Hi, I am buying a row house tomorrow. I was not aware that the second house to the Left was going to be torn down, I discovered this when I drove by. Is there any recourse to stop the purchase without losing my deposit?
Also, assuming I buy this property. How much the appraisal would be affected if any? I am not sure if the house is going to be rebuilt, or if the shell structure is going to remain a shell (they left only part of the facade that has original stone).
I'm not exactly sure what your situation is. Go to L&I and look up the permits to see who is doing the demo and if there are any other permits being pulled for reconstruction and whatnot. If its the city tearing it down, try to figure out how to purchase the resulting lot. If its an investor tearing it down, they are probably planning a rehabb of some sort.
Hi @Jose Ortega, that's interesting. If they rebuild, it could help your property but chances are you will finish your rehab and refinance before it gets rebuilt and sold.
As far as getting out of the deal, it depends where you are in the transaction. If you have already negotiated repairs, there isn't much you can do. If the appraisal comes in below the asking price and the seller isn't willing to cover the difference, you can terminate and get your deposit back. Double-check with your agent though. However, I don't think the appraisal will be affected by the neighbor that very much.
Some additional context. I am cash buying with no contingencies since the market is so hot and competitive. I got the property for a OK price that would allow me to do renovations. So I am probably out of luck with the timing. If they rebuild, it would be great, but as Brad Hammond guest, I probably would be finish with remodeling before they get to it, so appraisal would be done before that.
Why would you not want to close on your deal tomorrow because a rowhouse one over is being demolished? I understand the concern if it shares a party wall but someone rehabing/building a new house is a GOOD thing for you. Someone building a rowhome near yours will not negatively effect your appraisal at all. That's literally all Philadelphia right now.
I'm not exactly sure what your situation is. Go to L&I and look up the permits to see who is doing the demo and if there are any other permits being pulled for reconstruction and whatnot. If its the city tearing it down, try to figure out how to purchase the resulting lot. If its an investor tearing it down, they are probably planning a rehabb of some sort.
Activity on the block is never a bad thing, especially in Philly. If the property nearby is being torn down there will likely either be a new build there soon or the land will be sold to a developer who will build on it in the future. If you have the time, why not monitor the situation and time your refinance accordingly?
I'm not exactly sure what your situation is. Go to L&I and look up the permits to see who is doing the demo and if there are any other permits being pulled for reconstruction and whatnot. If its the city tearing it down, try to figure out how to purchase the resulting lot. If its an investor tearing it down, they are probably planning a rehabb of some sort.
Thanks, Paul. Checking the L&I website was a good idea. The house had several violations for a while, so I am assuming they are finally doing something about it. There are no construction permits for new work, but I guess is better to not have a house, than to have a house with open walls. Is not the adjacent house, is two doors over one side.
Thanks for your replies above. I bought the property after all. The reason I was reluctant is because the facade of the houses is the same in the block which creates a sense of uniformity. Now the street looks a bit like a broken tooth. I have no idea if or when they would do new construction because they left nothing. Sometimes, they leave the shell, not this time. No permits on L&I. Oh well, time would tell.
It sounds like the city demolished the building. I've had to deal with the same situation in the past. I suspect if you look up the address on the BRT you will find that there are years of back taxes owed against the property. Your best course of action is to head to the revenue department and pay a $1000 deposit to initiate a tax sale against the property.
The process takes about a year but your deposit will be returned after the sale or applied towards your bid. Short of tracking down the owner and purchasing it directly, this is the only thing you can do to speed up getting the property into the hands of someone that will do something with it.