hello, Does anyone here invest in fire damage rehabs. If so could someone please tell me where can I get money to buy fire damaged houses and rehab themnull
The rule of thumb is if you are getting showings that means you have a house that appears to be priced close to being right based on its location and what people can find out about it without seeing it (bedrooms, garages, sq footage, schools, ect...)
But if you are geting lots of showings and no offers then that means that once people see the house, they are finding other houses that are similar to yours that are either priced the same but are nicer or have more features, or they are finding houses similar to yours for less money.
thanks mike j for letting me know that everyone says they love it, did you also notice with your keen eyes that he said it is priced right! poor work does bring low dollars but some people dont know what poor work looks like. trust me on that! and if they dont know they have poor workmanship and they price it compared to what other houses are selling for then they could be too high concidering the poor work. the house next to a highway means nothing unless it is the only one there. and im sure it is not.
I am having a similar dilema with my first rehab. Its been on the market now for 4 months in a city where Money magazine just ranked 3rd in the country to live in. Area is great, house is great and getting lots of showings but not one single offer. In these 4 months, i have lowered my price 3 times and currently sitting on a price 20K below my original listing price. Its only been 1 week since my last price drop, how long does it typically take for something to happen after a price drop?
Have you heard of the saying " When in doubt Rent it out "
If it doesnt sell we all know the price is not right so try to rent it so you can get some positive cash flow until you get someone to buy unless itsa rented already .....
I had a similar problem with a personal residence and offered $2,500 bonus to the buyers agent. Wow, within 2-3 weeks I had more showings than I had in 6 months. Within a month we had an offer and closed shortly after. Just a thought.
Quote:
On 2005-07-12 14:08, tassod wrote:
Its only been 1 week since my last price drop, how long does it typically take for something to happen after a price drop?
It usually takes as long as it takes you to get the price correct for the market. A price drop that is still too high is going to bring more of the same pain you have been feeling.
Once again - lots of showings with no offers equals price too high.
Ask your realtor to get feedback from the people who visited the house to know why they didnt buy... take it off the market for a few weeks while you address the issues.
Curb appeal is a big deal so step back 200, 300 or 400 feet and take a look at the house from a distance, also drive by the house and/or have friends take a look so that they can let you know what they think. address these issues and put the house back on the market.
Add a nice description and photos to your listing. Price it a little below market. if you get multiple offers, people will easily go 5k, 10k higher just to beat the other buyers...
Ask your realtor to get feedback from the people who visited the house to know why they didnt buy... take it off the market for a few weeks while you address the issues.
Curb appeal is a big deal so step back 200, 300 or 400 feet and take a look at the house from a distance, also drive by the house and/or have friends take a look so that they can let you know what they think. address these issues and put the house back on the market.
Add a nice description and photos to your listing. Price it a little below market. if you get multiple offers, people will easily go 5k, 10k higher just to beat the other buyers...
I am having a similar experience right now with our first (and maybe last) rehab. Actually its worse. Bought it for $55,000 13 months ago. We spent around $25,000 rehabbing it. We had some really solid comps for around $100,000. Listed it with a local agent last august at $104,900. very very few showings the first 3 months. We then lowered it to $99,900. Got an offer around new years for $96k. They flaked out a few days later. We then got an offer in february for $94,500. They backed out due to inspection, without letting us rememdy anything. Then we had an offer at the end of April for $93,000. They requested we upgrade electrial so I stuck in another $2,000. The night before closing they lost financing. We then switched to our number #1 remax agent in the area. Started at $93,900, nothing.... Dropped to $89,900 in June, nothing..... Dropped to $85,900 in July, nothing.... Not one offer with our new agent. Talk about frustrating. With holding costs, if I sold it at $85,900 I would be losing big $$. My agent isnt offering much advise other than to "keep plugging away at it" even though we have been doing that for a year. Anyway we need to sell or refi soon because I owe a few people alot of money, not to mention credit cards that are killing me. I am thinking of pulling the listing and trying to sell it on a lease option but have never done that before. I cant lower the price anymore. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do?
So I know it sucks bad but know your not alone by any means.
While price is always a main factor I might add that workmanship is probably just as significant. I do "luxury" rehabs even in poorer areas. My houses sell in the first week and usually for 5-10K over asking price in a not hot market.
