We just put our 23rd house under contract to buy, and it appears to be one of the best deals we’ve gotten to date (hopefully I’m not speaking too soon!)…
The house is on a relatively busy street and not in a subdivision (two downsides to reselling it), but is very close to the subdivision where The Poor House and The DIY House are, and is also very close to The Sunglasses House. The other big downside is that the house is about 100 yards over the border into a city that is less sought after by buyers and agents, so it’s likely that fewer buyers will find it on the MLS, despite it still being in a good area.
Everything else about the property and the deal is great. Here are some relevant details:
- The house was built in 2003, and is in great condition
- Purchase Price: $46,000
- Rehab Costs should be very light, likely under $15,000
- Sale value should be somewhere in the $95-105K range
- The street is very decent, with a combination of older brick ranches and newer, more contemporary houses. The house backs up to some very large farm properties (who knew!), and there are horses on the property directly behind the house — this is my one-year-old’s favorite part of this deal, and the reason we’re calling this one The Horsey House
Like some other recent houses we’ve done, I have a feeling we’ll be able to get offers on this property above what it would appraise for…but that just means we may have to lower the price and the buyers will get a better deal.
We’ve actually considered wholesaling the deal (a landlord or another rehabber could pick it up for a steal and we could likely make a quick $15K), but given how easy it will be rehab and (hopefully) resell, I’d rather give us an opportunity to earn even more.
I post some pics in the next day or two…I forgot my camera last time I went to the property…
LOL! The Horsey House…. cute.
As soon as I saw the name of the house I knew who named it. Maybe I should call my first flip the barking doggy house, you know why.
It never ceases to amaze me about how inexpensively you can buy houses down there. Without even seeing the house I would guess the same property would be $200,000.00 up here. Congrats on another steal, good luck with the project.
Was this just on the MLS at that price? Or how did you get the deal? Thanks.
Mike –
This was an REO (bank owned foreclosure) that was listed on the MLS for $50,000. We offered $45K, and quickly came to agreement at $46K.
Trying to get a feel for the type of neighborhood. Are there some houses with burglar bars or multi-family units close by?
Mark –
This is actually a very decent, working class area — no bars on the windows, no major crime that I’m aware of and no multi-family housing anywhere near there. In fact, this house is not in a subdivision, but is a couple hundred yards from the subdivision with The DIY House and The Poor House.
Put it this way…if this were a rental, I’d let my wife collect rent in that neighborhood at night… 🙂
Wow, that’s amazing. I should buy a retirement home there while the prices are this low.
Where I am we’re down about 25% from the peak to right around the 2003 – 2004 prices. What about your area?
Mark –
I’ve only been here since 2008, and we’re down about 20% since that time. That said, many of the houses that we’re reselling these days for $100-110K were selling for $140-170K back in 2004 (according to tax records). So, it appears that in some cases, prices are down up to 40% or more.
I’m not sure we have too much further to drop, but it may be a LONG time before we get back to 2004 prices…