AboutJim Root Expertise How to select the right Real Estate Salesperson & Loan Officer--ones who will serve your best interests! House-hunting tips & suggestions on selection of the home best for your family needs. Introduction to the Home Buying Process & all the "Players" involved.What is of utmost important to the Homebuyer? Real Estate Contracts & Negotiations, Appraisal needs, Title Co. involvement, Home Inspection issues& the Closing/Escrow systems, etc. Whatever your question, the answer will follow, whether from personal knowledge or research! Gale, shown here with me, has been a Real Estate Office Administrator, licensed Realtor & has served as my Research Assistant over the years!
Experience Over 30 years as a "Real Estate Professional." including Real Estate Marketing & Sales, Appraisal work, Mortgage Banking & as a Realty Officer with U.S Dept. of HUD's FHA Homeownership Division in Alaska, Washington & Idaho! Some experience in Montana, California, Utah & Nevada markets!Knowledge of National Markets by continuous Research!
Organizations Former member of Nat'l Ass'n of Realtors (NAR) & Mortgage Bankers Ass'n of America (MBAA). Currently with National Association of Review Appraisers & Mortgage Underwriters (NARA/MU).
Publications Published in various local, state, regional & national Real Estate-related magazines & newsletters!Co-author of various Govt. publications on Homeownership, Appraisals & Mortgages while with HUD/FHA.
Education/Credentials Associate Degree in Real Estate Studies plus:
Numerous Real Estate-related Courses conducted by the U. S. Government & Private Industry over the past 30 years.
Bachelors Degree in Mass Communications,
Masters Degree in Education/Teaching
Awards and Honors Professional Designations: Certified Residential Originator (CRO) from MBAA, Registered Mortgage Underwiter (RMU) & Certified Review Appraiser (CRA) from NARA/MU. Outstanding Peformance Awards for 10 of the 12 years with HUD/FHA & numerous Sales/Listing Awards while a licensed Real Estate Agent.
Past/Present Clients No longer selling/listing Real Estate, nor Appraising properties, nor working in the Mortgage business, this "Real Estate Pro" serves as Director of a Company that provides Professional Development Seminars & Workshops to the "Real Estate Industry" and provides free (as needed) & fee-paid (on a sliding scale) consulting & inspection services to members of the general public.Your questions will be answered without "salesmanship" & with your best interests in mind!
Question My wife and her sister own their late mother's home in a northern suburb of Seattle with their drug-abusing brother formerly having a life estate to live there. He has violated the requirements of the life estate repeatedly and it has been revoked. He was three years delinquent in property taxes and we have recently paid the county enough to keep foreclosure at bay for another year.
This situation (going on six years now) has been very hard on my wife and her sister emotionally and has negatively impacted their relationship. My wife would like to just sell the house and property to an investor for subdivision ... the lot size could accommodate two, possibly three homes. My sister-in-law wants to invest time and money into it (neither of which any of us have) to try to get more money out of it from a home buyer.
My question is this. Would we make considerably more money fixing the house up and selling it than we would just selling it "as is" to an investor? We're trying to balance the potential dollar increase with the stress and strain involved. The approximate value of the house is around $300,000.
Thank you for your time.
Answer MARK--
You didn't send this inquiry to me; I just found it in the QUESTION POOL and see that no one has answered it & you're out there waiting to hear from some one!So, I volunteer.
Certainly it's impossible for any of us to to answer your questions with any degree of specificity!
Would you "make considerably more money fixing the house up and selling it" or would "just selling it 'as is' to an investor" be the most profitable?
In most market areas across the nation these days, Real Estate is on a downward spiral. Homes are being foreclosed on, Banks, Mortgage Companies and Mortgage Insurers like FHA and VA, Secondary Mortgage Holders such as "Fannie Mae" & "Freddie Mac" have rather large inventories of foreclosed properties on the market, and residential properties are just not selling! FIXING UP THE HOUSE AND SELLING IT RIGHT NOW, MIGHT JUST BE "THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD!"
One hardly ever gets back a "Dollar for Dollar" cost of "fix-up" work (ie, if you spend $20,000 on repairs of a home, it'll probably only increase the home's value by 1/2 to 3/4 of that dollar amount)
Couple that with the fact that it may take you YEARS to sell the home in today's SLOW MARKET, the idea of "making money" this way isn't realistic, is it?
How about selling "as is" to an Investor? Well, even in the BEST of markets, INVESTORS AREN'T USUALLY WILLING TO PAY 'FULL PRICE' FOR PROPERTIES; THEY'RE ALWAYS LOOKING FOR A BARGAIN--AT A SELLERS EXPENSE! In today's "Buyer's Market," Investors will NOT buy unless it's a STEAL! So, right now neither of the ideas you've expressed seem to me to be good ones!
Real Estate runs in cycles, peaks & valleys. It's in a low point on 'the Chart" now--in a Valley. In a few years it should be working up towards being a "Seller's Market" if you can "hold off" until then, a local realtor can help you decide which way to go is best for you; either 'as is' or renovated and sold! If you go this way, having a Renter in the house cn help you keep up taxes and maintenace costs! GOOD LUCK!
