House #8: Clear to Close

We got word this weekend that The 16-Bid House may actually be ready for us to purchase. If you recall, we got an offer accepted on this house back in March, and due to months of title issues, the seller has been unable to actually sell it to us.

That’s the good news…

The bad news is that we went back to the property today to see what condition it was in (a lot can happen in 5 months), and unfortunately we found that it had undergone some “changes.” Specifically, it appeared that some young adults were using it as their personal hang-out spot — magazines, cigarette butts, soda bottles, etc, were strewn around the house. Additionally, one of the windows had been knocked out, presumably to allow them to gain easy entry, and there was some major drywall damage done throughout the house, with whole walls knocked out. Lastly, the air conditioning compressor was stolen from the backyard.

We’re going to ask the seller to compensate us for some of this damage, as they clearly didn’t do much to make sure the house was secured. I don’t know if they’ll agree or not, but I can’t imagine they want the house back on the market in this condition, and with these problems.

Our current plan for this house is to spend a couple thousand dollars doing some basic cleanup — drywall repair, window replacement, interior paint, etc — and then try to resell it to another investor looking for a renovation project or a rental. By the time we’re done with it, all it should need is new carpet, light fixtures, plumbing fixtures and a new air conditioning unit, which should be pretty easy even for the most inexperienced investor. Not only will the next investor be getting a great deal, but we’ll be able to keep our contractors busy until we close on The Skyline House in a couple weeks.

Hopefully we’ll have more info on this one in the next couple days…