I’ve been in must-finish-work-on-current-project-at-all-costs mode, and haven’t had much time for other stuff, such as updates here. I’ve also crept into slightly-over-budget, way-over-rehab-timeframe territory, too, which has been a disincentive to keep things current here as well, since it’s never much fun to admit that your bold predictions of coming in under budget and finishing by the end of January were, umm, not so much on target.
On the bright side, we’re in the home stretch of the Wee House rehab, and it should be completely buttoned up and done by next week. I’m going to be about $1,500 over budget (boo) and about five weeks over schedule, (double boo), so that sucks. That’s mitigated a bit by the fact that I ended up doing more of the work myself than planned, which caused the timeline to balloon, as I made a conscious decision to abandon the timeline in order to keep the costs down.
So most of the blame goes to me for underestimating the scope of work, and I’ll take my medicine there. It’s still very much a learning process for me, and we’re still working the kinks out with our contractor, as far as what his crew can do, what reasonable expectations are, etc. So far my total carrying costs have been about $275, so it’s a good project to work kinks out on, due to how cheaply I picked up the property.
As far as the house itself, I’m pretty pleased with how the rehab turned out. Pictures coming soon, when it’s all completely done, but it turned out nicely. If anything, too nicely, as I did a bit more work than absolutely necessary for a rental (tile flooring instead of vinyl, decent solid wood cabinets instead of cheaper options, some decorative trim here and there), but it should pay off in the long run, when I do sell the place.
With the upgrades and the bedroom addition, I’m going to ask $500/month in rent, with PITI estimated at about $225/month when it’s permanently financed. It should appraise for $45,000-$50,000, and I’ll have about $30,000 total invested in it, so not a bad little rental, and, like I said, a good learning experience.
As far as Larry updates, he did wander by the property when I was there the other day, and told me that he’d signed off any interest in the place, that he was done, that it was all mine. I’m guessing this is more mental than legal, as there’s really nothing for him to sign, as the redemption period on the tax sales properties has to run its course on its own, but good news in general I suppose.
While there are other family members involved with the estate that perioviously owned it, I spoke to Larry’s aunt back when I bought the deed and first encountered Larry, and she said that none of them had either the money or the inclination to get the property back. I haven’t posted many photos of it but it’s in really rough shape, so there’s really no appeal for anyone other than myself to want to own it, as it’s very close to a tear-down in its current state.
Despite the fact that it’s 99.9% likely that no one will redeem it, I’m still just going to let it sit and wait it out. Especially since I may have found the next project yesterday, when my realtor called me up about a property he’d just seen that he thought I might be interested in.
Indeed, I was interested, and told my agent to put in an offer on it this morning, despite the fact that I haven’t even seen the interior. The house is a 2-1, built in 1935, but it’s nearly 1600 sq. ft., and has a hip roof with a lot of attic space and 10-12 foot ceilings thoughout inside.
The real selling point, though, is that it’s on a .4 acre lot that’s practically downtown, has big huge old trees, and with a creek running through the property, complete with wooden footbridge and a 700 sq. ft. workshop on the back of the property, accessible after you cross over the footbridge. Just a really beautiful big lot that you rarely see for a property that close to the downtown area.
As far as the house itself, it needs a lot of work. From peeking in assorted windows last night (the soonest my realtor can show it to me is on Saturday) and what our realtor said about it, someone was trying to fix it up but apparently gave up. They did a lot of the demo work, had some ductwork run, and other assorted odds and ends, but didn’t actually complete much of any work.
It doesn’t have central air or heat and the electrical is a mess, as there’s just bare Romex running out of the electrical panel and stapled to the outside of the house, etc. I imagine the plumbing is in similar shape.
As odd as it sounds, though, I’m not that concerned about the interior, as I’d likely turn it into a 3-2 anyway, so there’s going to much re-arranging of walls and existing framing as it is, new sheetrock, you name it. The exterior siding is in really good shape and the roof seemed to be in decent shape, with most of the work focused on the interior.
The reason I’m so hyped about it is that it’s listed at $35,000, which is way, way underpriced given the lot, location, and house size, even for a house that needs a total interior rehab. Like $20,000-$30,000 underpriced. It’s also “listed” by an older real estate agent/broker in town who basically works part-time these days, and he doesn’t list any of his properties on the MLS or even put a sign in the yard, just relying on contacts he’s built up over the years to sell his properties. It’s effectively not even really on the market, as far as possible competing offers.
So we’re going to go ahead and submit an offer of $33,500 and take it from there, giving it a good walkthrough on Saturday. I hesitate a bit making an offer sight unseen, as far as the interior, but we’re asking for a 7 day inspection period in the offer, so I’m only out the $50 option fee if they accept the offer but I then back out after seeing it.
Honestly, though, given the location and lot and exterior of the house, I’m not sure what I could possibly find inside that’d scare me off. Two similar properties vey close to thos one (on much smaller lots, though) just sold for $110,000 and $117,000 in the last month. I can’t see the rehab going over $25,000-$30,000, so even picking it up at full price of $35,000 would leave a lot of meat on the bone, as far as a potential flip. Renting it would be an appealing option as well, as 3-2s in that area typically rent for $1,000/month.
So, you know, fingers crossed. I’m not sure I’m quite ready to leap into another project but, if everything checks out, this one is just too good to pass up.
