To Buy Or Not To Buy: That Is The Question

To Buy Or Not To Buy: That Is The Question

Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 3 votes

Hi BiggerPockets Community!

I have a property that I am looking to purchase, and I would like the community to tell me what they think.

What: A fixer upper Duplex in Central California (buy and hold)

Context: I attended a local REI meetup a few weeks ago, and was approached to purchase a property from a local Real Estate agent and Investor. He is pretty experienced investor with 10+ years of experience. He said he had a property that he was looking to get rid of. He says he is "too busy to deal with this project being too far away from me and too small of a deal for me to concentrate any effort on". He bought the property for $125k in 2016 and is willing to sell for $90k. It is in pretty bad condition (I can post pictures)- he said it would need around 30-40k in rehabs. He said it can be rented for around 700-800 per unit. 

Questions & Concerns: 

1. It kind of concerns me that he bought it at 125k and is selling for 90k a few years later. According to Zillow, he's been trying to sell it for a few years now (he keeps lowering the price), but it isn't selling. Any thoughts on why it's so cheap and why it may not be selling?

2. What am I missing? What else should I look into to validate the deal and make sure I'm not getting dumped a bad property?

3. What else should I be asking the seller?

If you need more info, or have any additional questions please let me know! Thank you all so much :)

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  • Investor · Minneapolis, MN · Member since 2015 · 252 posts · 263 votes
    8y

    @Shiv Gettu

    Bring a trusted, experienced general contractor thorough the house.  Are there structural problems? What are most expansive items? How long will it take to fix / get online. How much will it cost? Does the seller have any inspection reports from prospective buyers? Would he share? What will this duplex sell for once completed? What's the area like for rentals? Will you get good tenants? Is this the best deal you can make? It seems like it needs a significant rehab, those are not for everybody .... 

    Good luck

  • Member since 2018 · 33 posts · 3 votes
    8y

    @Dan Bryskin

    Thanks Dan for all those questions! Would it be okay to ask the seller about the inspection reports etc. before I make an offer? What is the protocol in terms of how much info I can get from the seller before making an offer? I understand there is a period of time after an offer is accepted to do due diligence. Forgot to mention this would be my first deal! 

  • Specialist · Oakland, CA · Member since 2014 · 83 posts · 28 votes
    8y

    If you want, make offer contingent on inspection. But looking at this, not something I would get myself into.... Project is at least a half a year project and 30-40k for rehab aint gonna cut it. You going to basically rebuild this place.  Just the design phase, drawings,engineering, permits, etc is going to be 10-20k depending on the scope.

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