9TH STREET FORECLOSURE
Like everyone else we wanted to buy something in this depressed real estate market. We tried short sales but after making offers on four or five houses and getting nothing we wised up and went with foreclosures. We just had our offer on a four-plex accepted and we’re feeling simultaneously rich and poor. It’s nice getting quick decisions compared with the baloney run around on short sales.
The bottom line for us is if you borrowed all the money at a fixed 15 or 30 year rate would the rental income cover the payments (including money to fix it up) and even generate some positive cash flow. For the first time I can remember, it can. It’s a crazy situation. I’ve never seen anything like it. The risk is that you won’t be able to rent’em. Then you’re stuck. For us, at least in Tempe, we feel pretty confident that we can rent what we fix up and so far so good. We have zero vacancies.
If you’ve got your eye on something we’d be happy to share numbers (we paid $127k for the duplex) on rental rates and fix up costs/ideas.
Like everyone else we wanted to buy something in this depressed real estate market. We tried short sales but after making offers on four or five houses and getting nothing we wised up and went with foreclosures. We just had our offer on a four-plex accepted and we’re feeling simultaneously rich and poor. It’s nice getting quick decisions compared with the baloney run around on short sales.
The bottom line for us is if you borrowed all the money at a fixed 15 or 30 year rate would the rental income cover the payments (including money to fix it up) and even generate some positive cash flow. For the first time I can remember, it can. It’s a crazy situation. I’ve never seen anything like it. The risk is that you won’t be able to rent’em. Then you’re stuck. For us, at least in Tempe, we feel pretty confident that we can rent what we fix up and so far so good. We have zero vacancies.
If you’ve got your eye on something we’d be happy to share numbers (we paid $127k for the duplex) on rental rates and fix up costs/ideas.
AFTER from the duplex looking north with new eight foot high walls.
BEFORE from the duplex looking north with gross views to the alley and beyond.
BEFORE from the alley looking south. This is a similar duplex two doors down that has the same crummy fence block walls.
The skateboarder is our 6’3” 16-year-old.
The front had zero curb appeal. I’ll be finished with it this week and we’ll send out an after pic.
I’m not crazy about slump block but I wanted to extend the masonry precedent of the building but most importantly build it as high as possible. We tore down the fence block walls and loaded the debris into our own ¼ inch diameter x two inch on center woven wire version of the standard nine gauge three inch on center welded wire gabion. Nine gauge cages are more trouble than it’s worth to plumb for walls above five of six feet tall.
I’m not crazy about slump block but I wanted to extend the masonry precedent of the building but most importantly build it as high as possible. We tore down the fence block walls and loaded the debris into our own ¼ inch diameter x two inch on center woven wire version of the standard nine gauge three inch on center welded wire gabion. Nine gauge cages are more trouble than it’s worth to plumb for walls above five of six feet tall.
The address was salvaged from the old block wall. You can see some of the same thing behind Pau in the photo above.
