Stop overpaying...

That bothers me too. I forget the episode, but they are walking through an empty house that is dated and needs a lot of work, Tarek calls the owner to make an offer and the owner is like "Well, I see. I just don't think that's going to work...." so he offers way more than he should. I don't know about home values, especially in CA, but seriously, people, you haven't done anything to the house in 50 years, what do you expect? A million dollars for a house that is 70 years old and has zero updates, foundation problems, needs a new roof, etc? Then they always find more problems once they purchase it and start renovating. Sometimes I wonder how they make a profit at all on these houses.

1. They don't show the whole negotiating process. It's all just an acted scene for TV.

2. Based on almost all of their houses going above asking, it appears that in their market asking prices are just a starting point

I am sure there are plenty of deals that they turn down. Those just don't wind up as episodes since they didn't buy the house.