When my boyfriend and I were struggling to find a house we could afford, a friend told us she’d cosign with us if we came across a property with two houses on it. We ended up locating a reduced-price lot with three houses, one of which we could rent out to help pay the mortgage. The homes were in disrepair, and the property was being offered through an auction-like court procedure. Other parties could show up and make a better offer, and we couldn’t afford to bid any higher. Sure enough, as we waited in the lobby to be let into the courtroom, our realtor pointed out another group of three people who had come to buy the property out from under us. One of them was smoking a cigarette.