ally the property goes at
a partition sale which is the bargain basement of real estate.
Partition sales and heirs hungry for ready money are keenly watched by
those who buy purely for investment and with the expectation of resale
to some one wanting a country home. Hence the ultimate consumer rarely
benefits. But occasionally the regular investor finds the matter of
resale neither as simple nor as rapid as he had expected.

For some years we watched a charming little place that a real estate
investor had acquired at such a partition sale. It was first offered
"in the rough." Then the abandoned household gear and accumulated
trash were removed. With growing nervousness the investor applied a
coat of paint to the house and hung neat painted shutters at the
windows. He tore down dilapidated outbuildings and converted the barn
into a garage. The place still hung unplucked on his commercial tree.
After three dismal years he parted with it at a price but little above
that paid at the partition sale.

It was a desirable property but the investor had been over greedy and
had put his original asking price far too high. By the time he was
chastened enough to listen to reasonable offers, most of the
prospective buyers had crossed that place off their list. The ultimate
purchaser acquired a real bargain by happening along at the
psychological moment when the investor was sick of his deal and ready
to part with it at little or no profit.

This was, of course, very much a matter of luck. It is also a matter
of luck when buyer and seller deal directly with each other to mutual
advantage. For that reason it is poor economy to try dispensing with
the services of a real estate broker. A reliable one is an invaluable
guide, mentor, and friend to the lamb fresh from the city. Let him
know what you want and what you are willing to pay and he will do his
best to find it. If a place interests you, look it over well but don't
insist on so many showings that you wear out the patience of its
occupants. Never, never belittle any property in the hearing of its
owner. There are all too many people, cocksure but ignorant of human
nature, who believe this helps to get a bargain. It works just the
opposite. One would not expect to please a man by telling him that his
son was wall-eyed and therefore no asset. The same man is no better
pleased at hearing that his house is ugly or that the interior is
something to shudder at. The prospective buyer wh