If working the 180K> market then I use ceramic instead of stone or travertine tile and I only place crown molding in the main living area. I use chair rails and for 1500-1800 SF houses my trim costs are about $500 and I pay .27SF for casing and +-.52 for crown and 5" base in mdf. I always use 2 and 3 tone paint jobs. Bathroom vanity is always a fancy 220$ plus unit usually in white with a lot of scroll or trim on the woodwork with matching mirror.
I always replace the doors and not with the old boring 6 panel doors, I use two panel with cathedrahl or arched tops and I pay 35 uncased and 55 cased for each door.
I am generally about 18-20$ yd for carpet installed, lately I like the Kathy Ireland rag type for our area.
If there are 10 houses that are competing in the 150K range in a neighborhood and only two are going to sell each month I want to make sure that mine is one of the ones that sell that month.
When rehabbing make sure you put your money into things that are highly visible, the most important thing is trim and paint (and paint in the right colors). Hardwood is good as well and even in the lower 100K houses I try and do at least the living area in hardwood.
I just sold one that I was asking 137K for and ended up with a bidding war that brought it to 145K ANother last month that I asked 215 for and got 223500. Salt Lake is anything but a hot market, I just create "hot" houses.....
[addsig]
JaCC, Congrats on the purchase. Yes, you need a budget, and make sure you stick as close to it as possible. You should have done this when you made your bid on it, that way you know what your cost and profit is going into the deal.
Also, prioritize your list. Take care of the "have to" stuff first in case you run into "undiscovered" defects. (roofer may need to replace more rotted wood, a/c may need extra wiring, ductwork, or framing, etc.)
Get a builder to help you with your estimates. This is not a guessing game and that or estimates from contractors are the only real way to nail down the repair costs on a property.
[addsig]
I think from a re-sale point- My buyers always look at the kitchen and the bathroom. I always put a little extra time & effort in these They are the first rooms I look at when I show a home! Definitly have to have a budget if not you end up putting to much into it.
A lease stays with the property, not with the owner of the property. At closing get the security deposit, lease, and an assignment of lease from the current owner. If you want the tenants out, then offer to pay them some $$$ for moving sooner. Do not pay them the money until they are moved.
Get the proper insurance - non owner occuped.
You might have to fill out some paper work for section 8 - to be totally legit. They like to keep a list of their landlords and you probably will have to show them a copy of the warranty deed to prove that you own it.
Get it inspected. Do not count on the Section 8 inspection for anything, other than getting it approved for section 8.
Buying a house below market in an improving neighborhood - wish I had troubles like that. The newer houses will most likely not rent to section 8 so they should not be your competition.
I think the cheapest way to do something nice with it if you are keeping it is to drywall over the brick. Get creative, maybe make a recessed part of it that a picture would hang in.
You can buy pre-made mantels at lowes or home depot or make your own if you are a good wood worker.
is it possible to tile over the brick? I just looked at a house that had the same type of fireplace only it was paited an ugle powder blue, my wife suggested a state tile might look good on it.
depending on the cost of the house I like to skim over itn wtih mortar and put river rock etc. right over the brick making for a whole new look and updating the old fireplace. If the chimney is crap on the inside line it with flexsteel pipeand an out of sight hood. I have done this for about 600 in materials cossts.
[addsig]
Drywall is what is used in code for fire proofing. Think about the double layer required in garage walls? While the paper on both sides of drywall can burn, the testing used to determine a materials fire proof rating heavily weights the material inside the drywall which is basically dirt.
You could tile over the brick, but I would anchor Hardi board to the brick and tile on that, not tile directly on the painted brick itself.
Cultured stone would of course be awesom, but unfortunately it is probably by far the most expensive of all alternatives you can come up with in regard to material costs, easily approaching $10-$15 a square foot, vs $1-$4 for everything else.
1996 - Bought from retiring neighbors of our daughter and son-in-law. They wanted $45,000 and we offered to write them a check for $40k. They accepted happily. No agent, went to library, looked up some contract info, wrote up a one page contract and took it to an attorney. Ignorance can be bliss!
Put about 8k and 400 hours into rehab
oh, BTW, it appraised for 150k recently. [ Edited by jimandlacy on Date 09/11/2005 ]
I just got my first deal from some preforeclosure mailings that I have been doing. Owner called and had heard that if it went at auction for less than owed he could be hit with judgement for shortage. Demolition start this week and the project should take about six weeks. A good friend is a L.O and title atty, he keeps my package on file. Did stated income loan and used funds from HELOC to put it together.
