t speak english, from a socialism country, with a $5k Rolex, who was losing his house valued at $300k for $50k, that the capital investor got him out of foreclosure and gave him a $100k, wasn’t confused! Because a confused mind always says NO!!! LOL
I think the heartless thing goes back to the individuals who make up the whole.
In the case of capitalism(free market), it’s an awesome gift/experiment and with it comes extreme amounts of responsibility and while charity and compassion has it’s place, it is not our first and primary objective.
The True Order is PROFIT!OPERATIONAL INTEGRITY!CHARITY!
This is the major conflict! True Life Example see my recent post about whether or not it’s a good strategy to re-sell to original homeowners facing foreclosure.
Profit says for the right amount!
Operational Integrity says absolutely not,too much risk
Charity/My Heart says you have to figure a way to help!
So in a nutshell every individual has to determine for THEMSELVES which voice speaks the loudest!
But if a drunk that was conscious and approached me and offered to sell me his rolex for $100 I might be inclined to buy it from him if I wanted the watch.
So they don’t know what an attorney is? They had no one they seeked any legal advice from when they purchased the property? They have no one they know that could interpret for them? How did they ever close on the purchase when they bought the property???
How did they understand the investor enough to understand they were getting a $100k or 50% of the proceeds left over?
Not only do we as investors help people out of bad situations, and make a profit in the process, We also help people buy houses that may not have been able to otherwise. I, for one enjoy this business. Although I don’t consider myself a people person, it is quite enjoyable to be party to helping people in these situations. I have had buyers thank me many times over for helping them get into their OWN house.
When the ole boy awakens tomorrow, and doesn’t know what time it is, you should have agreed to sell it back to him for $ 120… fair profit; don’t you agree…? NOT!
You’re getting way too technical here. These people inherited the property… Don’t assume that everybody is as smart and well informed as you are. I’m sure you have stumbled along the path of life a few times yourself and I don’t think you appreciated the people who kicked you while you were down…
