House hunting part 2

[davemchine]

So the house I previously posted about had a showing today. I stopped in with my wife and my mother. The listing agent was the most amazing thing I had ever seen but not in a good way.

Since the house is a fixer-upper I had some questions regarding some of the claimed work that had been done. She said the house was one of the best in our town and claimed it had all been remodeled. Only a crazy person would believe anything she said. The house needs remodeling inside and paint/roof outside. There isn't even a functional bathroom in the house.

Normally I wouldn't post about seeing the house again but get this. When I arrived home my real estate agent called me. The listing agent contacted him via text and said that we were very rude and not to come back to any of her listings in the future. Wow! My agent called her back and gave her an earful as he has been inside the house twice and knows it is a fixer upper. Crazy day!

Here is the listing in case anyone wants to see it and missed it the first time. Still about $60k overpriced I think.

http://www.remax.com/realestatehomesfors...39117.html

[cbelt3]

Crazy is everywhere.

[mstudio]

OK, am I missing something here? Though not at all my style, you are calling that house a fixer upper? Those bathrooms look quite functional. Are you saying that none of the toilets or sinks work?

What is your definition of move-in-ready if that's a fixer?

[space-time]

Can you even sell a house if bathrooms are not functional?

[Robert M]

m,

I'm with you. Definitely not my style in many respects but, based on the photos, it's not a fixer upper. Definitely needs some surface work - painting and such - but that's about it. But, I had to laugh at the asking price. A house of that caliber in my area would be way more than twice the asking price. We're talking the 1.5 or so million range and taxes that are at least in the 12K + range. Heck, the two bedroom apartment my wife and I bought in 2012 was 400K and it was a fair price for the area.

Robert

P.S. Space, yups. You can sell a house that is in dreadful condition. In many cases, the buyer has no use for the house. They want the property, will tear down the house and rebuild from scratch and still come out ahead.

[davemchine]

The pictures are very flattering to the house. There are several notable problems with it.

The roof needs to be replaced which would be a very large expense. The entire exterior of the house is shedding paint. The balcony off the master suite is not safe to walk onto. The master bathroom has no flooring at all (only subfloor) and I don't think the plumbing works. The pool is an unknown, they either don't know what is wrong or won't say, but it isn't usable. The landscaping is half dead and what isn't is overgrown. I'm pretty sure something died in the hot tub, it's never going to be usable. The dining room has old dark paneling. Every light fixture is either broken, missing, or from the 70's. The kitchen has new cabinets but they are not the quality you would expect in a nicer home. There are garage power strips along the wall in the kitchen. There are multiple exterior doors with broken hardware. The other bathrooms upstairs are not usable.

You might say, why am I interested in the house? Well it does have great square footage, location and a great view. I think if the house could be purchased at the right price it would be ok to invest $100k into it. The current owners bought it on a foreclosure for $280, invested about $30k from what I can see, and are now asking over $400k. I would need to get it a lot lower to even think about it.

[mstudio]

OK, well you would know better since you actually saw it. All of that really doesn't show in the photos. So why don't you just make a low-ball offer to get the process going? You can then get your inspector in to find out what it really needs or doesn't.

It is a nice view.

[davemchine]

My initial post was really more about the listing agent than about the house. I was just really blown away by how she acted. Perhaps I should have been more gracious but it's difficult sometimes.

As for the house I would be thrilled to make a low ball offer but my wife does not like the house. So unless I want to live alone I'll have to keep looking. :-)

[mstudio]

Well, I guess she was trying to do her job and yes, keep looking. :-)

[3d]

I'm with RobertM. A house like the one you looked at in a nice part of Long Island, NY with a good school district would cost upwards of a million. Doesn't matter if the bathroom works or not. As-is. A cool mil. It'll sell in 2 weeks.

You wanna see MY definition of a fixer upper?

The house I bought is in a top 5 school district of all of Long Island. Hold on to your hats... here's the kitchen when we bought it:




Notice the rickety home-made cabinets. Institutional green paint. Faux marble laminte countertops. And vinyl floor stick on tiles. And yes,, the fridge juts out into the doorway. You might ask, Why am I so close? Why don't I take a few steps back to get a better pic of the whole kitchen? Uhmmm.. I can't. My back is against the far wall. The kitchen is about 10x12 feet.