Home Condemned

I'm not sure how the whole condemn process works. You might want to check the tax records in your county and see who's paying taxes on the property. You might be able to find that person and ask them what the deal is. If they've let the house get that bad, they're probably not opposed to the idea of selling it.

Is the subdivision nice? Would YOU live there? Maybe you should check the home values of the two houses on each side of it. Make sure it's worth your while to proceed.

Good luck!
James.

James,

Thank you for your response. I would live there. It is a small but cute area. All the homes where built in 1976 or there abouts, look very similar in style and construction. The home across the street is for sale by owner.

I have a phone number from the foreclosure alert. it is the trustees name should I call them? The Default amount is listed at $63,000 and they list the value at $104.030 which for the area seems reasonable, but not for this one.

It never hurts to call. You should call if you feel like this property is something you want to pursue. But if you don't think the price is going to be reasonable, maybe you should either try to make a deal for lower amount on it or move on to a better suited deal. Houses that have reached that stage usually need A LOT of work to get back in working order. It was condemned for a reason.

Hello, well the city called and said they have no record of any physical reason the house was condemned. The inspector told me they put the sign up because it was vacant, no utilities, and the neighbors were concerned about seeing people in it messing around.

So, next step is to find out what they will take for it and then have it inspected.

It always pays to check into things! They are not always as they appear.
Good luck on the house and keep us posted.

Best wishes,

Rina

Well I found out the house is now an REO and the last sell price was $70K.
Looks like $20K to flip it but not sure. I am having trouble finding any comparables in the area, not much listed. I called the house across the street today to see what they are asking, it is FSBO. Any suggestions?

Hi Dee,

if you are still on this deal.... here some tips: In your case it sounds that the condemnation was issued "just" for code violations creating a 'nuisance' in this neighborhood. BUT, if I would be you I would still check if there are any liens on this property and any other (physical) reasons like outdated plumming, electrical, etc. to constitute a code violation. How do I know about it? Just researched 2 properties here in my woods, and you would have never even thought one of these was condemned... from the outside anyway!

Also, in some counties there is this annoying law/rule: You can only spend (incl. permits, repairs, engineer costs, upgrades etc.) spend 50% of the CURRENT value of this condemned house to fix it up. If you can't do that, because the current value is not high enough, the house needs to be taken down!

Sample: House is worth (ARV) $100K. You can get it for $35K as is (condemned, unrepaired). The current worth (the code inspector will apply the current tax value for that, so check the last sale if it was fairly recent) is around $30K, and the needed repairs, permits therefore can't cost more than $15K MAX (for example in Pasco County,FL). AND you have to use all County/City certified, licensed, bonded Contractors/Engineers etc.! So, if your written estimate will be above this amount they can force you to take it down.

You can get a good estimate of ARV if you check for what amount this house was worth 5 years ago (that's what a HML often asks you about).

If you have any questions shoot me an email.

Good luck!

Conny