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Saturday, August 1, 2009
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23 comments:
Flipping is alive and well:
http://franklymls.com/FX7082157
Bought for $320k in April, closed for $456k yesterday.
"speed bump" in the Wapo Sunday funnies is cute today.
Is it flipping or rehabbing? I hate the term flip, because in my mind, it is little more than 'scalping' -- turning a quick with little or no effort put in (maybe some touch-up paint, or in extreme cases, buying new condos then quickly selling them for a higher price). I'm assuming that the place didn't look like this back in January.
I'm assuming that the place didn't look like this back in January.
No, but it looks like they may have doubled what they invested in the upgrade. I'd like to be parking my car in a garage for that price, rather than have a sparkly marble fireplace, granite and SS.
I'm with you, NoVAwatcher; I differentiate flipping from rehabbing in the same way that you do. And, in the case of the linked house, I think the rehabbers spent a considerable amount on this place and seemed from the photos to have made good choices.
I don't think the sellers doubled their money, not by a long shot. The changes described in the franklymls entry (don't forget the windows and systems changes that don't look "sparkly") cost a pretty penny in labor as well as materials.
The house is not my taste, but I think the buyer did well, particularly given that there was no subsidy, suggesting that the inspector may have found nothing that had to be changed.
Also, the FFX Co. record says it was bank-owned, so there was probably a lot of crap that had to be cleaned up and fixed that is not in the description.
Looks as though the lot is big enough to add a garage.
I guess this one counts as a rehabber and not a flipper, though there are no pictures to be sure:
http://franklymls.com/PW7124190
Hard to tell if the $162K sale price in May is the bank takeover price or the investor; the owner is called FFC Properties in the county database, and there have been no sales since. Still, asking almost twice that now? Hmmm...
A little ex-landlord update:
We still have not gotten our security deposit back. From our reading of VA landlord-tenant law, the landlord needs to give the tenant a written explanation for why they kept the deposit, or the deposit itself, within 45 days of the end of the lease. After 50 days of nothing, we sent a cute thank-you note to our landlord with our new address (again). Still nothing. So now we plan to ask nicely for our deposit, noting the law that requires it, and further noting that if we need to go to court to get it and we win, he needs to pay attorney fees, as well.
Also, you may remember we tried to buy from our landlord for $268K (no realtor) last December, warning him that values were still dropping in our neighborhood. Soon after the new year, two homes like ours sold for about $250K. Here are the last three sales since:
9733 Zimbro Ave
Manassas, VA 20110
LAST SALE: $214,200 (06/17/2009)
9743 Zimbro Ave
Manassas, VA 20110
LAST SALE: $220,000 (07/17/2009)
9951 Confederate Trl
Manassas, VA 20110
LAST SALE: $230,000 (05/18/2009)
But that's OK--he's going to sell next spring, when the market has bounced back.
My prediction regarding the home Fred found is that in a few years it will be worth ~$320k. This new owner will probably foreclose since he/she will be six digits underwater.
It's sad how we are creating a whole mini-generation of people who are going to be hurt financially for almost their whole life (or the 12 year hit on their credit records for a foreclosure) for having bought between 2004-2010 (end date a guesstimate). And a lot of responsible people are being denied the fun of owning a home or the ability to have more space for a growing family because this is so drawn out.
Tabitha,
Isn't the silver lining in the story that you may get to buy the home for much less than you offered previously? Of course, it's a pain to have to wait a year or more (and move out in the interim).
tbw:
The silver lining is much better than that--we bought our dream home BECAUSE he refused to sell to us. I can't help but watch and see what ends up happening to him.
I was wasting a little time looking over current listings, and I am struck by how many "hopeless for-sales" I see--as in houses asking prices that would never in a million years be approved by any bank, and no one would ever be fool enough to pay, but the seller needs to ask for it, because they bought at the top, or refinanced the hell out of their house. Some are for sale by owner, as if the saved realtors' commission would help, but in reality, they are so far underwater, it's hopeless. Like:
http://franklymls.com/PW7066514
asking $460K. paid $512K/2006. assessed for $330K/2009. other houses U/C on street asking mid-$300Ks.
FSBO:
10508 Moonglow Ct
Manassas, VA 20112
asking $550K. paid $602K/2005 (almost twice what prev. owner paid in 2002). assessed for $355K/2009.
FSBO:
6672 River Ford Ct
Manassas, VA 20112
asking $995,000. says it's "been professionally appraised @ $900,000.00," but it's assessed for $447K.
http://franklymls.com/PW7121092
asking $550K, assessed for $306K.
What will become of all these situations? Not to mention the remaining 80% of homeowners in neighborhoods where 20% of the houses have been foreclosed on or sold through short sales for half what they paid.
TBW-
You really think that prices are going to fall another 30%? This house was 5% below what it sold in 2007 although it has been updated with newer everything including windows... So this means its price probably fell 15+% so falling another 30% would be pretty significant.
Housing market still works. A buddy of mine closed on an end unit town house in Columbia, MD. A no-realtor arms-length deal. No short sale or anything. My opinion, he paid too much, but--I'm a bear. So today was moving day. Got to spend it hauling boxes. Whee!
This looks like a flip to me. It sounds like they basically put in some pergo floors and are trying to sell it for 120K more than they bought it for. http://franklymls.com/FX7123997
housebuyer: That's a nasty part of town. There is no way I'd close to paying nearly $400k for an unattractive little townhouse in that area.
Nova-
I agree if you look at the other houses that sold in that area they are have sold in the low to mid 300s and they tended to look nicer and be larger.
Looks flippish to me too. The owner who held it 2000-2005 made a tidy bundle.
Tabitha,
I imagine some or all of those are FSBO because no realtor was willing to offer their services unless the pricing was more realistic. Nothing in it for a realtor to waste his/her time trying to sell at those ridiculous price points.
housebuyer,
The 2003 assessment for that home is $300k. I threw in an extra $20k because some people might pay a little more for the interior renovations.
Look at the history of the assessment. This area was extra bubbly. It went from $200k in 2000 to $524k in 2006. Most places in Fairfax County between 2000-06 roughly doubled. This was a PWC style bubble and so will have that much more pain.
housebuyer,
There should be some rules about who can advertise their home as "walking distance" to Metro. I think the cutoff should be a 20 minute walk, which I think is pretty generous. That TH is at least a 30 minute walk (if there are walking paths between neighborhoods I can't see on the satellite view) and probably 40-45 minute walk each way if they have to walk down Blake Lane.
I just feel like if we have idiots who think they can do this little (and that is about the bare minimum rehab I can think of -- the kitchen counters/cabinets clearly were not redone) and get an extra $100k then we are nowhere near the bottom.
Seriously, I thought every self-respecting flipper at least put in *GRANITE!* countertops? How much would it cost to put in a cheap new kitchen?
TBW-
I agree its crazy that the person thinks they can make 100k+ I just don't see it happening. Although the comment about the metro is fair. There is a path through the woods(although its a little dangerous at night) that makes it a 15 minute walk which is reasonable.
As for the tax assessment the 2003 assessment is based on house values in 2002 not 2003. So if you think its worth 20K more than 2003 value due to the upgrades than it would settle in the mid 350s. This would still be a disaster for the owner.
Tabitha,
good luck with your ex-landlord. Unfortunately I think he's dumb enough to try to make you take him to court.
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