Apr
4
House #2 Officially Under Contract
April 4, 2008 |
Still not closed and a done deal, but House #2 is officially under contract now, with closing slated for on or before May 15th. Cash offer for full list price, with a pretty tiny list of repairs/improvements they want (half of which I planned on doing anyway).
I’m still pretty much in a state of happy shock, as I really couldn’t have scripted a happier ending to the adventures of House #2. Assuming everything goes through with a minimum of hitches, this’ll also be a pretty profitable deal, with a final profit after commissions and taxes and fees of just shy of $20,000. Which I’d gladly take in pretty much any situation, but especially given that I bought House #2 back in October 2007 when the financial landscape was much rosier, not to mention all of the bumps in the road during the renovation process.
Before I pat myself on the back too much, though, I definitely am aware of the luck factor/even-a-blind-squirrel phenomenon in play here, as it’s looking like I definitely benefited from having the right house in the right place at the right time with this deal. It’s hard to take much credit for a family being dislocated by state highway construction with a load of money in their pockets looking for pretty much exactly the house (an older 4-2 in town with over 2,000 sq. ft.) that they’re looking for. They apparently even were specifically looking for older houses built in the 40s, 50s, and turning their noses up at nicer (but blander) new construction that looks better on paper, preferring instead an older home with some character. Can’t really take a lot of credit for all those happy collisions of wants and needs.
On the other hand, I’d be selling myself short not to give myself some credit. Aside from all the personal labor and blood, sweat, and tears necessary to drag this thing to the finish line, I did manage to see the potential in a big 1900 sq. ft. 3-1 (but with a terrible layout) that hadn’t been updated or painted since the 1960s and managed to turn it (kicking and screaming) into a pretty damn nice 2100 sq. ft. 4-2, with a master suite, laundry room, and other nice touches, without completely breaking the bank. I definitely dropped the ball on the execution at different points, and left more than a little money lying on the table due to my own inexperience and learning curve, but I did get more than a few things right.
But it ain’t sold yet, so no counting of chickens.
Comments
2 Comments so far
Congratulations. So ready to get started on house 3 yet? Haha.
CONGRATULATIONS!