All Forum Posts by: Account Closed

I looked at a house today that is coming up for sheriff sale.  The neighbors came out and started  talking to me about the house.  They had been told by someone hired by the bank to mow the lawn to tell the buyer he is not to return to the property.

I don't understand this.  When aren't owners allowed to go back to their house, and when do banks start moving lawns that don't belong to them.  Can someone clarify?  In addition there is no ordinance to maintain lawn in this small town.

Thanks.

@Frances McFarland

The four letter word of real estate.  I will give you my 2 cents on the subject, and though not all folks will  agree, I will tell you from my experienced.

On my first flip it was basically a For Sale By Owner.  I was there during the homeowners inspection process.  While in the basement, the home inspector found a small patch of mold in the basement behind a board laying up against the wall.  The inspector did not make any big deal about it but my buyer ultimately walked.  On his way out he said the mold concerned him.  The point I got from this is that buyers can freak out over the subject.

A couple of houses later I got an REO that was packed full of mold in the basement. It was the result of water damage and not an ongoing water infiltration problem. When I talked to a local agent in the area, he said oh you purchased the mold house. Anyway. I and my crew went in and tore out all the sheet rock. All felt fine during the gutting process. Spayed all the bare walls and studs with bleach and ran a shop vac with a HEPA filter for about a week. Sheet rocked the wall, then hired a local inspector to perform an air quality test. Passed and provided those results to my buyers. All was fine.

For the above REO the bank had gotten an estimate for the mold remediation, of around 8k. Was a big joke as far as I am concerned. The thing to consider when buying a house with mold is

• Is mold is  above ground - usually not to hard to remediate and def. not a deal killer.
• Is it below ground, due to a water line - harder to fix and you need to do a really good job in removing all the organic material before treatment.  After such a fix, good idea to keep running a dehumidifier all the time. Mold is notorious for coming back with a vengeance when conditions become suitable.  
• If mold is below ground due to water infiltration, remove all the organic material and leave it out.  Or fix the water infiltration problem, but this is usually easier said than done.

Depending what state your in and the disclosure you fill out, you may need to disclose it.  Even if you think the problem is fixed, some disclose statements will be worded such that you will have to mention you had it.  In those situation, I would suggest you fix it, and get an air test done by a home inspector before listing the house.

I would not be afraid of tackling mold.  If you are going to react to it, you will know within the first 30 minutes.  If that happens, buy a $40 air mask and suit up.  You also can just have someone else who is not allergic to it, tear it out.  If you are allergic to penicillin I think you stand a high chance on not doing too well in the clean-out phase.

Just my opinion and experience.

Austin. I feel your pain. Many us are going through the same thing. I know I am, and moving forward can seem like an ongoing uphill battle. I wish you the best of luck and believe things will get better for anyone who keeps knocking ways at. 

Thanks for sharing you situation. I think more of that is needed on this site because this business is tough and can leave you feeling singled out. Your not, real estate is full of a bunch of nonsense and sometime it can all come at once.  Even to the best of them:)

I am wondering how folks have done when changing brokers.  

I listed a home for sale, nearly 6 months ago with a local realtor, who I have worked with before.  Moscow House.  Now my listing is up.  I am not at all happy with the marketing, too high of a starting list price for area and square footage, and have to make a discussion on whether to extend my contract.

What do folks feel about changing realtors/brokers when a listing runs out.  Has it helped, hurt or had no impact.
Thanks all.

@Marcia Maynard

Ditto.

Ha ha.  Just move to central pa.  You could buy half of whats on the market in Altoona.

Sorry Paul I missed your point.  The thing about inspectors is they follow the same list of task each time and are less likely to skip something.  Don't get me wrong, I think inspectors over leverage their knowledge base all the time.  They also, in general always error on the side of caution.  That's exactly what you want during this part of the negotiation phase.

@Paul Altman

Hence "overall".  It obviously depends on the shape of the home.  I can only think of 1 or 2 deals where I was the seller that  the repairs did not come close to covering the cost of the inspection.  In addition you will know that much more about the house.

@Robert M.

That is the world of real estate.  You always get paid last, meaning everyone is guaranteed to make money except us.