I am new to this site, but I have been a RE agent for a little over a year in Sacramento CA.
I have shown homes in the lower price ranges (<300K) I often come back to the office and pull up other nearby properties in the same neighborhood that are listed for up to 50$ per square foot less than the ones that I have just shown, and go check them out.
I have seen identical floorplans, and equal lot size homes with variations as high as 60K between the two in asking prices, and as high as 75K in final sale prices. this is fairly common (50-75K differences within .5 miles) where some are dilapidated, while others are clean and have a fair amount of upgrades, but I would say not more than 25K in upgrades (if you where to do it yourself, probably 50K if you contracted it all out)
Anyone else out there that is an agent and seen these things in the MLS also? It seems to be fairly common here in Sac, I could probably find 10-15 any given day.
It is ALWAYS price, IMO.
The market is not offering what you want.
The highway is a negative to me, FWIW.
[addsig]
Houses do not sell for one of three reasons.....
Location
Design
Price
Seldom can you do anything about the first two.......however Mike is right about the third.
It is very disheartening when you have a home that would bring another 20 - 30 k if it were in the "right" location.
I was sitting on 4 homes that would have fetched an additional 50k each in the Charlotte area.
I had spend thousands on various marketing techniques......after all was said and done, I lowered the price and all but one of them is gone.
You have to weigh how much you will lose in interest and having capital tied up versus dropping the price and letting them go.
NC_Yank
The rule of thumb is if you are getting showings that means you have a house that appears to be priced close to being right based on its location and what people can find out about it without seeing it (bedrooms, garages, sq footage, schools, ect...)
But if you are geting lots of showings and no offers then that means that once people see the house, they are finding other houses that are similar to yours that are either priced the same but are nicer or have more features, or they are finding houses similar to yours for less money.
Lots of showings, no offers = price too high.
It always comes down to the price.
thanks mike j for letting me know that everyone says they love it, did you also notice with your keen eyes that he said it is priced right! poor work does bring low dollars but some people dont know what poor work looks like. trust me on that! and if they dont know they have poor workmanship and they price it compared to what other houses are selling for then they could be too high concidering the poor work. the house next to a highway means nothing unless it is the only one there. and im sure it is not.
Hello everyone,
I am having a similar dilema with my first rehab. Its been on the market now for 4 months in a city where Money magazine just ranked 3rd in the country to live in. Area is great, house is great and getting lots of showings but not one single offer. In these 4 months, i have lowered my price 3 times and currently sitting on a price 20K below my original listing price. Its only been 1 week since my last price drop, how long does it typically take for something to happen after a price drop?
Have you heard of the saying " When in doubt Rent it out "
If it doesnt sell we all know the price is not right so try to rent it so you can get some positive cash flow until you get someone to buy unless itsa rented already .....
Kfran,
Seems to me that after reading all these posts, you probably should consider lowering the price.....lol
Or offer seller financing.
I had a similar problem with a personal residence and offered $2,500 bonus to the buyers agent. Wow, within 2-3 weeks I had more showings than I had in 6 months. Within a month we had an offer and closed shortly after. Just a thought.
Try lowering the price.
Quote:
On 2005-07-12 14:08, tassod wrote:
Its only been 1 week since my last price drop, how long does it typically take for something to happen after a price drop?
It usually takes as long as it takes you to get the price correct for the market. A price drop that is still too high is going to bring more of the same pain you have been feeling.
Once again - lots of showings with no offers equals price too high.
Few showings = price way too high.
Well said rehabinator.
cfd all the way
Ask your realtor to get feedback from the people who visited the house to know why they didnt buy... take it off the market for a few weeks while you address the issues.
Curb appeal is a big deal so step back 200, 300 or 400 feet and take a look at the house from a distance, also drive by the house and/or have friends take a look so that they can let you know what they think. address these issues and put the house back on the market.
Add a nice description and photos to your listing. Price it a little below market. if you get multiple offers, people will easily go 5k, 10k higher just to beat the other buyers...
good luck...
Ask your realtor to get feedback from the people who visited the house to know why they didnt buy... take it off the market for a few weeks while you address the issues.
