Help on Green Tree Repo (long) - Posted by Gregory (VA)
Posted by Gregory (VA) on September 13, 2004 at 15:41:27:
While driving through my favorite park last week I noticed that this one Green Tree repo was still sitting there unsold. It is a good-looking (at least from the outside) 1994 model singlewide, 14x66, 2BR/2BA. I remembered it from a few months ago when I went inside and almost didn’t make it back out (if you’ve ever seen Joe’s Apartment, you know what I mean).
This place was completely trashed on the inside. I wasn’t going to touch it with a 10-ft pole, at least, not for my first deal.
So, here I am. I’m off to a really slow start and thinking about this home again. I stop by to see if anything has been done to it. I find out the carpet has been ripped out, the considerable amount of trash scattered on the floor has been removed, and they have set off a couple foggers to kill the insects.
It actually looks like a rehab here might work. The outside as mentioned before is in excellent shape, just a few small holes in the skirting (no more than a few inches each) and the siding is in good shape.
The Central AC unit (outside) looks trashed and would at best need repairs and at worst need to be replaced. In my estimates I’m going to use replacement. The house used Gas heat as I found two huge gas canisters by the rear door.
The wooden steps leading up to the door a bit wobbly. After looking at it, and analyzing the base, I conclude that it’s mostly wobbly because it wasn’t build secure enough. Thinking a few well-placed screws would probably give it a lot more strength.
The inside walls have several small holes in the drywall, not more than a few inches wide each. Does anyone know of a good way to repair/patch small holes like that without buying new drywall? Is there anything I can use to just smooth over the hole?
Most of the walls have wallpaper on them. It is very dirty and I feel I am better off painting over them. Can you just paint over wallpaper, or do I have to remove it first?
The fridge is just horrible, old, rotten and moldy food inside. I might be better off replacing, but the cheap side of me thinks a good thorough cleaning would do the job. (I figure if I bring in an ozone machine as my finishing touch, I can leave the fridge doors open and that would take care of any lingering smell).
The Bathrooms are very bad as well. The sinks are full of cigarette ashes and other assorted stuff. I did turn on the faucets and they did work and drain properly, but going to err on the side of safety and pour a bottle of Drano in each. The sinks are also smudged with cigarettes and dirt. Is it possible to get these back up to snuff by cleaning? Any cleaning advice on the sinks? Toilets flushed fine but are very dirty too.
The kitchen is actually pretty decent. The tile floor looks nice as well as the countertops. Of course it needs a lot of cleaning, but you can tell even through the dirt that it is nice looking.
With the rug gone, that is one less obstacle for me. Won’t have to tear it out myself. I figure I will paint the plywood with Kilz to lock out the smell. Finally, I will place cheap flooring (read my other post below) to make the place presentable. I will finish up with using an ozone machine for several days to kill any remaining odor.
I?m thinking of offering Greentree $250 for the place. I don?t see it being worth much more to me. It?s going to need a lot of time and a few $kk to get the place up to snuff.
Here’s how I figure my numbers would work out:
Purchase: $250
Sales Tax: $27.5
Lot Rent: $1,110 (3 month holding time)
New Flooring: $741.26 (using wood looking tile)
AC Unit: $500 (guess)
New Fridge: $500
Washer/Dryer: $500
Electricity: $150
Insurance: $100
Misc: $500
Total Invested: $4,378
I figure I should be able to get between $12-16k for the home once completed.
So, any advice for my first possible rehab?
