Is there always a deal to be had at some price?

If you want to sell something and it isn't moving fast enough for your tastes, what do you do?  Lower the price, of course!  Give it away, if you have to.

If you're trying to sell real estate, though, it's usually not realistic to give it away, but you definitely can lower the price.  I've heard wise people say (and I've started to say myself) that any house on the market will be a deal at some price.  At some point, the price will go low enough that there will be a buyer who will bite.

Dream, or nightmare?

A couple of months ago a friend checked out a property for me that seemed like a decent deal.  He's knowledgeable in many matters, including construction, so it was a true bargain when he told me all of the problems with the property.

My friend's assessment proved correct when I saw the listing price of the property drop from $150k to $100k in the span of at most two months.  That's a price drop of one-third for those of you keeping track.  That's a big drop.

So I went back to my friend and told him about this.  I said something to the extent of this: “At some price it will be a deal.”

He came back with something to the extent of: “Yes, but will it be a deal for you?“ He then went on to talk about the mold remediation, the power box issues, the location, and all of the other practical issues and unknowns associated with owning and renting that property.  He was suggesting to me that I look long and hard as to whether I wanted to inherit all of that work along with the debt burden.

It certainly could be a deal for someone who not only knew how to handle all of these issues, but also wanted to.  Upon reflection, I don't know if I'm that kind of person.  I have a rental property but I knew the house very well (it was our previous residence) and I knew it was in decent condition.  But carrying a property and expecting to discover major things wrong with it?  Not sure that's my cup of tea.

Have you gotten yourself into any deals that you wish you hadn't?