Join Early Retirement Today
Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Finally took the Real Estate Investment Plunge….(long post with photos)
Old 06-30-2009, 12:48 PM   #1
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Finally took the Real Estate Investment Plunge….(long post with photos)

We have been watching the RE market, trying to time the bottom, wanting to invest and move up at the same time.. We submitted five offers in two different states on bank-owned homes, explored a couple of short sales, but weren't having much luck finding what we wanted. We were getting burned out looking at homes (online and in person), and generally disgusted by how these properties were being marketed, offers handled and deals being done.

So, we decided to take a break, and decided that we would not look any longer, but if our (new) realtor found anything we would be open to looking… Turned off the computers, went out to dinner, and made plans to go pick out the new puppy we had been putting off getting until after the move. Told our realtor we were taking a break, but if he could find us an incredible deal on a home we could ordinarily never dream of buying in a neighborhood we could ordinarily never dream of living in…. Anyway, the next afternoon he called… in a panic… A new custom home had just come back on the market that morning in a very exclusive community; it had previously been on the market for over a year, the listing expired, it fell through the cracks and the bank wanted it off their books in June. They dumped the price to get it sold quickly; he believed it wouldn’t last a week at the new price.

We went over right away and looked; fell in love with the house and the setting, and made an offer on the spot-and only gave the bank one working day to respond. They grudgingly accepted with the caveat that we could close in 22 days… before their Second Quarter was over. And our 15K earnest money was non-refundable if we failed to close on time.

Getting appraisals, inspections, and a mortgage done in 21 days has been a marathon. It is no wonder why banks are taking such a bath on their RE assets- this was a million- dollar plus home and they refused to turn on the power, water, or gas for our inspections- we had to pay to put them in our name; even though we didn’t legally own the house. (good thing it didn't flood or burn down...)
All the appliances were stolen by the previous owner missing, along with some of the lights & plumbing fixtures, but overall the house was in great shape. Brand-new, was staged for showing at one time , but never lived in. Our lender wanted to see a working kitchen and bathrooms, so I installed the missing fixtures, brought in old appliances, and sweated through the appraisal. The HOA wouldn’t sign off until the yard was cleaned up, etc, etc, etc. It was touch and go, and a heck of a gamble but we did get the sale closed- a day early.

Here are the details:
  • 4000ft2/ 4Bd/4.5 baths/ Den/Library/ Guest house/ oversize 3-car garage/ 24-7 guard- gated community with 2 Nicklaus Signature golf courses, clubhouse, 3/4 acre lot, bare-bones landscaping, no pool.
  • Lot sold for $300K in June 2005
  • Construction loan in late 2006 at market peak was $800K
  • Home was completed in late 2007, just as market started to turn; listed by builder in January 2008 at $1.35M
  • Lender refused several short sale offers from investors at $850-$900K
  • Lender foreclosed in September 2008, re-listed at $1.1M
  • Listing expired in March 2009, apparently fell through the cracks when lender was bought out…
  • New lender re-listed the first week of June at $650K to try to get it sold in June…
  • We were the first offer in; at just over $600K; had only been back on the market one day.
  • The listing agent was subsequently swamped with calls inquiring about the “new” listing and from people wanting to submit back-up offers in the event we couldn’t get our sale closed in June. Community consensus was that the bank panicked when they realized they had a dormant listing and drastically under-priced this one.
  • There are several similar homes (not bank-owned) listed in the $1.05-$1.25M range, no comparable inventory under $1M
Our intention is to live in the home for a couple of years to satisfy our capital gains residency requirement; then sell it in (in 2-5 years? ) when the market recovers and (hopefully) use the net proceeds to put our ER funds over the top… Realize this much house is a bit of a gamble, but you have to live somewhere...

We closed Monday; here are a few photos of the home:
Attached Images
File Type: jpg home.jpg (36.7 KB, 38 views)
File Type: jpg view.jpg (27.5 KB, 28 views)
File Type: jpg int.jpg (30.3 KB, 30 views)
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Join the #1 Early Retirement and Financial Independence Forum Today - It's Totally Free!

Are you planning to be financially independent as early as possible so you can live life on your own terms? Discuss successful investing strategies, asset allocation models, tax strategies and other related topics in our online forum community. Our members range from young folks just starting their journey to financial independence, military retirees and even multimillionaires. No matter where you fit in you'll find that Early-Retirement.org is a great community to join. Best of all it's totally FREE!

You are currently viewing our boards as a guest so you have limited access to our community. Please take the time to register and you will gain a lot of great new features including; the ability to participate in discussions, network with our members, see fewer ads, upload photographs, create a retirement blog, send private messages and so much, much more!

