THE NEIGHBOR’S HOUSE? DOES IT MATTER…
YES.. YES IT DOES!
This little ditty stems from a call I got this week regarding a home in my area. The investor looking to purchase the home was not from my area so he asked me what I thought the potential ARV (After Repair Value) would be. Knowing that the home is in what I consider to be a declining neighborhood I knew I had to drive by to be certain that he would even want to buy it in the first place. I knew it was in a highly desirable school district, but I also knew that on these few blocks the homes were not the best. So I went to take a look and this is what I found..
TAKE IN YOUR SURROUNDINGS:
The house he was looking to purchase is a rundown, vacant house, lock and handle ripped off the door, broken window, extremely long grass, shutters falling off, siding extremely dirty, old roof, old AC unit, and a back porch full of junk. Sounds like an investor’s dream right? Here’s the catch: It’s a row home with a neighboring home that looks TERRIBLE! The neighboring house has siding that is falling off, junk all over the front porch, junk all over the back porch, shutters half falling off… AND.. people were living there! You can’t just look at the house you are looking to buy.. you have to take in your surroundings! Remember this every time you look at a house: Stand on the porch and do a 360 view of the neighboring houses. Does the neighbor’s house kill the deal? It could.. if you let it. This is where you have to get a little creative…
CONSIDER YOUR OPTIONS:
Since this home is a row home, putting up a huge privacy fence is out of the question. This investor had to seriously consider if he wanted to buy this house and rehab it. It is in a great rental area – but this investor wanted to strictly rehab and re-sell. How does he get around the neighborhood eyesore being attached to his potential deal? This was his resolution: Ask the neighbors for their permission to remodel the outside of their home as he remodels the outside of the property he is buying. He would factor the cost of the external fix up of the neighbor’s home into the offer he was presenting on the house he wanted to rehab. The offer would also be contingent on the neighbors agreeing to let him remodel the outside of their home. He knew that there was no way this house would re-sell after being rehabbed sitting right next to another neighborhood eyesore.
So if you aren’t rehabbing in real estate.. should you even care what your neighbor’s house looks like? OF COURSE!!
CONCLUSION:
Whether you are a home owner or an investor, your neighbor’s house certainly does affect the value of your property. The neighborhood eyesore makes it less appealing to any buyer – whether that buyer is an investor or a retail buyer. Take care of that neighborhood eyesore by getting a little creative OR by contacting us with the address! If we buy the house you get a $500 referral fee! AND THE BEST PART: We fix the house up to make your neighborhood beautiful again! Improving the value of your home! Until next time, follow me on Facebook and Twitter and give me your feedback and comments below!
Contact us today with any neighborhood eyesores in your area!