[quote=jpinpb][quote=sdrealtor]A young engineer with a good career full of promise got married and wanted to buy a house. He grew up in the gridlocked Nirvana and wanted to buy there but happened upon an older female agent with abroker license and 25 years in the business no less. She convinced him he should buy one of those prime 1950’s era homes, You know the ones you said were the best built of all. He looked and found one in one of those great neighborhoods far north of Adams Ave that you love to advocate. The house was not plagued with Mello Roos or an HOA and had what you would call unlimited possibilities. It was on a much bigger than normal lot for the area. Even though it was an SFR the lot was zoned multi-family. It would have gotten BG”s 5 star rating as a brilliant choice. So he leaped at the opportunity!
Don’t beleive my story? Ask jpinpb, she’s been in the house.
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A very nice spanish style north of Adams. Sadly, though, IMO, there is no way that house was worth what he paid for it at about peak. Unfortunate that they were in the predicament they were in and spent they money they did. I would like to say, it can happen to any of us. But I really can’t say that.
I am saying this and not to brag about my superior intelligence or great luck. I am neither smart, nor fortunate. I could’ve bought a house 5 years ago. I didn’t. We were in a bubble. Albeit a longer than usual bubble, but we were in one. Anyone who did not realize it this, well, either denial or just plain stupid.
Their first mistake was buying during a bubble. Buying an old house needs work. That’s a given. But you are saving on not having MR or HOAs. And buying a new house needs work too. Usually putting in a yard. Sometimes new homes have issues, also. And really in a few years of being in a new house, little things start to break or wear. Maintaining houses are expensive, new or old.[/quote]
Thank you, jpinpb. Yes, I agree that a person didn’t need multiple advanced degrees to realize in 2006 that prices were grossly inflated, even for entry-level housing that needed work.
sdr, I’m checking in here briefly and have to step out but will respond to you and SDR’s posts later this weekend. I’m STILL not clear on something. You never answered my question, “Did your `victim-engineer’ EVER get a full report by a qualified house inspector PRIOR to COE and APPROVE that report as a condition of sale?” Your “victim-engineer” obviously didn’t own this house that long. Ostensibly, a qualified inspector would have checked out the plumbing. Plumbing and heating systems are EASY to see and check out in a house with a raised foundation. Not so in a slab home (or condo complex). Do you think it is easier (and cheaper) to jackhammer a slab on a ’60’s thru ’90’s house in order to make major plumbing repairs?
I also want to throw out some “food for thought” questions/points.
During the length of his “ownership,” how much $$ would this buyer have paid in MR/HOA had he bought new construction instead, say in a north county subdivision, in 2006. And how much “underwater” would his property be now?
I’m just not seeing here that this owner was “unhappy” the entire time he owned this SD urban property. After all, during his brief ownership period, he presumably produced two kids. I see this couple as typical first-time buyers who are just living their lives and not really paying close attention to maintenance issues (which are ongoing in ANY SFR over 15 years old). The problems you describe are NOT uncommon in a 50+ year old house. They’re not a deal-killer either. He should have known the depth and breadth of this sewer-line problem PRIOR to purchase and structured his offer accordingly. The sellers would have had to cave, bubble or no, because his inspection report would have then been of record and “outed.”
How long after purchase was it that they discovered the flies and maggots in the crawlspace/house? Could they not smell the mold inside? How long after the sewer line and foundation were fixed did they discover mold in the house (months/a year later?) Did he NEVER go down into the crawlspace and check anything out, even after two major repairs? Did he have a “guarantee” for the plumbing and foundation work? After he had the foundation fixed, the work needed on this house was 3/4 the way done and would have been all the way done except … why wasn’t the chimney instability discovered when the foundation repair was made??
How long did his sellers own the property immediately prior to him? Were they an institutional seller? Did he have any actionable claims against the sellers for non-disclosure of known defects? If not, why not? Or against any of the contractors he paid dearly to properly perform work on the property?
How much of the “mold” issue was due to his own negligence? This story reminds me of a house of horrors with assorted costumed characters inside randomly bumping into one another and the “visitor” doesn’t know what’s around the corner until he gets there, lol.
I’m also not seeing where this owner HAD to “sell short” and take the hit on his credit report. What is apparent from your posts is that he must have “strategically-defaulted” in order to force his lender to buckle under and accept a “short-payoff,” since you were adamant that he was not a “deadbeat.” Who counseled him to do this? You? Or a family member? How is he better off now paying (high?) rent in “GN” to wait out a period of time for this “short-sale hit” to disappear from his credit report? Wouldn’t he have been better off to address the chimney and/or the (subfloor/wall) mold problems (at the very least) and remain in the property to wait out this housing debacle, all the while continuing to deduct mortgage interest payments and property taxes on his income tax return? Did the chimney issue HAVE to be addressed to make the property habitable? At the very least, he could have later sold the property to a 1-4 unit “spec builder” when the values picked up again. All he would have had to do was emphasize the zoning on the listing and he would have been pounced upon. These types of buyers could care less about the problems you describe here.
It seems to me that your “victim-engineer’s” problems were foreseeable and preventable (or at least “mitigatable”) in this case, IMO. These owners were obviously asleep at the switch for most or all of their brief stint at homeownership. It also appears from your posts that someone must have later talked him into just giving up on the property and abandoning it after he complained to them about the ongoing problems stemming from the initial plumbing/sewer-line replacement.
