Re: desperate seller called… - Posted by JPiper
Posted by JPiper on December 13, 2000 at 14:38:16:
I didn’t necessarily say “pay” something now…I said agree to pay. Here’s the difference: Back taxes need to be paid…but chances are you can pay them out of the new buyer’s money. In your original post you did not indicate that there are back payments, but if there are these “may” be able to be paid out of the new buyer’s money as well, depending on whether the lender has initiated foreclosure and where the foreclosure stands in terms of time. These are things you should know by now after your telephone conversation.
You also didn’t mention repairs in the initial post. But depending on what these are, you may be able to move the property without doing the repairs…it would depend on what they are. Most people as an example aren’t too concerned about paint if they can get into a property “non-qualifying”.
All in all, you need more information if you don’t know where the loan stands and you don’t have repair information.
As far as estimating repairs, my suggestion would be to tie the property up as indicated above, subject to an inspection and subject to verification of the loan information (assuming you can tie it up for perhaps just moving costs by taking over the loan).
Now you have a way to back out of the deal. You may be able to get a contractor over there once the deal is under contract to take a look and give you an estimate. I would also suggest that you acquire “Home Repair and Remodel Cost Guide” by Marshall and Swift. It’s probably available on Amazon.com. This will give you estimates on most of the things that you will be confronted with…although the estimates are high and I would never dream of paying these prices. Nevertheless, it will at least give you a clue. I would also spend some time at Home Depot looking at the cost of the things. A good rule of thumb is that labor is about 2 1/2 times the cost of materials and parts…on average. Just a rule of thumb though, a way to try to get in the ballpark.
Finally, because you are limited in cash or you’re worried about the time of year doesn’t mean you should raise your offer to $125K. That would be a reason NOT to do that.
JPiper