I bought a house yesterday. It wasn’t a house that I loved (see pictures), it was just a house. A house that happened to be owned by JP Morgan Chase. See, the previous owner was foreclosed on earlier this year, and the bank listed this property for sale in December. Ever the opportunist, I liked the location and the stats, and the house had some features I thought I could take advantage of, so I bid. I bid low. Really low. The $250k asking price didn’t stop be from offering them $165k for the home. They rejected the offer (remember in earlier posts where I told you banks rarely counter). I countered my offer at $177k. They accepted. So for $177k I now own a home that is currently assessed at $414k. Not bad on paper, but whether or not it turns out to be a great deal largely depends on my renovation. For your viewing pleasure, I’m going to let you tag along for the ride. The deal wasn’t easy to complete, and I didn’t end up with the terms or scheduling that I had originally sought, but the deal should still work out fairly well for me.
I’ve done this before, in fact, I’ve done it quite a bit before. I’ve fixed up several miserable, disgusting old homes in the past, and after my last renovation, I promised myself that I wouldn’t do it again. My soft real estate hands were tired of swinging hammers and dealing with subs. After I completed the renovation phase of my life, I built a brand new home in Geneva National. I loved it in GN, but I sold the house last summer in hopes of pursuing short sales and REO properties like the one I just bought. I’ve been renting at Abbey Ridge in Fontana since July, and aside from a fat rent payment, life has been easy here. Easy until the Holidays came, and I felt terrible.
We’ll try to stay put for a few years. My 5 1/2 year old son has lived in 6 homes in his short life, and I’m not in the military. My furniture lives in storage, and my Geneva Street office is the only address I’ve ever received mail at for more than 18 months. No more. I’m going to fix this REO home up and try to live there. I have the itch to turn something ugly into something beautiful, and I enjoy the challenge of all the scoffing that you may indulge in when you view these pictures.
For now, talk to me about REO (bank owned, remember?) and short sale properties. Although it’s not my primary market, I really understand this niche right now, and there are opportunities for you whether you’re looking for a vacation home,
a primary home, or an investment property. These REO deals are filled with snags and procedural abnormalities, but they can make sense for many buyers. I really need to make a few sales in the next month to help bring this new home into the new millenium. Until then, enjoy the pictures of my 1978 country home. I too was born in ’78, and I’m well aware that it’s debatable who has aged better.