Is this worth the work....

Rehabbing, Fix and Flip, Rental Properties
1

Good afternoon all. First, like to thank all of you guys and gals for the posts you place on here in helping others. Alot of these posts have helped me in my endeavors. Now, I need a little advice. Last week I was driving through a neighborhood I usually keep an eye on. I came across a cute house on a corner lot with a sign in the front yard. I took down the address and went home and looked it up on the MLS. It was just reduced to $275,000 from $299,900. Its hard to get comps from the same neighborhood because one hasn’t sold in there in the last year and half. Anyways, I called the listing agent to take a look at it. I took a look and it and it needs a lot of work inside, i.e. new cabinets, flooring, appliances… etc… So, I make an offer of $260 and she immediately rejects it and tells me theres an offer of $270 already on the house and the seller is looking for more offers because the buyer that made the offer wants the seller to pick up half of the closing cost (she showed the contract). Another agent brought in the perspective buyer, so, she was going to lose alot of the commission. I matched the offer of $270 and agreed to pay the closing costs. The seller agreed. So, we have a contract.

3 days later…

I have the house inspected. Turns out the house needs a new roof. It has been leaking for a sometime and there are wet spots in the walls and in the ceiling. Estimate on the new roof is $8,000-10,000. The house is located in South Florida and getting a roof done in a timely matter is not very easy. The seller did not disclose to me there were any problems with the roof. When confronted with inspection that said the house needed a new roof, she said that after the last hurricane, State Farm came out and told her there were only about $1,300 in damages to the roof and she never did them and doesn’t believe that the entire roof needs to be done.

I wasn’t too happy. I specifically asked the seller prior to signing the contract, if the roof had any problems. She assured me that in the last 10 years, she hasn’t had a problem. So, she basically lied to my face hoping I wouldn’t discover the problem.

I have since lowered my offer to $245K. Should I raise my offer any? Finding a single family home on a quarter acre in south Florida under $300k is rare. I would be looking to move into the house. Any info you guy or gals could contribute would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Robert

2

Sounds fishy on more than one level. The way I understand it is that the realtors cannot discuss offers with other prospective buyers. They can say that they have another offer, but not actually tell you and then even go as far as to show you the other contract. It sounds like this realtor is a bit shady.

Then the deal about the roof needing replaced. You can look at the sales disclosure form and see what the owner has marked down about the roof. If they are trying to hide that from you, I wonder what else there is lurking under the stairs. And also if it is such a rare thing to find a house like that under $300,000, why did they just lower the price to $275,000? Just a few questions that popped up while reading your post.

Jared :slight_smile:

3

it’s all about the numbers. remember, you make your profit when you buy.

find out everything about the property and what it will take to get it right. then do the numbers.

take emotion out of it. this is business and if the numbers don’t talk, you should walk.

4

I too am in South Florida. I understand completely about the single family not lower than $300,000.

If it doesn’t work out like mcwagner said-Walk. Its hard to do, but others will fall into place. It just takes a little time.

5

Thanks for the advice guys. I am holding strong on my offer and the seller is mulling it over. The agent is telling her to counter with 260K, but I am not going to budge. Just added an extension to the inspection period of our contract, so, its a waiting game now. Thank you all again, I will post back what happens.

Robert

6

Well… after two long annoying weeks… I walked away from the deal. Thanks for the help guys and gal!

Robert