Help me buy a foreclosed home in Austin Texas
April 4, 2011 7:03 PM Subscribe
Help me buy a foreclosed home in Austin Texas. I have lived in Columbus Ohio most of my life, and am an online professional poker player. I am considering relocating to Austin Texas. I love Sports, I'm vegan, I like getting around by bicycle, I like the environment. Austin seems to have most things that I want, and not many cons.
I have bought several Foreclosed homes in Columbus (as investments), and 3 out of the 4 turned out to be very profitable. I am not a real estate expert, but I am a professional gambler, and former car salesman, so I think I have a good mind for these types of things. I think I want one under 150k, that will go up in value over the next 10 years more than most homes, and that is foreclosed, or sold below market value.
My sister currently lives near MLK and less than a mile from this home. That home is my first choice, and here is my second choice. I found these basically by searching zillow.com for foreclosed homes under 150k USD. Relevent info: Risking 100k USD isn't that big of a deal to me. I will pay in cash (bank wire) at the time of signing. I think being close to my sister will be a big bonus. Unless I find a reason not to buy one of these homes, I will probably make an offer within 72 hours.
I have a few questions:
Are there other resources I should definitely know about? (websites, or like maybe a real estate version of carfax.com?)
How can I accurately estimate approximately how much below asking price I should A: offer, and B: how much they'll probably actually take?
Is there anything out of the ordinary about these homes? (good or bad) and any tips, ideas, or comments are all welcome.
I have bought several Foreclosed homes in Columbus (as investments), and 3 out of the 4 turned out to be very profitable. I am not a real estate expert, but I am a professional gambler, and former car salesman, so I think I have a good mind for these types of things. I think I want one under 150k, that will go up in value over the next 10 years more than most homes, and that is foreclosed, or sold below market value.
My sister currently lives near MLK and less than a mile from this home. That home is my first choice, and here is my second choice. I found these basically by searching zillow.com for foreclosed homes under 150k USD. Relevent info: Risking 100k USD isn't that big of a deal to me. I will pay in cash (bank wire) at the time of signing. I think being close to my sister will be a big bonus. Unless I find a reason not to buy one of these homes, I will probably make an offer within 72 hours.
I have a few questions:
Are there other resources I should definitely know about? (websites, or like maybe a real estate version of carfax.com?)
How can I accurately estimate approximately how much below asking price I should A: offer, and B: how much they'll probably actually take?
Is there anything out of the ordinary about these homes? (good or bad) and any tips, ideas, or comments are all welcome.
Austin has a strong real estate market. Neither home is in a particularly desirable neighborhood, not for the foreseeable future anyway. The Hudson St one is in an area where the east side boom might expand to sooner than the second home. Both of those houses look like they probably need some work, especially the Hudson St. one, but I'm sure as someone who flips houses, you keep those costs in mind.
posted by elpea at 7:33 PM on April 4, 2011
posted by elpea at 7:33 PM on April 4, 2011
Maybe you should get a home inspector to check out the homes? I say this because building codes and standards in Texas are likely to be very different than in Ohio. Different climate, different building conditions (clay soils, etc) and you have to be on the lookout for very different things.
posted by cabingirl at 7:36 PM on April 4, 2011
posted by cabingirl at 7:36 PM on April 4, 2011
Prob'ly you should check out Trulia. I will warn you that Austin weathered the housing crash pretty well: prices didn't really drop that much around here, and foreclosures are not that common.
That said, E. MLK is a thriving locale for new home buyers, and starting to turn into a hipster paradise.
posted by Gilbert at 9:35 PM on April 4, 2011
That said, E. MLK is a thriving locale for new home buyers, and starting to turn into a hipster paradise.
posted by Gilbert at 9:35 PM on April 4, 2011
Best answer: Is there anything out of the ordinary about these homes? (good or bad) and any tips, ideas, or comments are all welcome.
Have you even walked through the homes yet? I mean, I know you're a gambler and all, but you might want to at least give the place a once-over (or better yet, pay someone who does this sort of thing for a living and that isn't referred by an agent). You say you have no problem dropping a hundred large, how about two when you add up the inevitable repair bills.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:44 AM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
Have you even walked through the homes yet? I mean, I know you're a gambler and all, but you might want to at least give the place a once-over (or better yet, pay someone who does this sort of thing for a living and that isn't referred by an agent). You say you have no problem dropping a hundred large, how about two when you add up the inevitable repair bills.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 1:44 AM on April 5, 2011 [1 favorite]
How can I accurately estimate approximately how much below asking price I should A: offer, and B: how much they'll probably actually take?
I bought a foreclosure in Austin last year - and I offered the asking price. This was a Fannie Mae owned property, though, not sure if that makes a difference or not, but that is what my realtor recommended. We were, however, under a time crunch, so we wanted to make them an offer they would accept asap.
If you need a good realtor in the area, memail me.
posted by theRussian at 6:24 AM on April 5, 2011
I bought a foreclosure in Austin last year - and I offered the asking price. This was a Fannie Mae owned property, though, not sure if that makes a difference or not, but that is what my realtor recommended. We were, however, under a time crunch, so we wanted to make them an offer they would accept asap.
If you need a good realtor in the area, memail me.
posted by theRussian at 6:24 AM on April 5, 2011
That second home is on the outskirts of Austin, not really in the city proper. I wouldn't even consider it given your needs. That first home isn't in a great neighborhood, and it looks to be in questionable shape on a tiny lot from the google maps pics, but in 10 years, I'd think it reasonable that the East Austin revitalization would have reached that far and increased the value of those homes. Still, a weird looking place.
You are going to actually view these properties and visit their neighborhoods before you guy, right? Because buying sight unseen would be a terrible idea. You have no idea what liabilities are there (bad foundation, bad roof, water penetration, mold, what have you).
posted by seventyfour at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2011
You are going to actually view these properties and visit their neighborhoods before you guy, right? Because buying sight unseen would be a terrible idea. You have no idea what liabilities are there (bad foundation, bad roof, water penetration, mold, what have you).
posted by seventyfour at 7:39 AM on April 5, 2011
I just looked at the first house again. I didn't immediately realize how far east it was, it is in Springdale, that's pretty far from where the hipsters are living, and is, along with the Rundberg area, where a lot of the people who are being pushed out of East Austin by gentrification are moving to. I wouldn't expect this area to get "hot" anytime soon. But you need to come and see on your own, and engage the services of a realtor, at least for a consult.
posted by seventyfour at 7:44 AM on April 5, 2011
posted by seventyfour at 7:44 AM on April 5, 2011
You can check online if any permits have been pulled for work at either house. Especially the older one. I'd be wary of a 35 year old house that had never had a permit pulled.
posted by IanMorr at 9:00 AM on April 5, 2011
posted by IanMorr at 9:00 AM on April 5, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
The real-estate version of this is a title search, which should happen with any sale.
Offer??? have an appraiser from that area determine the value.
posted by tomswift at 7:11 PM on April 4, 2011