Curb appeal is a big deal so step back 200, 300 or 400 feet and take a look at the house from a distance, also drive by the house and/or have friends take a look so that they can let you know what they think. address these issues and put the house back on the market.
Add a nice description and photos to your listing. Price it a little below market. if you get multiple offers, people will easily go 5k, 10k higher just to beat the other buyers...
good luck...
I am having a similar experience right now with our first (and maybe last) rehab. Actually its worse. Bought it for $55,000 13 months ago. We spent around $25,000 rehabbing it. We had some really solid comps for around $100,000. Listed it with a local agent last august at $104,900. very very few showings the first 3 months. We then lowered it to $99,900. Got an offer around new years for $96k. They flaked out a few days later. We then got an offer in february for $94,500. They backed out due to inspection, without letting us rememdy anything. Then we had an offer at the end of April for $93,000. They requested we upgrade electrial so I stuck in another $2,000. The night before closing they lost financing. We then switched to our number #1 remax agent in the area. Started at $93,900, nothing.... Dropped to $89,900 in June, nothing..... Dropped to $85,900 in July, nothing.... Not one offer with our new agent. Talk about frustrating. With holding costs, if I sold it at $85,900 I would be losing big $$. My agent isnt offering much advise other than to "keep plugging away at it" even though we have been doing that for a year. Anyway we need to sell or refi soon because I owe a few people alot of money, not to mention credit cards that are killing me. I am thinking of pulling the listing and trying to sell it on a lease option but have never done that before. I cant lower the price anymore. Anyone have any suggestions on what to do?
So I know it sucks bad but know your not alone by any means.
Bill
wow. at least your still in the positive. i would be crushed if i were having problems and dealing with that kind of money.
While price is always a main factor I might add that workmanship is probably just as significant. I do "luxury" rehabs even in poorer areas. My houses sell in the first week and usually for 5-10K over asking price in a not hot market.
If working the 180K> market then I use ceramic instead of stone or travertine tile and I only place crown molding in the main living area. I use chair rails and for 1500-1800 SF houses my trim costs are about $500 and I pay .27SF for casing and +-.52 for crown and 5" base in mdf. I always use 2 and 3 tone paint jobs. Bathroom vanity is always a fancy 220$ plus unit usually in white with a lot of scroll or trim on the woodwork with matching mirror.
I always replace the doors and not with the old boring 6 panel doors, I use two panel with cathedrahl or arched tops and I pay 35 uncased and 55 cased for each door.
I am generally about 18-20$ yd for carpet installed, lately I like the Kathy Ireland rag type for our area.
If there are 10 houses that are competing in the 150K range in a neighborhood and only two are going to sell each month I want to make sure that mine is one of the ones that sell that month.
When rehabbing make sure you put your money into things that are highly visible, the most important thing is trim and paint (and paint in the right colors). Hardwood is good as well and even in the lower 100K houses I try and do at least the living area in hardwood.
I just sold one that I was asking 137K for and ended up with a bidding war that brought it to 145K ANother last month that I asked 215 for and got 223500. Salt Lake is anything but a hot market, I just create "hot" houses.....
[addsig]
WOW!!!
The PRICES have it!!! But I disagree!!
Try these!! (Make it palatable!)
Is there a way to block the main road off!! Trees/Shrubs/Fence??? Or seclude the backyard with a private area or Music (Speakers). Make it desirable.
Add an incentive!! Free TV. Free Car! (Used) Free Computer & Printer.
Add Refrigerator/Microwave. Free Moving Van! Loaders/Packers/etc.
THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX.
Location, location, location----you can change price, you can change design/interior--but you cant change your location.
JaCC, Congrats on the purchase. Yes, you need a budget, and make sure you stick as close to it as possible. You should have done this when you made your bid on it, that way you know what your cost and profit is going into the deal.
Also, prioritize your list. Take care of the "have to" stuff first in case you run into "undiscovered" defects. (roofer may need to replace more rotted wood, a/c may need extra wiring, ductwork, or framing, etc.)
Get a builder to help you with your estimates. This is not a guessing game and that or estimates from contractors are the only real way to nail down the repair costs on a property.
[addsig]
I think from a re-sale point- My buyers always look at the kitchen and the bathroom. I always put a little extra time & effort in these They are the first rooms I look at when I show a home! Definitly have to have a budget if not you end up putting to much into it.
