Only 2 houses sold out of Subdivision...Exit Strategy? (Atlanta: countertops, townhomes)

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by netdragon

Atlantasfinest: Can your friend afford to rent/roomate somewhere else in the meantime? It'd be a shame for your friend to abandon this potential investment opportunity if she can afford it. It's very likely that areas like this will turn around when the market does.

I'm not saying to stay somewhere dangerous, just to hold onto the property for a while while she lives somewhere else.

She is going to rent it out to some fellows from Morehouse College. She already has a few potentials and she's reviewing applications now. Since it will be 3 guys there will be people coming in and out of the house and always somewhere there and she will be able to cover her Mortgage as well with the rent she is asking. We will see how it goes. It's less than a mile from the Atlanta University Center/Marta Train Line Westlake StationAnd I-20/75/85 so with gas prices high it's very convenient for anyone.

[Atlantasfinest]

I was looking at this thread and decided to do an update...

Well my friend has rented to some girls from Spelman College for the last year and they have moved out(Graduated). She hasn't been able to find another tenants for the upcoming school year yet and hasn't even had anyone to come look at it (When they see the subdivison on Google Earth I'm sure it's a major turn-off).

She is renting out of state now for a job and If she can't find anyone to stay there she is considering just letting it go or try to call the mortgage company (State Home Mortgage which is a division of the Department of Community Affairs of Georgia). The other townhomes that are currently boarded up have been broken into and the A/C units outside on all of them have been stolen. The development is overgrown with weeds and it's pretty sad. She hasn't been able to get in contact with the slimy developers in over a year and neither has her neighbor who has also gated herself inside of her unit (doors, bars, windows). The Girls from Spelman even had one attempted break-in last year. She just doesn't feel like going back there so If she can't rent it out she is thinking of giving the keys back and jumping ship or trying to work out something with the mortgage company because of the situation.

Does anyone have any advice I could pass on to her? Thanks.

[BobKovacs]

Same advice I gave a year ago:

"Just walk away, Renee......"

It sucks, but the situation has only gotten worse there, obviously, and it's not likely to get better for some time. If she was able to find new renters it might make sense to stay, but without that, it's not pretty.

[StPaulEastSider]

I had a friend in a similiar pickle here in Minnesota... I advised her to walk away a year and a half ago. She didn't want to ruin her credit so she worked two jobs while paying the mortgage and renting a place for herself in another town. A year later she finally contacted the bank and they tried to do a short sale, but nothing came of that, last month she walked away... she's devestated at what this will do to her credit ratings, but short of working 70+ hour weeks indefinently, there seemed to be no other option.

[Charlottemms]

I say just try to hang in there! I recently worked for a builder who was still very solid and was buying up lots of land that other builders had walked away from. Its not going to sit empty forever.

[Atlantasfinest]

Bad thing about the whole scenario is that it's in a gentrifying part of town (Westview/Westlake/Mozley Park) that was really just starting to take off before the downturn. Now with so many other intown areas available It's going to be hard I believe for someone to take it over and turn it into something.

The good things about the area is that it's on the Beltine (A stop would be less than a few blocks away) and the Marta Station is walking distance and I-20/75/85/285 are all less than 3-5 minutes away. So it's in a convenient area and I'm sure once it's built out it will be a viable place to live or to rent out but with the boarded up structures in the subdivision It's just a terrible eye-sore for my friend to come home to everyday.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

The good things about the area is that it's on the Beltine (A stop would be less than a few blocks away) and the Marta Station is walking distance and I-20/75/85/285 are all less than 3-5 minutes away. So it's in a convenient area and I'm sure once it's built out it will be a viable place to live or to rent out but with the boarded up structures in the subdivision It's just a terrible eye-sore for my friend to come home to everyday.

Yup- if she can just hold out another 20 years or so until that Beltline project is completed, she'll be sittin' pretty!

[vsmoove]

Originally Posted by Atlantasfinest

Bad thing about the whole scenario is that it's in a gentrifying part of town (Westview/Westlake/Mozley Park) that was really just starting to take off before the downturn. Now with so many other intown areas available It's going to be hard I believe for someone to take it over and turn it into something.

The good things about the area is that it's on the Beltine (A stop would be less than a few blocks away) and the Marta Station is walking distance and I-20/75/85/285 are all less than 3-5 minutes away. So it's in a convenient area and I'm sure once it's built out it will be a viable place to live or to rent out but with the boarded up structures in the subdivision It's just a terrible eye-sore for my friend to come home to everyday.

Has she given the property to a realtor to try to rent? I have an investment property in FL that I would have walked away from already but for the great work of a realtor there that has kept the house rented with only a 2 month gap in 3 years.

[Atlantasfinest]

Originally Posted by vsmoove

Has she given the property to a realtor to try to rent? I have an investment property in FL that I would have walked away from already but for the great work of a realtor there that has kept the house rented with only a 2 month gap in 3 years.

I doubt a realtor would even be optimistic in taking this on. The neighborhood isn't that desirable even though it's highly convenient to the city and Marta and it's only really marketable to only Section 8 tenants or students/roommates (AUC Down the street). If the other townhomes weren't boarded up on the lower levels (Garage/Doors/Windows on 1st Floor) Then It would be a easy to rent out!

[Bette]

I'm sorry to hear about your friend's property. If she short sold the property, she would qualify for the Mortgage Forgiveness Act of 2007 (had to buy between April 2005 and July 2007).

She is in a situation where no one saw the outcome. There is a development of condos in my area - same deal - 1 building out of 4 is done. The rest will not be developed.

Good luck to her.