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I bought a local house in 2004 that suffered a failed furnace in deep winter (with great damage) for $17k. I put another $10k into it for repairs, and rented it
by chasil 3y ago
I bought a local house in 2004 that suffered a failed furnace in deep winter (with great damage) for $17k. I put another $10k into it for repairs, and rented it.
I started getting postcards around 2012: "I/we want to buy your house." I have a pile of them. None of them offered more than $20k.
The home in question is very near Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. I do a two mile walk through campus every day, schedule permitting.
The house was lost by previous owners who engaged two mortgages on the property to fund their gambling.
I had pandemic tenant problems; they didn't pay during the last six months, and the damage was substantial. I repaired the damage, then sold it on contract for $60k; I'm done with rental property.
I'm still getting calls and postcards.
p.s. I drove by a house, very similar to mine, but with substantial roof damage, that was for sale for many months for $15k. It dropped to $5k near the end of the summer. I walk by it, going downtown, and the current owners seem to have repaired the damage, and are on their porch from time to time.
- supportengineer 3y agoWhy are those homes so cheap?
- PraetorianGourd 3y agoA mixture of: 1. The home being in a state of disrepair such that most lenders won’t fund a mortgage 2. Being located in a region where the local economy can’t support high home prices 3. Because of the lack of desirability, a lack of speculative investment.
- chasil 3y ago...and now that workers are remote and can live wherever they want, these are fair game. After driving through Port Lavaca, TX, that seems really nice. If you like snow, you will be happy with Rock Island.
- fuzzfactor 3y agoIf you like fishing you will be happy with Port Lavaca.
- danans 3y agoThe GP said: "with great damage" Which would explain why they are cheap, and also land in that area is very cheap, so it basically converges onto the price of the land.
- chasil 3y agoThe floors were all Weyerhaeuser oak, and they were not difficult to bring back. This is not commonly found. Really, the purchase price and renovation costs were rounding errors compared to coastal and major metro real estate.
- chasil 3y agoWe used to be the global manufacturer of farm equipment. The early 80's farm crisis closed several major players. Deere is still headquartered here, but plants are established in China and elsewhere. My area also hosts a U.S. arsenal with custom manufacturing for military equipment that has kept many people employed. We also have the largest aluminum press in the world that makes all the skin for Boeing, Airbus, and all the rest (Bombardier, Embraer, et al). I've worked for all of them. We never recovered from the loss of farm manufacturing, which has depressed home prices.
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- pkphilip 3y agoI can't imagine property being so cheap - that too in the US. Here in India where I reside, you wouldn't be able to get even a 100sq.ft of open land for that price.
- HeyLaughingBoy 3y agoI had a friend who said that her house cost less than her ex's Harley. I've been in that house: I can believe it!
- TylerE 3y agoYou often see this with old crappy houses in not super desirable areas, because your basically have to bulldoze and build from scratch to get something you’d want to live in rather than a cheap rental.
- chasil 3y agoRock Island, Illinois was listed on Salary.com several times as one of the five least expensive places to live in the U.S. Our winters are not very pleasant, but if you like to ski, there is plenty to indulge within a two hour drive.
- seattle_spring 3y agoIf you like to ski, Illinois is close to the last place you should be living.