u/Careful-Caramel-9409

Listed my house in Lee County last month. Had a buyer reach out directly saying they loved the listing but their agent kept steering them toward other properties. Eventually found out the agent told them my house "wasn't worth it"- I'm offering 2% buyer's agent commission, not 3%
The buyer ended up calling me directly and said they never asked their agent to stop looking at my place. Feels like the agent made that decision for them without disclosing why

Is this considered a breach of fiduciary duty in Florida? Worth filing a complaint with FREC or just move on?

I keep seeing people get interested in foreclosures because the price looks attractive, but I think a lot of buyers underestimate what they’re actually walking into.

A foreclosure can be a good deal, but it’s not the same as buying a regular home on MLS. The lower price usually comes with more uncertainty, more risk, and less information upfront. A few things people should understand before buying one:

You may not get a normalinspection, or you may have very limited access to the property before buying.The home might be sold as-is, which means repairs, damage, liens, title issues, unpaid taxes, or occupancy problems can become your problem.
The “discount” is not always real. Sometimes the price looks low because the property needs serious work, has legal complications, or the market already priced in the risk
Financing can also be harder. Some foreclosures may not qualify for normal loans if the condition is too poor, so cash buyers often have an advantage. You also have to understand the stage of the property. Pre-foreclosure, auction, REO, and HUD homes are not the same thing. Each one has different risks timelines and ways to buy.

For anyone who has bought foreclosures before, what would you tell a first-time buyer to watch out for?

Every listing says the same thing -updated kitchen, fresh paint, move-in ready -and every time you show up it's the same story The "updated kitchen" is IKEA cabinets installed crooked over original 1987 plumbing, the "fresh paint" is hiding drywall cracks that shouldn't exist in a house this age, and the agent called the basement "full of character" which turned out to mean a sump pump running continuously and a smell I can only describe as "previous owner's problem now."

Last week someone listed a house as "cozy and move-in ready" and when I got there the water heater was older than my car and the furnace had a handwritten note taped to it that said "do not touch zone 2"- nobody could explain what zone 2 was. These houses aren't priced as fixer-uppers, they're priced as if the fresh coat of gray paint actually fixed something, and there's always another buyer ready to pay it anyway

Get an inspectionalways, even if they say it'll kill the deal, and especially if they say it'll kill the deal!

Y'all are sleeping on pre-foreclosure deals while fighting over the same MLS listings. For the first few years I did exactly what everyone else does- pulled lists, sent mailers, competed with fifty other investors on the same leads. Was closing deals but nothing crazy, just grinding.
Two years ago someone in my mastermind told me to shift most of my focus to pre-foreclosure specifically -not REOs, not auction, but that window before any of that happens when the homeowner is motivated and nobody else is knocking yet. Took 30 days to see the difference. Haven't looked back. Pull tax delinquent and missed payment lists through PropStream or PropWire, target owners who've held 7+ years usually 50+, pull by county not zip code. Been using foreclosurehub lately for early pipeline monitoring - catches properties before they hit public records and skip tracing is included which saves a decent amount monthly. Comp on Redfin, Propelio if you're in a non-disclosure state. If you're grinding and not closing the leads probably aren't the problem- the timing is. Get there before everyone else does

Every agent I talked to wanted 5-6% on a $300k property and I just couldn't justify it, so I listed it myself on Facebook Marketplace and a couple local investor groups. Got more inquiries than expected in the first week, mostly cash buyers which is exactly what I wanted. Took about six weeks to find the right person and I was completely upfront about everything that needed work- buyer actually said most sellers hide stuff and it was refreshing, which I think is what closed the deal honestly
Signed at asking price, paid a flat fee lawyer $800 to handle the paperwork and that was it. Kept $17k that would have gone to someone who basically just forwarded my listing to their contacts. Never going back

Already thinking about doing the same on my next one. Anyone else gone the FSBO route on investment properties or did I just get lucky?