The house next door is on the market again. It sold last time for 77K, which was about 40K more than it was worth. After spending too much and not being able to sell their old house, the owners gave up. They had torn out the kitchen and bathroom (all rotted from a massively leaking roof and vandalism), and installed really cheap vinyl windows. The town made them do that because I complained that the existing windows were either broken (glass) or wouldn't stay closed so birds were in and out. It has been vacant the entire time -- since it was first in foreclosure two or three years before we moved into our house (which we are now coming up on six years). They also tried to do all the work themselves and didn't file for any permits, so the town told them they had to stop work.
We don't know if the owner is selling it or if he foreclosed and the bank is. This is our neighborhood (yes, it snowed today!). They are asking 99K, saying it could sell for 150K. The housing value in our area has gone up -- mostly because owners like us have improved or at least maintained our home. That pile of crap will need at least 60K to rehab -- so there is no money to be made in a flip if it is purchased for the asking price.
There has been a lot of traffic, which I am guessing will stop in another week once the listing is no longer new. I spoke to two people who wanted to flip it. The one guy said the other was an engineer. Then he referred to the stucco as "staccato." The engineer asked me if the basement flooded. I told him I'd seen it full of water at least knee deep. His reply "that's probably just because the electricity was off and the pump wasn't working." I just said "I can't comment on that." Hello... swimming pool deep standing water in a basement will mess with the foundation and the basement walls. But I am not an engineer and don't think anyone would listen. No one who has looked at the place seemed to care at all what the neighbors say. It's not that we don't want the house to sell, it's that we are sick of it being sold to people who do nothing with it. We have been next door to this falling down eye sore for six years, we'd prefer to have it torn down so we can buy half the lot and the neighbor on the other side can get half too.
HGTV has really distorted people's perception of how much money you can make flipping a house and what's involved. Shows never show architects/planners, the building permit process or factor in realistic costs. It is a shame since this house was nice at one point. If the banks that end up owning it would sell it for a realistic price, maybe a qualified contractor could turn it around. At this point, I think it will be on the market for months, it will still be sold for too much, and we will be destined to watch it go around again and again.
Look at that snow!!! Goodness.
ReplyDeleteWHat a shame about the house. It looks as if it could be lovely if someone bought it and loved it enough to spend lots of money on it and turned it around. I hate to see a neglected house - they always look so sad.
J x
I was in it when it was in foreclosure. It had wonderful details -- mouldings and woodwork. So much has been destroyed. Good former owners are now down South but were visiting the area a couple of years go. They stopped by to see their old house and were very shaken and upset to see what it has become. At one point, it was probably the nicest house in the neighborhood!
DeleteI never interfere with the sale of the mess next door. It looks perfect, but I know where the rotting boards are.
ReplyDeleteI would like the buyers to know what they are getting into so they don't get in over their heads. That was our fear the first time and it came true. Our other neighbor bought a badly done flip and it's driving him crazy!
DeleteThat's a nice looking house from the front. Too bad it's in such bad shape. I hate to see any building neglected. We have a family next door that does zero maintenance on their house. It's the worst property on the street, but not bad enough to get a letter from the HOA requiring them to fix it up. They've been here something like 40 years and every day I hope they will move, but it's not likely. Not nice people either. Did I mention how much I love my 6 ft privacy fence? lol
ReplyDeleteThat was the story in our last house too! The guy actually bragged that he didn't put any money into it and he made money renting it (it was a multi-dwelling). That went into foreclosure too. I think the guy who bought my old house was actually able to get the city to sell it to him and he is rehabbing it.
DeleteThat does suck - you are right about HGTV. Water issues in the basement are a huge headache, we have lived with them in previous houses and they are so costly to fix. Hopefully someone who wants to live in the neighborhood with money to invest will buy it and do a proper legal reno - and take care of their yard too. I really wonder how many flippers make money
ReplyDeleteI am amazed that our basement is bone dry. Whoever did our foundation, did it right. I do not see this house selling at the price they are asking so it will probably remain like this and continue to deteriorate. TBG says the bright side is that we don't have a family with five children next door. The family who most recently bought it probably would have been quite loud. So I guess vacant and quiet probably is the better alternative.
DeleteHaving flipped a few houses in my time, I do know how hard this is and how much it costs. I would have appreciated the opportunity to talk to a neighbor. But that is a beautiful house.
ReplyDeleteAt one time, it was beautiful inside. The stair risers and window sills downstairs have beautiful tile work. The wood is all shot from moisture, so I don't know if new owners would keep the stairs intact. The new vinyl windows are cheap and poorly installed. Anything that was recently done will have to be redone. I doubt any buyer will have the appetite for that at 99K. Sad!
DeleteWow. If that house was here in Denver it would sell for $200K in a heartbeat. Seriously, even if you had to spend $40K shoring up the foundation, you'd be able to flip it and sell it for $450 easily. My neighborhood is one of the cheapest in the city and it's really hard to find anything under $300K - and what you get makes that thing look like a mansion! Seriously, check out this listing:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/Denver-CO-80219/13361853_zpid/93295_rid/39.725804,-104.996467,39.664319,-105.070625_rect/13_zm/
Anyhow, here's hoping something good comes of it this time around.
I used to train property assessors and did a session in Boulder. I ran values on a house outside of Seattle, where I also did business. The value came up at 500K -- and the people in the class thought that was a bargain. When I told them the size of my house in Buffalo, which I purchased for 65K, they were stunned! The housing crash never affected us because our values never got super-inflated. The house you showed in your listing would sell for maybe 20K here.
DeleteI plan on retiring here as we could most likely afford to live on social security alone if we were frugal!
The house looks charming.
ReplyDelete