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And it got sold! I happen to remember this https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64389615 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64389615 I suppose leadi

by dreen 3y ago

And it got sold! I happen to remember this https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64389615 https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64389615 I suppose leading with a picture of it actually on fire is better than a post or pre fire photo.

pessimizer 3y ago
Property in Franklin, Tennessee is obscenely expensive, for no good reason.
meshaneian 3y ago
How did they not say "fire sale"??
TheHappyOddish 3y ago
> The pair - natives of North Manchester in the United Kingdom who now live in Houston, Texas with their three children - had been searching for homes near Nashville, Tennessee when they came across the property. Why is the BBC clarifying what country Manchester is in but omitting where Tennessee is? Very strange for a British publication.
js2 3y ago
Life imitates art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFwS_Dqd-IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFwS_Dqd-IU (Scene from Synecdoche, New York.)
zirgs 3y ago
Of course it got sold. The seller was completely honest about the condition of the property.
- LanceH 3y ago
  You're going to have to disclose the fire. May as well use it to get lots of people looking if you're confident in the rebuild. I do like imagining trying to sell it during the fire based on apparent damage done and the perceived capabilities of the fire dept. in stopping it.
  - B1FF_PSUVM 3y ago
    The Crassus approach? https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/crassus-fire-brigade/ https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/crassus-fire-briga...
    - boringg 3y ago
      I thought that too. First fire department - ruthless!
Gordonjcp 3y ago
Would that not be a total writeoff, given that it's a timber building?
- tomcam 3y ago
  Only after insurance is factored in https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515 https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515
  - Gordonjcp 3y ago
    Not sure what taxes would have to do with it? You'd have to bulldoze that flat and start from scratch.
    - ejstronge 3y ago
      Write-off is an accounting term that would seem not to have a meaning outside of taxes.
      - olddustytrail 3y ago
        Its meaning outside of taxes is something which has dropped to zero value. So if you damage your car beyond repair, for example, that would be a "write off". It means it's not worth the repair costs because it's cheaper to buy a new one.
        JohnFen 3y ago
        Right. What it doesn't mean is that the thing being written off is valueless, though. I've seen several perfectly safe and drivable cars written off because of cosmetic damage that would have cost more to fix than the car was worth. But the cars were otherwise fine. Except this part: > because it's cheaper to buy a new one. is not true. A write-off is because the repairs exceed the fair market value of the thing being written off. But the thing is used, not new. The fair market value is likely to be well below the cost of replacing it with something new.
hinkley 3y ago
Our old house had problems. When we listed it, the best prospect thought we were stupid not honest, so he kept trying to get us to lower the price when inspection turned something up. In retrospect maybe a picture with the proverbial roof on fire might have been a good idea. Here's the thing about getting a house loan: If you try to buy a house for too far under or over market value and can't explain why it's that far under market value, it sets off all sorts of red flags for lenders. Before we bought that house we passed on another because it was a unicorn in its neighborhood and our agent was having a terrible time coming up with documentation of comparable listings in a reasonable distance from the house. And then I discovered water damage and we bailed. If you buy it for 15% under market and have a bunch of inspections that say why, that's less of a problem.
- robocat 3y ago
  In New Zealand, houses can be sold “as is” which means cash only. It usually means that insurance cannot be acquired for the house, and mortgages always require insurance. It means there are bargains still available in my city (Christchurch) because there were so many houses damaged by the earthquake a decade ago. There are still houses that are about 2/3 the price compared to similar insurable houses. Few people can buy the as-is properties because most people need a mortgage to buy a house. People with cash usually buy better houses. A saw an as-is sold the other day to a buyer from the US. Insurance policies have some queer rules that all insurers share - perhaps due to building code, or maybe due to a common reinsurer? Your floor cannot have more than 50mm (two inches) drop between two corners of the house, as it can’t be insured. Unless you can show the unlevel floor existed pre-earthquake, in which case you can get insurance! Wierd.
  - vGPU 3y ago
    All used homes in the US are sold “as-is”. It’s caveat emptor doctrine. Now, there are laws against misrepresentation. There is a disclosure form that is required which asks you about defects. The seller can admit them or decline to answer, but if the seller knowingly lies about a property defect you can sue to recover damages. Real estate agents have a lot of liability here because they are bound to disclose things that could have been “reasonably known” - which is a definition that can be tortured in every direction. For example, bedrooms: in my state a bedroom must have a closet to count as a bedroom. Except sometimes it doesn’t have to have a closet to count as a bedroom. The exceptions are literally described as “some older homes had bedrooms without closets” - but “older” and “bedrooms” is left to the interpretation of your legal council and the investigator when it becomes an issue.

by dreen 3y ago

pessimizer 3y ago

Property in Franklin, Tennessee is obscenely expensive, for no good reason.

meshaneian 3y ago

How did they not say "fire sale"??

