Analyzing risk versus reward…versus stupidity
How far would you go to get a great deal when investing in real estate? This story ripped from today’s headlines shows that 
most property investors (OK – no property investors to date) want to risk everything (and by everything, I mean their lives) to obtain a “killer” of a deal when buying rental property.
As reported in Forbes.com (“Investment Opportunity: Possibly Booby-Trapped Property Remains Unsold,” by Kelly Phillips Erb, 8/15/14), the following investment property recently came on the market, and was advertised as such: “For Sale: Home on 110 acres in Plainfield, New Hampshire. As is.* Minimum bid: $250,000. * Property may be booby-trapped.”
No winning bid?
As Ms. Erb wrote: “surprisingly, when this property went up for auction recently, it didn’t attract a winning bid. Crazy, right? I mean, who wouldn’t be interested in purchasing a “fortress-like” home on 
more than 100 potentially life-threatening acres?” She goes on to tell the story of self-professed tax protestors Ed and Elaine Brown, who were recently found guilty of defrauding the U.S. government, as well as tax evasion, among other numerous counts.
Apparently, the Browns had a unique defense involving self-jurisdiction. As Ms. Erb went on to explain: “at trial, the Browns argued that they were not required to pay taxes. They firmly believe that the federal government does not have jurisdiction to tax money that they earn and used the courtroom to explain, claiming, “We will once and for all show beyond the shadow of a doubt – not reasonable doubt, beyond the shadow of a doubt – that the federal income tax system is a fraud.””
The bottom line?
The Browns eventually decided not to attend the rest of their trial, and fled to their property, where they proceeded to booby-trap it. When federal authorities eventually caught them and subsequently placed the property on the auction block for property investors to snatch up, no assurances could be given any potential investor that all the booby-traps had been found and removed. Hence – a bit of a sticky wicket for any property investor. Make a potentially lovely deal while investing in real estate, or die trying.
Fixer-upper to the max
Quite frankly, I don’t understand why some real estate investor didn’t decide to buy the property as is, and then throw in as part of their “fix-up” costs a team of well-trained security bomb experts to locate any potential booby-traps. As Ms. Erb reported about the marketing of the site: “at auction, there were no winning bids. And by “no winning bids,” I really mean, “no bids.” And by “no bids,” I really mean no bidders. Despite the fact that the property was listed for auction, not one potential bidder showed up in the courtroom in Concord, New Hampshire, just an hour and half away from the property.”
Second chances abound…
But not to worry…a second auction is being planned. So if you missed out on the first one, and your appetite for risk is at hunger level, gung-ho property investors may certainly like to consider fully analyzing the potential risk versus rewards of this particular secluded New Hampshire retreat. Of course, like with any real estate investment – you could make a killing in the process…
photos courtesy of upscaleluxuryhomes.com, aaii.com, blog.guidantfinancial.com, realtybiznews.com
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