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I am looking at a house that is selling in the as is condition, with the standard BTVAI. The price was listed 7/24/08 as $860,000 then 8/24/08 is was listed for $460,000 and now in the last few weeks it is listed at $109,000 and selling in this condition. I contacted the agency and am waiting for a reply, but I wanted to see if anyone had an idea of why this might happen.
One thing I notice is that it is a 2 acre lot and nearby are newer homes. My guess is the property may have been split.
It might not be buildable. It might be bank owned...there are many reasons for a big price drop. If it isn't bank owned, do your due diligence like crazy. That wouldn't be a good sign out here.
There could be a lot of reasons that the price has declined so much in 2 years. Have you previewed the home. The only time that I have seen such drastic reductions are when there are significant issues with the property, or neighboring properties. In most areas I deal in, splitting off two acres would not decrease the price that significantly.
Built in 1974 there are other issues, asbestos, lead paint to name a couple. Again, have you actually walked through and done a preview of the place? Are you working with an agent that can provide a listing history?
Might be non-build able lot, might be situation where a structal flaw rcently was uncovered, might be a bargain...
Going off my headline:
If the folks that built the house did not get the proper surveys or permits and then subsequent sale also overlooked this but now adjacent property owners have complained to authorities / filed suit I have seen situations where the the "as is" will basically require the home to be moved OR adjacent property bought to get the as-is to conform to permitted uses / get back inside survey area...
I have also seen situations where a structural flaw went unnoticed for decades. Maybe during construction the framers misread instructions and used undesized lumber or drilled too many holes for plumbing in structural elements. All can be find until bug cracking that just can't be painted over causes home owner to call engineering firm. They open ceiling, find only luck is keeping walls from falling in on the place, tell country to tag it for non-occupancy and home owner has no money to fix it so they price it to sell for what makes sense with estimate of shoring costs -- ie if shoring engineerining estimates are $200k and selling price would be $500k after all is done the list price is $300k...
Third situation -- lazy / scared seller wants out fast. Maybe they know that things are slow and declining, wants to get out just what they had into and be done, regardless ... A bargain.
I would plan on detailed inspection and possible third party review by engineer and survey company before offer, so more money out of pocket on a deal that might nit make sense, but it might be smart move...
I've seen ads for California homes where seismic, landslide, or fire problems or some or all of the above have not only rendered the home a total tear-down, but the lot itself will require $200K+ of engineering work in order to get it into buildable condition again.
I've seen ads for California homes where seismic, landslide, or fire problems or some or all of the above have not only rendered the home a total tear-down, but the lot itself will require $200K+ of engineering work in order to get it into buildable condition again.
Possible seismic or landslide problems were also my first thoughts.
Additionally, mold can be a big issue in California.
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Might be non-build able lot, might be situation where a structal flaw rcently was uncovered, might be a bargain...
