I was at my vacant property that I'm prepping for a retirement home about a month ago and neighbor mentioned over the fence that there have been some break-ins in the area including the "foreclosed house 2 doors down". Huh, hadn't heard about that as I usually don't go that way down the road when I leave my property.
Drove over, saw a Realtor sign out front with an eviction notice on the window of the vacant house. Called them up and, long story short, negotiated with Fannie Mae for a couple of weeks, gave them my final offer and they took it. They were dropping the price $8-10K every week and interest in it was building. Realtor told me the next price drop would have made the competition intense. It helped that I was offering Cash with a VERY LARGE deposit, much more than their minimum to show I was serious.
Only reason I was interested is that it abuts my land and I can use it as a base while I work out there. Biggest drawback is that they had 5 dogs and countless cats (according to one of the neighbors) who just used the house as their toilet. The stench walking into it was overwhelming. And that was after the dogs/cats have been gone for several months. Don't know how people can live in filth like that. First thing when we got the keys was to start ripping out the carpeting. There was only about a 2 ft square section of carpet in a closet that was not stained and didn't stink to high heaven. Been cleaning, bleaching everything and priming with Killz. Odor is pretty much gone. Neighbor who had helped them move came over and was amazed how much better it smelled. New paint on the walls and new hardwood floor throughout and we'll have a cozy home on a nice 3+acre lot right next to my own place. At a pretty decent price too, didn't steal it but saved six figures off the last time it sold.
First time I ever dealt with Fannie Mae foreclosures. It's amazing how many homes in our zip code are owned by Fannie Mae (check out their website for your area). Realtor said as fast as they can sell them at big discounts, more fall into their lap. There's a bottom but where?
Drove over, saw a Realtor sign out front with an eviction notice on the window of the vacant house. Called them up and, long story short, negotiated with Fannie Mae for a couple of weeks, gave them my final offer and they took it. They were dropping the price $8-10K every week and interest in it was building. Realtor told me the next price drop would have made the competition intense. It helped that I was offering Cash with a VERY LARGE deposit, much more than their minimum to show I was serious.
Only reason I was interested is that it abuts my land and I can use it as a base while I work out there. Biggest drawback is that they had 5 dogs and countless cats (according to one of the neighbors) who just used the house as their toilet. The stench walking into it was overwhelming. And that was after the dogs/cats have been gone for several months. Don't know how people can live in filth like that. First thing when we got the keys was to start ripping out the carpeting. There was only about a 2 ft square section of carpet in a closet that was not stained and didn't stink to high heaven. Been cleaning, bleaching everything and priming with Killz. Odor is pretty much gone. Neighbor who had helped them move came over and was amazed how much better it smelled. New paint on the walls and new hardwood floor throughout and we'll have a cozy home on a nice 3+acre lot right next to my own place. At a pretty decent price too, didn't steal it but saved six figures off the last time it sold.
First time I ever dealt with Fannie Mae foreclosures. It's amazing how many homes in our zip code are owned by Fannie Mae (check out their website for your area). Realtor said as fast as they can sell them at big discounts, more fall into their lap. There's a bottom but where?
