Problem: A property I can't see!

step back, but he'll most likely come to you with another counter like $27.5k or $28k

If you can still it to your end-buyer, scoop it up pronto and then move on

Elix,

Yes, I'm planning to assign it, so I figure, get it under contract for 30 days and see if I can move it to another investor. If I can't assign it, then move on.

Hi Vincent,

1. Are you certain that Ron has the legal right to be dealing with you on the sale of his grandma's house? I know we like to think the best of everyone, but you don't know this person. Unless you have some one on one communication with his mom, there is no way for you to know if she is even in on this deal. It's just curious that if she is on board with the sale, that she won't allow you into the home. Why on earth not? If she doesn't want it and wants to unload it, you'd think she'd be more than happy to let you in. Even if she's afraid it's a horrible mess, she didn't cause it. Or, could it be grandman died, Ron saw your ad and thought he'd go ahead and sell you the house without his mom even knowing.

2. The other houses on the block being boarded up. This block sounds as distressed and depressed as it could get. You mention other houses in the neighborhood going in the lower range but are these houses boarded up and surrounded by other boarded up houses on their blocks? If not, could be they are not true comps to the house you are thinking of buying. Are you sure your buyer is going to want to buy a house in what essentially sounds like a dead block? Hard to figure out what his exit strategy would be. You're not going to fix and flip a house surrounded by empty houses and who would want to rent a house surrounded by empty houses?

If houses on blocks that are not in as bad a shape as the block your house is on are selling for $25K, then Ron's mom's house is probably not worth that.

It will be interesting to hear what Ron's response is to your latest offer. Please keep us posted.

Great point Cindy.

I would investigate the other houses on the block, who or what bank owns them, are they on the auction block, tax sale, etc. Maybe for your $25K you could pick up 5 of them and turn the entire block around to a profitable state.
Do your due diligence b4 you rush into this. Sounds like this seller won't be going anywhere soon.

Hi Cindy,

Good point. The title should already have passed to his mother, so it's his mother's house now. It's still a FSBO, so is there really a problem with legal rights? Ron said the mother wasn't comfortable with that idea, even though I said I would be going through the house with a city official, I wouldn't be able to run off with anything! I also didn't mention that they had an appraiser walk through the place in October, because there are a lot of items in the home, including older collectible items. The grandparents used the first floor as a grocery/sundae shop up until the '80s, so maybe the mother's worried about someone taking things from there. I think they are hoping the value of the collectibles within the home will justify their asking price somewhat. It sounds like there is definitely emotional attachment involved. Like you said, why wouldn't they just want to unload it, especially since they're in Arizona and they own it virtually free and clear. Property taxes are eating up money more than anything for them right now (even though they're low).

It's definitely a sticky situation with determining FMV since I can't get inside the home! I'm between a rock and a hard place right now.

Lynx, yeah, the advisory suggested the same thing. Perhaps I should switch from the one house for $25K with five vacants to five rehabs with one decent looking vacant!

Vincent