Central Ohio Real Estate Market News

Why do people buy a home – put a lot of money in their investment – and then don’t care for their investment?

I’ve been showing homes this week to a couple different buyers. With one of those buyers we’ve viewed the GOOD and the BAD. With the other buyer I just showed the UGLY!

The second buyer and I have been watching for a fixer-upper that offers a good enough buy for this family to fix up then resell. Yes, they know this isn’t the best of times to do that, which is why I’ve been watching for just the right home for them.

One such home – or so it seemed – just hit the market, priced in the mid-$130’s. It’s priced about $100K below its market price if it weren’t a fixer-upper. It’s a 10-year old home in a nice neighborhood where homes sell between $200K to $250K.

I quickly set up a showing. I often drive by this home and the exterior looks fine, but I knew it was vacant because the neighbors were caring for the lawn. The listing agent said it was a bank-owned, as-is, cash home that had a roof leak with some mold where the leak occurred in the MBR. The buyer and I envisioned a corner with some water stains.

OH MY … were we wrong!

As soon as we walked into the foyer we noticed the loose ceiling. We went upstairs to the MBR above where another 3′x 3′ ceiling section was hanging down. That chunk of ceiling was black as well as about 4′ of wall on both sides of the corner from the ceiling down to the floor. The carpet and pad had been pulled up to expose the black sub-floor.

In the closet of the adjoining bedroom, the ceiling of the closet had deteriorated and fallen to the floor, exposing the blackened insulation. In another bedroom to the back of the home, was more evidence of mold, leading us to wonder just how extensive the leak actually was.

There were “questionable” water stains all along the top of the back foundation block just underneath the siding. It appeared the water had run down onto the block from underneath the siding. This was on the opposite side of the home from where the main roof leak had occurred. The rest of the home was just filthy. It would need new carpet, paint and repair of the woodpecker holes in the wood trim.

The buyer and I talked and talked about what to do. The repairs could likely be made and still turn a profit … IF … it weren’t for what the CLUE report might do to a future buyers’ insurance cost.

Does mold mitigation make the home OK in the eyes of an insurer? And what about the talkative neighbors who are sure to tell any future buyers about “all the mold” in the home? What liability risk does that pose for my client after the sale? Do you suppose the bank would sell at a price for the lot – it’s a great lot – such that this home could be demolished to rebuild another home? Why didn’t the original owner just spend $500 to have the leak fixed when it was small?Oh … one more thing … the original owner only moved out a couple months ago, which means they lived in these conditions! YUCK!!!!!!!

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