Bank-owned Property Rehab
SFH sold in 2002 for 80K. Foreclosed a year ago for 70K. Bank now has listed on MLS for 68K. Assessed value is 92K. Comparable house across the street is listed at 100K.
House is 100 years old. I haven't been inside yet, except in basement. Looks solid; mostly cleanup needed. Only major repair at this point appears to be sagging roof.
My plan is to buy with cash from HELOC. How low might the bank go? Why hasn't anyone bought it in the last year? (I don't know when bank listed or set current price.) Listing implies house was once arranged as 2-units but is now again SFH configuration.
Any other thoughts or tips?
Thanks,
-- Tim
make an embarrassing low offer, and work your way up, if it's been on the market for awhile, you might be the only one talking to them.
If the bank is asking $68K and I offer $50K, are they likely to counter-offer, or just reject and wait for me to up my offer?
The bank will likely respond favorably to an all cash offer. Ask the listing agent how long it has been listed, however you already know that they have had it for about a year so they are anxious to get rid of it. You can come in low and adjust your price after you assess the amount of needed repairs.
I bought one from a bank last year and offered about 2/3 of their asking price. They came back with a counter.
It would be educational to find out when they got it back from the foreclosure vs. when it was listed. Granted the listing date can be misleading if the listing agent was changed. I have also see when there was a price adjustment that the old listing was terminated and a new one created so the listing date is not always as helpful as one would like.
Did the bank get anything done on the place? This will impact what they expect and also goes to the time lag. I would guess (only a guess) that nothing was done based on what you already reported.
From the others it seems that an offer between 50% and 66% will be a good starting point. Definitely be prepared to close quickly if you want the best price. A cash buyer with a short close is view very differently from a buyer expecting to obtain financing and needing 45+ days.
John
[addsig]
Thanks all. I think the house does have new locks.
Also, the water heater and furnace in the basement looked new. I have to figure out the cause of the sagging roof still.
Wow, I had thought of offering 60K. My Dad suggested 50K. Sounds like you all are suggesting even less, like 40-45K.
Thanks,
-- Tim
Yeah, I have the same question about why somebody else didn't already take it.
I think it was winterized as I saw a sticker on the front door. Need to get inside next week. My assumption so far is that it was liveable 2 years ago. I'm not planning on doing 50 years of catch up.