Reefgazer Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Has anyone here ever used those house-buying services that say they will buy houses "in any condition" for cash? Someone I know has an old, uninhabitable house they need to unload and are not willing to shell out $20K to demolish it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 I have not use those services. However, there was an uninhabitable single family home in a nearby city that sold for cash to a contractor/developer. I think the asking price was around $200k and it was during the time property prices were just starting to get better. A few years later, there was a newly built home on that lot. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 1 minute ago, Arcadia said: I have not use those services. However, there was an uninhabitable single family home in a nearby city that sold for cash to a contractor/developer. I think the asking price was around $200k and it was during the time property prices were just starting to get better. A few years later, there was a newly built home on that lot. Because of code changes since this particular property was built, it is now too small to build on again because there is no room for a required setback. County has an easement on it right done the center of the usable yard,, so it's not buildable anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 43 minutes ago, Reefgazer said: Because of code changes since this particular property was built, it is now too small to build on again because there is no room for a required setback. County has an easement on it right done the center of the usable yard,, so it's not buildable anymore. With the code changes, can the present property be renovated? Does the new setback requirement only apply to a new build on the property? Is there any use for the property other than building a house? Or, is the person just trying to sell the house and have it moved and not sell the property? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 Person just wants to unload the property, doesn't care what happens to it, and isn't looking to make one dime ; just doesn't want to spend one dime to demolish it, either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 Is it possible the neighbor on either side would be happy to take it for the cost of demolishing the building, just in order to increase their yardspace slightly? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
happi duck Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 1 hour ago, Reefgazer said: Person just wants to unload the property, doesn't care what happens to it, and isn't looking to make one dime ; just doesn't want to spend one dime to demolish it, either. They might want to check if a fire department would want it for a practice fire. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 3 hours ago, happi duck said: They might want to check if a fire department would want it for a practice fire. oh, we have some of those properties around here that they have done that with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted May 31, 2019 Author Share Posted May 31, 2019 7 hours ago, happi duck said: They might want to check if a fire department would want it for a practice fire. Fire department said it was too close to an existing and occupied home to do this. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 8 hours ago, Tanaqui said: Is it possible the neighbor on either side would be happy to take it for the cost of demolishing the building, just in order to increase their yardspace slightly? This sounds like the best possibility to me if the lot is not large enough for a house at this point. What are the property taxes like? I have known people in some areas to quite paying property taxes and allow the county to take the property. Whether this is prudent depends upon local ordinances and real estate laws in your state. Could the and be donated to a church or community organization for a park or community garden? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
73349 Posted May 31, 2019 Share Posted May 31, 2019 (edited) Owner may be able to do a quitclaim process and cede the property to local government. Edited May 31, 2019 by whitehawk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 10 hours ago, Bootsie said: This sounds like the best possibility to me if the lot is not large enough for a house at this point. What are the property taxes like? I have known people in some areas to quite paying property taxes and allow the county to take the property. Whether this is prudent depends upon local ordinances and real estate laws in your state. Could the and be donated to a church or community organization for a park or community garden? Neighbor doesn't want the property with the house because the house needs to be demolished to the tune of $15K; can't be a church property or community garden, either, for the same reason. Owner is hesitant to not pay taxes and does not want to be in arrears to the county. I don't know what a quit claim is, but I will suggest it to owner. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tap Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 In our area you can renovate the entire house, including adding on to it, as long as one part is left original. I have friends who build a 10,000 sq ft home over the top of their (maybe 2,000sqft) old home. They literally built over the top of the old house, leaving the foundation in tact. It was considered a "remodel" and while things like electrical outlets needed to be to current codes, things like home placement on the property were grandfathered in. They left load bearing walls from the old house and worked around them while they build an entirely new home. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carrie12345 Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 My understanding of those services is that they’re focused on acquiring property cheap (often people looking to avoid foreclosure) to turn around for a profit. I can’t imagine why they would pay for a zero value property. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaeFlowers Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 I know someone who used that type of service. It worked out really well for them. However, the house was able to renovated and sold. Really, all they can do is call a few of these companies, explain the situation, and see if anyone is interested. They might not be but they won't know unless they try. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barnwife Posted June 1, 2019 Share Posted June 1, 2019 Call a real estate agent, if they're not interested in the listing, ask them if they know anybody who would be interested in the listing. Properties like this sell all the time, somebody will know what they can do with the property. An agent will list it as is, describe it accurately, only accept no contingency offers, etc. to try to limit the tire kickers and hassle that comes with a property like this. Most likely there will still be buyers at the right price. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reefgazer Posted June 1, 2019 Author Share Posted June 1, 2019 9 hours ago, Carrie12345 said: My understanding of those services is that they’re focused on acquiring property cheap (often people looking to avoid foreclosure) to turn around for a profit. I can’t imagine why they would pay for a zero value property. I can't either, which is why I was wondering what the catch was. but the website said they buy "fire damaged homes" and "homes in any condition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hjffkj Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 4 hours ago, Reefgazer said: I can't either, which is why I was wondering what the catch was. but the website said they buy "fire damaged homes" and "homes in any condition. There is no catch. They'll take houses in any condition at a price that will still get them to turn a profit. If that property really has a house that needs to be torn down and a new one can't be built on it then they likely wouldn't be interested. I've had two friends go this route. One got $40,000 for their range house that if they had made maybe $5000 worth of repairs could have listed for $80,000. When I told them this they simply couldn't believe that anyone would pay that much for their house. The people who bought it ended getting $90,000 for the house. The other was going through a divorce and just needed the house off his back. He got $120,000 for the house. The investors flipped the house putting maybe $20,000 tp $30000 into it. And sold it for $230,00. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bootsie Posted June 2, 2019 Share Posted June 2, 2019 I know of someone who was able to get a person who wanted to scrap some of the materials from an old house who was willing to remove the house for free for the material value while the original owner maintained ownership of the property. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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