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Thursday, May 27, 2010
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19 comments:
Hello all,
Long-time lurker first time poster. My wife and I (renting for 5 years) want to explore buying near the Vienna or Mclean area. A townhome recently came up for sale, http://franklymls.com/FX7348416. It is a short sale and it may take months to close..but we the time. Question: is this a good deal or will I be regretting this decision?
Dragant - I don't live in that area but I do a lot of business up there and am a frequent user of the Whole Foods located across the street.
In my opinion, the price seems nice but that intersection where the townhouse is located sees a lot of traffic. I would rule it out if either of you are sensitive to street noise.
It is my understanding that often short list price are lowballs designed to bait the hook until the bank counteroffers with a price more in line with assessed value or even above it. Also, you need to find out if there is more than one lienholder as this will have a big impact on the contract process, not just in time alone.
I called the listing agent and there are 2 lien-holders. The agent warned me that it will take some time to close. The bank will respond but it is hard getting hold of the 2nd lien holder.
Dragant-
sold in 2007
This house was sold in 2007 (near the peak of the bubble) for less money per square foot than the house you are trying to buy. So unless the inside is much nicer the house does not look like a great deal to me. Generally you should be able to get ~10% less for being willing to deal with the months of headache that are associated with a short sale. The housing market even in the good parts of Vienna have also fallen at least ~5-10% since then. So I would have thought this house should go for closer 30-40k less than the current list price. I really do not know that much about that area though so my advice is probably only worth what you paid for it.
seems pricy, if you look in the zip code, there are SFH's sold for less.
Yes, smaller houses, but with land.
Look at the sell price in 03, it was
100K less, do you think it's appreciated 100K?
Dragant - there are 2 liens on the property by the HOA; one is for $1,067 and the other is for $3,087.
A substitute Trustee was appointed 3-6-2009 meaning foreclosure proceedings should be coming down the pipeline (or should have already come down the pipeline since 14 months have passed) which could mess up your short sale at any time. You are probably better off waiting for it to be foreclosed.
Also, there is a homestead exemption filed on the property. I don't know what that's about.
Also, the owner took out a $100,000 line of credit in 2007.
What's your opinion of this?
http://franklymls.com/AR7133229
McMansion? Nice house, well-priced for new & close-in? Too big for the lot? Out of synch with the neighborhood?
I am surprised it sold for as much as it did in Addison Heights.
MJC,
The "homestead" means they filed bankruptcy. People often do this to delay a foreclosure. It takes the Trustee months or more to get the property out from under the bk proceedings; hence your 3/09 date.
Ace
It's probably well sized, it's a corner lot, now what is odd is the pictures indicate it's still under construction, so perhaps somebody bought it out of construction finance into a C&D loan, it may not be a real price.
it's a lot of money for that area.
Why, oh why, do some sellers think their houses are worth so-o-o-o-o much more than the assessor does?
http://franklymls.com/AR7223717
Check out the original asking price on this. It's a nice house in a great neighborhood (but the kitchen is too far from the entertaining space so you can't really talk to your guests while preparing food, etc.). It was something I didn't really think about until a friend looking in the same range pointed it out as a major flaw in her current house.
Thank you all for the comments...I was really excited by the price and location. But based on the comments, I will tread carefully. I plan on seeing the place on Saturday and I will post link to the pics if anyone is interested.
Surprised no one has commented on this:
http://franklymls.com/AR7313608
Highest price for a regular 3BR in AH/LP since 05/06.
FD
yeah there is still a lot of delusion.
fd When we looked for a house, we found that in older Arlington neighborhoods that 4th bed is often in the basement and is not really a bedroom. If you looked at 4 beds which sold in Ashton Heights and Lyon Park, I think you would find that the 4th bed was often in the basement. We learned to discount the 4th bed and look at houses with 3 or 4 beds as we considered them the same in most cases.
Listing a non-legal bedroom as a bedroom in order to bump up the listing is a shady practice that has always bothered me. I wonder if it is possible to register a complaint somewhere that counts?
MJC,
how did you find the info for the 2 liens?
thx
MJC said...
Dragant - there are 2 liens on the property by the HOA; one is for $1,067 and the other is for $3,087.
"pat said...
FD
yeah there is still a lot of delusion."
From the seller, the buyer, or the sideline sitter :)
"c said...
Listing a non-legal bedroom as a bedroom in order to bump up the listing is a shady practice that has always bothered me. I wonder if it is possible to register a complaint somewhere that counts?"
Out of curiosity, is a BR in an english basement window (i.e. transom window) legal? Does anyone know?
The Anon.,
The definition of a "legal bedroom" differs from one community to another. Around here, in most places, I think the rules are:
1) window must be large enough and low enough on the wall to allow entry/exit (e.g., in case of fire)
2) room must have a closet
3) if the only way to get to room B is to walk through room A, room A cannot count as a bedroom.
I am not sure about whether 3) is a rule used here, but I know I've seen it in other places.
In a city I lived in previously some Realtors considered rooms that met all of the above criteria but simply weren't very big (e.g., 8 X 9) as failing to qualify as a bedroom, even though legally it was a bedroom. That seemed a bit extreme.
Anon - Ace gave you a pretty good answer. It varies from county to county depending on what is written into the local code.
Here is a more detailed discussion.
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