HUD Home
I am looking at a HUD home thats listed at $70k. I offered $60k and my agent said he doesnt think they will accept. He said he made an offer with someone else a month ago for $55k and HUD said they needed to net $61. Should I waste my time offering less than $64 or is it worth a shot? At $60k, they will net $57k.
I suppose it cant really hurt. It has only been on the market about 45 days. Only 1 other person has looked at before me and they made an offer.
if the property has been on the market for 45 days, it should have been reduced already from the original list price...has this been done?...HUD does NOT tell you what they need to net...that is classified info...it appears that your agent is trying to up his commission at your expense...what was the original asking price from HUD...
Here in the NY metro area anyway, if a HUD has not sold in a while then that means tehres somethign wrong with it. Find out why, location price and condition are the main reasons.. if its listed for 45 days that means HUD did not receive any worthwhile bids for the property...most of these HUDS usually are sold within the occupant period before investors can bid on them. If it gets to the investor period you need to find out why it didnt sell originally...it usually isnt worth it ..i hate HUDs...personal preference..
My agent was wrong. Its been listed 37 days. Its in surpisingly good shape. Much better than other HUDs I have looked at. Perfect neighborhood and everything. Dead furnace and fused electric are probably scaring away owner occupants. If they reject my offer of $60 should I wait another 8 days and try again? People have to sign in and out of the property and in the 37 days its been listed, 1 other person was in it. Not sure if that means I should wait or not.
as tbird has said...87% NET...will get the bid on the original hud price. If it was $70k and goes to a first reduction ($63k)...owner occupieds will get first crack at it for 5 days then it will be open to ALL PURCHASERS after that...it will be sold at that point to the highest bid above $50,400. NET...So at this point you are gambling...bid now or later...lots of luck...regards, cwal
Well I got it at $60k. Apparantly someone bid $60,$62 and $64 2 weeks ago and they were all rejected. I bid $60k and they took it.
My wifey wants the old world, hand scraped hardwoods all throughout our personal residence, including kitchen. I yield, she gets them.
Within 3 months, dishwasher has a leak that creeps under the hardwoods. Boards buckle, repair bill is $1100.
Stay with tile in the bathrooms and kitchen.[ Edited by tbird on Date 03/06/2006 ]
Being the former owner of a Hardwood Flooring Company....
DO NOT put hardwood in the bathroom.... the moisture content in bathrooms caused by the steam is much too great for hardwood even if you have gone to a engineered product or acrylic impregnated product...
if the bathroom is a 1/2 bath then I would say go ahead... Be careful to use anti fungus floor mats or you will grow some friends....
As for prefinished or sand n place... Its all about choice and convenience...
Sand n place allows choice of colors and finish sheen where prefinished seems to be faster and less expensive for the entry level material..
The more you pay the better floor you will receive....
And don’t confuse laminate products like pergo to real wood products...
Tile is a much safer floor product for bathroom floors and should run 4.50 a foot to install
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Thanks I guess I am not making friends
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Wood + water = $
Jim
I went with unfinished for 2 reasons. Red Oak costs $1.50 raw and can be installed, sanded, and 3 coats of finish for $3.50. Also, finishing the floors seals the cracks and to me looks nicer and cleans easier. I could not find prefinished hardwood floors installed for this price.
I am putting hardwood in the kitchen because it would cost too much to prep the subfloor for ceramic, and the look of hardwood will go with the rest of the house. [ Edited by estateXchange on Date 03/06/2006 ]
Not sure if you went with pre-finished or unfinished by your post but I imagine you actually went with 3/4 x 2 1/4 red oak... Unfinished
There are 5 grades of this type of flooring... Clear, select, #1, #2 and shorts...
And a large price difference.. I bet at 1.50 you’re installing #2, maybe #1... They both have a considerable amount or knots and are full of mineral streaks... Which could add character, maybe not...
If you like the old knotty pine look #2 or #1 will be fine… If you’re thinking of using a stain you may cover up some of the mineral… The best color for a floor is natural… As it if there is a repair needed you don’t have to re-sand the entire floor just the section and reapply the finish….
I would caution you to go with an Oil based finish, they’re much stronger however take longer to apply… there is a 24 hour dry time between coats.. Oil looks much deeper as well.
Although with a water based finish you can apply multiple coats In a day.. The other characteristic is that water doesn’t yellow the floor like oil does.
God I never thought I would ever talk about Hardwood Floors again… YUCK
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Let me throw my 2 cents in as well as my findings from many home inspections.
One of the areas that I often write up is the flooring under the toilets. Usually the culprit is a wax ring (a couple dollars) that needs replacing.....simple procedure.......yet is over looked until the damage is done.
With vinyl flooring or even tile flooring, its not that big of a deal to fix nor is it costly...............however if you want to install hardwood then you are looking at more of a pain in the rear.
Hardwood looks great regardless where it is placed............however is your market so tough that you have to place wood everywhere in order to get a sale. If that is the case then you may want to look at a different market or location.
My vote......sheet vinyl or ceramic tile...........
NC_Yank
Sanding the wall - messy and probably expensive
Ron:
Do you belong to AZREIA? I am going to my first meeting on Monday night. If so, do you find it beneficial?
Ronins suggestion is the most cost effective. You can float out the walls with additional joint compound. It takes a bit of work, but you can get the hang of it.
Textured ceilings seem to come and go, and vary region to region. Our new house in Knoxville Tn. (3600 sq ft $400K) has knockdown ceilings, they actually look pretty good. My sister-in-law just closed on a new 4500 sq ft 550K house in Mason Ohio with "flat" ceilings that were done fairly well, her last new house 2 years ago had flat ceilings also. Are they in or out who knows. I would say in, as it takes considerably less labor to texture a ceiling than it does to shoot texture on it, and you can hide more imperfections!!
Good point.
Texture is everywhere, especially in new construction, with the pressure to build faster and cheaper, qualified labor gets more and more scarce, texture covers the multitude of sins of non-skilled drywall installation.
Kevin,
If the texture is solid and presentable, paint and be done with. I recently textured a 3/2 with terrible DIY sheetrock repair and some replace. I rented a sprayer for $55 from HD and a bucket of mud (thinned to the proper consistency) and in about 2 1/2 hours had 3 bedrooms done, as well as 2 ceilings, flatten with a 12" blade and your done!!!
It looks great!!
Good luck
So years and years ago we renovated this hotel/whore house where they had sprayed that popcorn texture stuff on every wall and ceiling in the place. After a week or two of experimenting here is the method we came up with:
Scrape off the old texture. The absolute best tool for this was a brick. Yeah, a brick. No sandpaper, no scraper. Take a brick and rub down the wall.
Then skim coat the wall with joint compound.
Sand.
Apply second coat of joint compound.
sand.
Depending on your progress at this point you may be done or you may need a third coat of joint compound.
Paint with a good penetrating primer.
Wallpaper.
Not easy but easier than re-drywalling.