Old 06-30-2009, 01:34 PM   #2
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
Papagos Mountains?
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 01:36 PM   #3
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
We have been watching the RE market, trying to time the bottom, wanting to invest and move up at the same time.. We submitted five offers in two different states on bank-owned homes, explored a couple of short sales, but weren't having much luck finding what we wanted. We were getting burned out looking at homes (online and in person), and generally disgusted by how these properties were being marketed, offers handled and deals being done.

So, we decided to take a break, and decided that we would not look any longer, but if our (new) realtor found anything we would be open to looking… Turned off the computers, went out to dinner, and made plans to go pick out the new puppy we had been putting off getting until after the move. Told our realtor we were taking a break, but if he could find us an incredible deal on a home we could ordinarily never dream of buying in a neighborhood we could ordinarily never dream of living in…. Anyway, the next afternoon he called… in a panic… A new custom home had just come back on the market that morning in a very exclusive community; it had previously been on the market for over a year, the listing expired, it fell through the cracks and the bank wanted it off their books in June. They dumped the price to get it sold quickly; he believed it wouldn’t last a week at the new price.

We went over right away and looked; fell in love with the house and the setting, and made an offer on the spot-and only gave the bank one working day to respond. They grudgingly accepted with the caveat that we could close in 22 days… before their Second Quarter was over. And our 15K earnest money was non-refundable if we failed to close on time.

Getting appraisals, inspections, and a mortgage done in 21 days has been a marathon. It is no wonder why banks are taking such a bath on their RE assets- this was a million- dollar plus home and they refused to turn on the power, water, or gas for our inspections- we had to pay to put them in our name; even though we didn’t legally own the house. (good thing it didn't flood or burn down...)
All the appliances were stolen by the previous owner missing, along with some of the lights & plumbing fixtures, but overall the house was in great shape. Brand-new, was staged for showing at one time , but never lived in. Our lender wanted to see a working kitchen and bathrooms, so I installed the missing fixtures, brought in old appliances, and sweated through the appraisal. The HOA wouldn’t sign off until the yard was cleaned up, etc, etc, etc. It was touch and go, and a heck of a gamble but we did get the sale closed- a day early.

Here are the details:
  • 4000ft2/ 4Bd/4.5 baths/ Den/Library/ Guest house/ oversize 3-car garage/ 24-7 guard- gated community with 2 Nicklaus Signature golf courses, clubhouse, 3/4 acre lot, bare-bones landscaping, no pool.
  • Lot sold for $300K in June 2005
  • Construction loan in late 2006 at market peak was $800K
  • Home was completed in late 2007, just as market started to turn; listed by builder in January 2008 at $1.35M
  • Lender refused several short sale offers from investors at $850-$900K
  • Lender foreclosed in September 2008, re-listed at $1.1M
  • Listing expired in March 2009, apparently fell through the cracks when lender was bought out…
  • New lender re-listed the first week of June at $650K to try to get it sold in June…
  • We were the first offer in; at just over $600K; had only been back on the market one day.
  • The listing agent was subsequently swamped with calls inquiring about the “new” listing and from people wanting to submit back-up offers in the event we couldn’t get our sale closed in June. Community consensus was that the bank panicked when they realized they had a dormant listing and drastically under-priced this one.
  • There are several similar homes (not bank-owned) listed in the $1.05-$1.25M range, no comparable inventory under $1M
Our intention is to live in the home for a couple of years to satisfy our capital gains residency requirement; then sell it in (in 2-5 years? ) when the market recovers and (hopefully) use the net proceeds to put our ER funds over the top… Realize this much house is a bit of a gamble, but you have to live somewhere...

We closed Monday; here are a few photos of the home:
Beautiful house......sometimes luck finds you.........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 03:03 PM   #4
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Purron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
I'm so happy for you Westernskies!!! It's breathtaking Looks like a nice place for that puppy you were thinking of adopting.
__________________
I purr therefore I am.
Purron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 03:10 PM   #5
Full time employment: Posting here.
Arif's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 761
That sounds like a great deal. There's nothing like instant equity on a good deal. Imagine if you did that deal three or four times in this market.
__________________
You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes.
Arif is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 03:23 PM   #6
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
bbbamI's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Collin County, TX
Posts: 9,294
Wow...that house is AMAZING! ER forum party perhaps?
__________________
There's no need to complicate, our time is short..
bbbamI is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 03:32 PM   #7
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Purron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
Quote:
Originally Posted by bbbamI View Post
Wow...that house is AMAZING! ER forum party perhaps?
I'll bring the chips and dip
__________________
I purr therefore I am.
Purron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 03:51 PM   #8
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
DangerMouse's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Silicon Valley
Posts: 1,812
Maybe this is karma after the last disaster you had on the previous saga. Looks beautiful.
__________________

