Had to weigh in on this one. Looking at this scenario in a vacuum, it is a clear loss for the homeowner on this deal. Of course, it’s the big picture that really counts. Did this person own property prior to this purchase? How many parcels, where, and for how long? How much money did this person make on real estate over the years?

I find it very short-sighted to conclude this homeowner is -as someone so eloquently stated – f’ed – because it looks like they may take a $150K loss on this particular deal. For all we know, this homeowner may have profited handsomely from prior deals to the extent they still have an excellent net gain.

Jumping to conclusions and viewing these types of situations in a vacuum are two rookie mistakes when it comes to analyzing a particular investor’s level of success.