We had a seller with a heavily distressed property that needed a full rehab. We had been talking with her consistently for several days, building rapport, understanding her situation, and working through the numbers together. She was highly motivated to sell and repeatedly told us she needed to get rid of the property. Eventually, we agreed on a price, and even her husband agreed to move forward with it. The next morning she texted us saying she was ready to proceed, sent over her email address, and asked us to send the purchase agreement so we could move forward with the process. At that point, everything looked locked in. We sent over the agreement within a couple of hours, but then a few hours later she suddenly texted us saying that she had breakfast with her daughter-in-law’s friend who is a realtor. Apparently the realtor told her she had investors who might want the property, and now she wants everything to go through the realtor instead. Honestly, this completely surprised us because the seller seemed fully committed and ready to move forward with us. We spent a lot of time following up, building trust, negotiating, and getting the deal to that point. This is actually our first real deal situation, so this experience hit pretty hard. For experienced investors here — what do you think happened? Is this something common? Is there anything we could have done differently to prevent this from happening?

"The Journal reports that foreclosure filings have reached their highest level in six years, with nearly 119,000 properties receiving some kind of foreclosure notice in the first quarter of 2026, according to data and analytics provider ATTOM, which shows foreclosures up by 26% year over year. A confluence of factors has been driving up the stats, including high property taxes and insurance, as well as other non-mortgage-related factors associated with the cost-of-living crisis. “Foreclosure activity increased in the first quarter, with both starts and completed foreclosures posting solid year-over-year gains,” Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM, told Realtor.com. Although foreclosure levels remain around pre-pandemic levels, that is not expected to continue for long, the Journal reports. “While volumes remain below historical peaks, the continued rise, especially in starts and bank repossessions, suggests financial pressure may be building for some homeowners and could signal shifting housing market dynamics,” Barber added." Full details, including how this will affect wholesalers, here: https://www.biggerpockets.com/blog/trump-ends-federal-foreclosure-protection-measures

So we can have a central place for that information, please tag yourself here & post the city/ies you’re doing this business in in the state of Florida.