A good example of what 50K gets you in PHX. (El Mirage: for sale, lender)

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

What's uninhabitable about it? It looks like it needs yard work, some floor molding and a new kitchen floor. You'd be surprised what a good cleaning and decorating can do, even to a dated place like that. From an appraisal standpoint, based on the photos, there's certainly nothing uninhabitable there.

I think it's more about cost/value from a person who could rent or buy. If you rent an inexpensive apartment, it'll likely be newer & in better shape. Bringing that home up to the standard of the average cheap apartment in Phoenix would likely cost $15k or more, all *cash* required. If you don't know what you're doing, you could easily sink $50k into a place like that and still have a tiny house without much curb appeal. Im well aware of the value added by paint & flooring, but a water heater on the porch isn't anything I've seen as a trend on HGTV.

Selling it in the future could be a real problem, unless you're willing to pull off all of the illegal additions & repair it *to code*. Anyone who chops a hole in a wall & sticks a window a/c in the hole (as was done on that first property) doesn't know the first thing about construction & no doubt they've left lots of expensive surprises inside those walls. As a rehabber, I'd much rather buy the place after it burns down, that way I'm not paying for a "house" that's mostly going to end up in a dumpster anyway.

I'd never rent a house out that I wouldn't live in myself - many landlords do things different, that's certainly their choice.

[ReadyFreddy]

I don't think removing the wall A/C or moving the water heater (or building a closet around it) would be exorbitant. I didn't see any additions but you don't have to remove those when selling, permitted or not. If they're not ducted to the A/C or finished to the level as the rest of the house the square footage might not count in the appraised value. At 750SF, I'd be surprised if it's not all original.

The payment on that house would be under $250. Can you rent an apt. for that? 3br/2ba?

[khuntrevor]

Freddie Mac rubber stamped it at 138,250 in June 2007.

[Jkgourmet]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

Freddie Mac rubber stamped it at 138,250 in June 2007.

So what?????? That fact has no meaning whatsoever ever in May 2012.

[Zippyman]

Originally Posted by ReadyFreddy

I don't think removing the wall A/C or moving the water heater (or building a closet around it) would be exorbitant. I didn't see any additions but you don't have to remove those when selling, permitted or not. If they're not ducted to the A/C or finished to the level as the rest of the house the square footage might not count in the appraised value. At 750SF, I'd be surprised if it's not all original.

The payment on that house would be under $250. Can you rent an apt. for that? 3br/2ba?

Many lenders won't write a loan under $50k, that house likely wouldn't *qualify* for a loan, and yes - if you could get a $50k mortgage, your payment would be around $250.
Plus taxes.
Plus insurance.
Plus repairs.
I don't know the subject area at all, I don't see a property of that size or in that condition pulling even $600 in rent, and your tenants should have to be on the fringes of sleeping in their cars to even accept a place like that. You aren't going to rent or sell a house like that to a schoolteacher, nurse, cop, etc.

Tenants who just got out of prison, tenants who raise pit-bulls & sell them, those who raise & butcher their own chickens etc might like a house like that.

[ReadyFreddy]

I know people who buy those and fix them up and live in them, rent them, flip them, whatever. They get mortgages. They work in R.E. That house has a ton of potential for $50k. Nice block fences, a newly tiled shower, some new 6-panel doors, a carport, 3/2, big yard, not too bad an area. I think there would be no problem renting that out with under $10k investment.

We all see different things, though.

I can almost guarantee you that house is mortgage-able. I know from appraising what things are deal killers and a hot water heater on the back porch and a wall unit A/C added... those aren't. The one red flag I see is the window bars on the back need to come off if they're not unlockable for fire egress. I never did FHA, though, and they have other rules.

[khuntrevor]

That house would rent for 700+. 85016 is not a cheap zipcode for rent.

[bigDwiki]

757 Sq Ft

Year Built:1948

???

This is a TERRIBLE deal.

[rjrcm]

Originally Posted by khuntrevor

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...4_M13985-41591

this one was listed less than a week at 48K. Not as nice of a hood as Mitchell.

According to the tax record, this was last sold in 1992 for $13K. The Realtor.com link only shows their computerized estimated value of $39K. Where did you find $48K?

[khuntrevor]

1338 E Devonshire was listed until about wednesday. Ziprealty only shows me homes that are still available. It could have been taken off the market, but I think it was sold.