Working with my IDX provider to get everything back up and running, which hopefully won’t take too long.
My apologies for any inconvenience this may be causing.
UPDATED 1:18 PM - searches are back and running here and all of my sites. Again, thanks for your patience.
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Looking through bank owned homes is a lot like being a contestant on Let’s Make a Deal … when you take the key out of the lockbox, you never know what will happen when you walk in the front door.
(If the front door opens, of course. Yesterday’s tour included one home where the bottom lock doesn’t unlock in spite of what the listing agent said. On Thursday we found a house where the front door had been nailed shut.)
It’s a virtual given that some work will be needed on any bank owned home. Think about it … some work is needed on almost every home. Yours. Mine. Your neighbors. Especially your neighbor, the ones with the noisy dog and teenager just learning to drive and to burn rubber as they leave your street.
Some are virtually move-in ready. Some may need new carpet and paint. Some may need appliances, depending on what the previous owners sold ahead of the trustee’s sale.
And some truly are handyman’s specials, such as today’s exhibit from 619 E Jensen Unit 35 in Mesa’s Hohokam Hills subdivision. In real estate parlance, the house has good bones but it’s going to take quite a bit of work before someone could move in. Which is why it’s priced around 15% below current comps for the area at $159,900.
Let’s start with the positives … the house has a side entry with a courtyard shaded by mature trees.
There’s a fireplace in the family room and plantation shutters in what appear to be working condition on the windows in the family room and separate living room.
And there’s a covered patio in the backyard, which you don’t miss until you purchase a home that doesn’t have one.
Also, the community features a fairly nice pool.
Now for the challenges …
As you probably noticed above, there’s no flooring. Carpets were a total loss and were removed so you have bare concrete downstairs and sheet plywood upstairs. The kitchen cabinets are a bit worn and the previous owners removed the stove.
Where the most work is needed is in the garage, where the flat roof had leaked at one time. The leak’s been stopped but the underside of the garage ceiling - the sheetrock - is going to need to be replaced.
To be honest, a house like this one at 619 Jensen Unit 35 isn’t necessarily for every buyer. But for someone who is looking for a house that can bought on the relative cheap and fixed up to add value, this may be a good place to start.
Technorati Tags: Phoenix real estate, bank owned homes
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I’ve completely overdosed on Olympics coverage … all without having checked out either MSNBC or CNBC. Thus is Olympic life with DVR (the dish equivalent of TiVo) my first time around.
If it’s on the main Olympic coverage I’ve seen it. Except for synchronized diving, the point of which still escapes me. Anyway, in honor of those representing our country (and with apologies to my suffering Canadian readers), I bring you probably the coolest Star Spangled Banner on record.
Have a great day!
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Hey, maybe the guy from Google Street views should have put down the camera and called the fire department instead? And when I say many bank owned homes require some work, this goes a little beyond the norm.
And for something on the lighter side (unless you’re counting calories), this could be my new favorite web site. We actually had one of these at my synagogue not so long ago - a beautiful cake with “Write Happy Birthday” scrawled in frosting.
Back to real estate in the morning … the Olympics, presented by Coca-Cola (subliminal hint: send me lots of Coke Zero Cherry) and Michael Phelps are coming on momentarily.
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There was sadness this week … and there was happiness, too, as my wife and I celebrated our fourth wedding anniversary.
So in memory of friends lost and in honor of love found …
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