Some have said we have big "balls". Others have said we are "crazy" still some see us as "risk takers". I like to think all of these statements have some truth in them. So we bought some land and a house. Never looked at it other than pictures online and sent Rita (Mark's mother) out there to give us her assessment which was "you need to demolish it". But the price was beyond cheap for the area, we took a gamble on the structure and the land and come to find out we still got an awesome deal.
A little background. We had been searching for months, property in KY, CO, AR, even FL and TN peaked our interest. We wanted to be closer to family, the beach, and had certain things we were looking for. Trees were important, type and age. A water source was essential for a garden and livestock. We wanted quiet, secluded, and access to city water and electric was a thought. We found several properties ranging from 40K +. No property had all of the requirements needed. I started looking at homes in foreclosure. There was a lot, it was overwhelming at times. None were meeting our need. We found a property up the road from Rita, further south listed at 18,000. Google earth revealed a burnt down hotel across the highway and train tracks in the back. Property was 2 acres but the house was in decent shape. We decided to buy it and flip it. The realtor listed on the house was rude, mean, and overall not what we were expecting for a cash buyer interested in her property she had listed. So we called the local Remax office and got a hold of a lovely realtor named Nancy. She met Rita at the property, but wouldn't you know, the key in the lockbox didn't work in the door. That night Mark and I decided maybe we would just take a chance, put in the offer in the am and see what happens.
The next morning Mark woke me up talking about this awesome property Nancy had listed at 18,600. It was a foreclosure, had 7 acres, an orchard, a pond, a house, a garage, on septic, an artisan well, I was floored. What were the chances that this random lady we called had exactly what we were looking for and so cheap! So we called Nancy, I'm sure she was thrilled that we woke her up so early wanting to know all the details! Nancy told us as much as she could and turns out her son owns the property adjacent to this one. Dead end road, no timber had been cut as far as she knew, property was beautiful but the house, well Nancy said it was unlivable. Okay, so off Rita went to check it out. First thoughts, she loved the location, the property was wild but nice, but that house had to come down. So we mulled it over and put in the bid. We sat on eggshells for days, no word, HUD sitting on the bids as they came in, we were told over 50 people had interest in it. We started getting nervous, what if we didn't bid high enough, what if we didn't get it. What if there was an economic collapse and all our money was gone out of the bank! It's amazing how the mind worries about things when awaiting an answer. Low and behold, on my birthday we got the news "your bid was accepted" OH MY what a relief.
So, we paid a little more than asking but well under what we were willing to go up to. All without having stepped foot on it and knowing we might be in for quite a disaster. Just the pictures alone showed us the framing was never done right, windows and headers looked like someone had no idea what they were doing. Packing took forever, moving a home and your business proved to be exhausting. Two trips, numerous breakdowns, temper tantrums, hitting a great horned owl with the Penske truck all seemed like a bad trip in time but now, it seems like it was a preparation for the mental and emotional fatigue one experiences when taking a gamble like this.
Here is what we bought, and soon I will show you what we plan on doing with it....
The following pictures are the only thing we had seen when we purchased the property....
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| front of house |
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| side of house |
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| part of addition |
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| pond | |
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| garage | |
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| bathroom |
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| kitchen |
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| kitchen (notice header bowed) |
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| bedroom |
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| new water heater (on carpet) |
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There were a couple more I can't find now, but you get the idea. Mark went to Arkansas with Summer first and looked at it the day before closing. He called and told me "Well, we bought some really nice property and half a house". It wasn't until I got to the property weeks later that I would know what he meant. Structural issues, mold, feces, animal and insect inhabitants, and some really interesting construction concepts to follow....