I be a girl, he's a boy. Think I maybe FIRED since July 08. Mid 40s, no kidlets. Actually am totally clueless as to what is going on with DH.
DangerMouse is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:04 PM   #9
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinanceDude View Post
Papagos Mountains?
further east- The Superstition Mountains
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:14 PM   #10
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Purron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
further east- The Superstition Mountains
Cool! Here's our celebration song:

__________________
I purr therefore I am.
Purron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:15 PM   #11
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by Purron View Post
I'm so happy for you Westernskies!!! It's breathtaking Looks like a nice place for that puppy you were thinking of adopting.
We had literally just come through the door with the new puppy when the realtor called... after us joking on the drive home that getting the dog might change our luck...We were going to name him Lucky, except DW lost a Super Bowl bet with her daughter and we had to name him Ben...
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:20 PM   #12
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
Purron's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Posts: 5,596
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
We had literally just come through the door with the new puppy when the realtor called... after us joking on the drive home that getting the dog might change our luck...We were going to name him Lucky, except DW lost a Super Bowl bet with her daughter and we had to name him Ben...
PICTURES!!! Please, oh please!
__________________
I purr therefore I am.
Purron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:26 PM   #13
Gone but not forgotten
 
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Sarasota,fl.
Posts: 11,447
Congratulations , Absolutely gorgeous house !
Moemg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 05:40 PM   #14
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Leonidas's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Where the stars at night are big and bright
Posts: 2,847
Nice house and a sweet deal.

Saw an interview this morning on RE recovering in some areas, but it was all in the lower price ranges. $1M plus range is still real week and expected to stay that way for a while.

I wish I could find something like that, but we didn't participate in the housing bubble here and the economy is still doing alright. It's a little weak in the high end houses, and I'm starting to keep track of the sales in the upper range in hopes of some further weakness. Thanks for sharing the story, I see now that I will have to be ready to move very quickly if I want to do something similar.
__________________
There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is having lots to do and not doing it. - Andrew Jackson
Leonidas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 06:16 PM   #15
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
NW-Bound's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Posts: 35,712
Congrats!

It sure feels good to buy something at half the price that the previous guy paid.

I tried to think of the same thing about my stocks. So many good stocks, I feel like getting more on margin (I have never bought on margin). Unlike houses, there's margin call to think about.

Anyway, are you selling your current home? Keep us posted on that activity too.
__________________
"Old age is the most unexpected of all things that happen to a man" -- Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)

"Those Who Can Make You Believe Absurdities Can Make You Commit Atrocities" - Voltaire (1694-1778)
NW-Bound is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 06-30-2009, 07:03 PM   #16
Moderator Emeritus
Rich_by_the_Bay's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 8,827
Nice catch - beautiful view, interesting looking house. Sounds like highway robbery in your favor.

Enjoy it. You may never want to move out for FIRE so keep saving .
__________________
Rich
San Francisco Area
ESR'd March 2010. FIRE'd January 2011.

As if you didn't know..If the above message contains medical content, it's NOT intended as advice, and may not be accurate, applicable or sufficient. Don't rely on it for any purpose. Consult your own doctor for all medical advice.
Rich_by_the_Bay is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2009, 09:26 AM   #17
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso)
Give me a forum ...
FinanceDude's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Posts: 12,483
Quote:
Originally Posted by Westernskies View Post
further east- The Superstition Mountains
Are you on the scenic Arizona highway? I said papagos too soon. I pulled out my pics from Superstition I took last year and I kind aknow where you are............beautiful area, a little cooler than Phoenix.........
__________________
Consult with your own advisor or representative. My thoughts should not be construed as investment advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results (love that one).......:)


This Thread is USELESS without pics.........:)
FinanceDude is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2009, 09:47 AM   #18
gone traveling
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 3,864
Quote:
Originally Posted by FinanceDude View Post
Are you on the scenic Arizona highway? I said papagos too soon. I pulled out my pics from Superstition I took last year and I kind aknow where you are............beautiful area, a little cooler than Phoenix.........
You were about two miles away, when you were sitting on the porch, drinking sarsaparilla, watching the gunfight...
Westernskies is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2009, 10:35 AM   #19
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Naples
Posts: 2,179
Congratulations on a beautiful home with a beautiful view and for such a good deal. Makes me long for those good old days when I had the guts to do this sort of thing. I'd love to but age and my nerves won't let me. Best wishes!
JOHNNIE36 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 07-01-2009, 10:39 AM   #20
Moderator Emeritus
Ronstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Northern Illinois
Posts: 16,543
Great buy!, and a great place from which to begin your search for that stash of gold in the Superstitions.
Ronstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Real estate as an investment wzd FIRE and Money 46 09-30-2008 11:04 AM

» Quick Links

 
All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:09 AM.
 
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.