TheHappyOddish 3y ago

> The pair - natives of North Manchester in the United Kingdom who now live in Houston, Texas with their three children - had been searching for homes near Nashville, Tennessee when they came across the property. Why is the BBC clarifying what country Manchester is in but omitting where Tennessee is? Very strange for a British publication.

js2 3y ago

Life imitates art: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFwS_Dqd-IU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFwS_Dqd-IU (Scene from Synecdoche, New York.)

zirgs 3y ago

Of course it got sold. The seller was completely honest about the condition of the property.

LanceH 3y ago
You're going to have to disclose the fire. May as well use it to get lots of people looking if you're confident in the rebuild. I do like imagining trying to sell it during the fire based on apparent damage done and the perceived capabilities of the fire dept. in stopping it.
- B1FF_PSUVM 3y ago
  The Crassus approach? https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/crassus-fire-brigade/ https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/curiosities/crassus-fire-briga...
  - boringg 3y ago
    I thought that too. First fire department - ruthless!

Gordonjcp 3y ago

Would that not be a total writeoff, given that it's a timber building?

tomcam 3y ago
Only after insurance is factored in https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515 https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc515
- Gordonjcp 3y ago
  Not sure what taxes would have to do with it? You'd have to bulldoze that flat and start from scratch.
  - ejstronge 3y ago
    Write-off is an accounting term that would seem not to have a meaning outside of taxes.
    - olddustytrail 3y ago
      Its meaning outside of taxes is something which has dropped to zero value. So if you damage your car beyond repair, for example, that would be a "write off". It means it's not worth the repair costs because it's cheaper to buy a new one.
      - JohnFen 3y ago
        Right. What it doesn't mean is that the thing being written off is valueless, though. I've seen several perfectly safe and drivable cars written off because of cosmetic damage that would have cost more to fix than the car was worth. But the cars were otherwise fine. Except this part: > because it's cheaper to buy a new one. is not true. A write-off is because the repairs exceed the fair market value of the thing being written off. But the thing is used, not new. The fair market value is likely to be well below the cost of replacing it with something new.

hinkley 3y ago

Our old house had problems. When we listed it, the best prospect thought we were stupid not honest, so he kept trying to get us to lower the price when inspection turned something up. In retrospect maybe a picture with the proverbial roof on fire might have been a good idea. Here's the thing about getting a house loan: If you try to buy a house for too far under or over market value and can't explain why it's that far under market value, it sets off all sorts of red flags for lenders. Before we bought that house we passed on another because it was a unicorn in its neighborhood and our agent was having a terrible time coming up with documentation of comparable listings in a reasonable distance from the house. And then I discovered water damage and we bailed. If you buy it for 15% under market and have a bunch of inspections that say why, that's less of a problem.

robocat 3y ago
In New Zealand, houses can be sold “as is” which means cash only. It usually means that insurance cannot be acquired for the house, and mortgages always require insurance. It means there are bargains still available in my city (Christchurch) because there were so many houses damaged by the earthquake a decade ago. There are still houses that are about 2/3 the price compared to similar insurable houses. Few people can buy the as-is properties because most people need a mortgage to buy a house. People with cash usually buy better houses. A saw an as-is sold the other day to a buyer from the US. Insurance policies have some queer rules that all insurers share - perhaps due to building code, or maybe due to a common reinsurer? Your floor cannot have more than 50mm (two inches) drop between two corners of the house, as it can’t be insured. Unless you can show the unlevel floor existed pre-earthquake, in which case you can get insurance! Wierd.
- vGPU 3y ago
  All used homes in the US are sold “as-is”. It’s caveat emptor doctrine. Now, there are laws against misrepresentation. There is a disclosure form that is required which asks you about defects. The seller can admit them or decline to answer, but if the seller knowingly lies about a property defect you can sue to recover damages. Real estate agents have a lot of liability here because they are bound to disclose things that could have been “reasonably known” - which is a definition that can be tortured in every direction. For example, bedrooms: in my state a bedroom must have a closet to count as a bedroom. Except sometimes it doesn’t have to have a closet to count as a bedroom. The exceptions are literally described as “some older homes had bedrooms without closets” - but “older” and “bedrooms” is left to the interpretation of your legal council and the investigator when it becomes an issue.