A lease stays with the property, not with the owner of the property. At closing get the security deposit, lease, and an assignment of lease from the current owner. If you want the tenants out, then offer to pay them some $$$ for moving sooner. Do not pay them the money until they are moved.
Get the proper insurance - non owner occuped.
You might have to fill out some paper work for section 8 - to be totally legit. They like to keep a list of their landlords and you probably will have to show them a copy of the warranty deed to prove that you own it.
Get it inspected. Do not count on the Section 8 inspection for anything, other than getting it approved for section 8.
Buying a house below market in an improving neighborhood - wish I had troubles like that. The newer houses will most likely not rent to section 8 so they should not be your competition.
Brenda
I think the cheapest way to do something nice with it if you are keeping it is to drywall over the brick. Get creative, maybe make a recessed part of it that a picture would hang in.
You can buy pre-made mantels at lowes or home depot or make your own if you are a good wood worker.
I have faux painted the bricks on a fireplace like that and installed an electric log and fireplace screen as a decorative touch.
Look for the special drywall for fireplaces not much more than regular drywall usually thicker and says firecheck on it
is it possible to tile over the brick? I just looked at a house that had the same type of fireplace only it was paited an ugle powder blue, my wife suggested a state tile might look good on it.
depending on the cost of the house I like to skim over itn wtih mortar and put river rock etc. right over the brick making for a whole new look and updating the old fireplace. If the chimney is crap on the inside line it with flexsteel pipeand an out of sight hood. I have done this for about 600 in materials cossts.
[addsig]
Drywall is what is used in code for fire proofing. Think about the double layer required in garage walls? While the paper on both sides of drywall can burn, the testing used to determine a materials fire proof rating heavily weights the material inside the drywall which is basically dirt.
You could tile over the brick, but I would anchor Hardi board to the brick and tile on that, not tile directly on the painted brick itself.
Cultured stone would of course be awesom, but unfortunately it is probably by far the most expensive of all alternatives you can come up with in regard to material costs, easily approaching $10-$15 a square foot, vs $1-$4 for everything else.
This is true that it is more for the stone, you have to know your market here in Salt Lake <200K drywall over 200K you need to spend the $$.
It is important to remember that in this business money is best spent where it is highly visible
[addsig]
So can anyone recommend a good faux brick textural paint???
Quote:
On 2005-09-06 11:53, telebroker wrote:
So can anyone recommend a good faux brick textural paint???
Are you asking a serious question? You want something called "brick in a can" or something?
bought at auction on courthouse steps-came out ok financially and used equity in my residence
1996 - Bought from retiring neighbors of our daughter and son-in-law. They wanted $45,000 and we offered to write them a check for $40k. They accepted happily. No agent, went to library, looked up some contract info, wrote up a one page contract and took it to an attorney. Ignorance can be bliss!
Put about 8k and 400 hours into rehab
oh, BTW, it appraised for 150k recently. [ Edited by jimandlacy on Date 09/11/2005 ]
Is it good to re agent to get my first rehab.
I just got my first deal from some preforeclosure mailings that I have been doing. Owner called and had heard that if it went at auction for less than owed he could be hit with judgement for shortage. Demolition start this week and the project should take about six weeks. A good friend is a L.O and title atty, he keeps my package on file. Did stated income loan and used funds from HELOC to put it together.
We got a home-eq loan on our house and paid cash for a foreclosure.
We got 100% LTV non owner occupied with a soft pre payment penalty. Im an LO, so closing costs are as low as they can go.
I am new to this site, but I have been a RE agent for a little over a year in Sacramento CA.
I have shown homes in the lower price ranges (<300K) I often come back to the office and pull up other nearby properties in the same neighborhood that are listed for up to 50$ per square foot less than the ones that I have just shown, and go check them out.
I have seen identical floorplans, and equal lot size homes with variations as high as 60K between the two in asking prices, and as high as 75K in final sale prices. this is fairly common (50-75K differences within .5 miles) where some are dilapidated, while others are clean and have a fair amount of upgrades, but I would say not more than 25K in upgrades (if you where to do it yourself, probably 50K if you contracted it all out)
Anyone else out there that is an agent and seen these things in the MLS also? It seems to be fairly common here in Sac, I could probably find 10-15 any given day.