We're sort of looking for an acreage for a retirement home. We want to stay in Idaho but my wife ran across this one in SW WA. 2300 sq ft, almost 10 acres, lots of outbuildings...but only $90k??? Someone has started a really ugly kitchen remodel. A friend of my wife was in it and said it had been fumigated for bats and there were dead ones all over but that isn't worth a $100k drop in value. Something's wrong here.

LOW PRICED HOUSE

pay for a home inspection. that should turn up alot of issues.

It's owned by the bank. They want to move it. Forclosures are noted for damage and theft by those foreclosed on or by squatters and thieves. Have you looked at the interior photos? There aren't many, but the kitchen looks like chit. That place is a project and who knows it may have structural or foundation issues.

102 years old..?

Built in I think 1910. Base board heat. Probably elec. Yes to the remarks about a home inspection.

bank foreclosures are sold at a discount but it's rare for one to drop that much in price.

sometimes forclosed homes take a lot of work but you can still come out ahead. ours was listed for 259 and after the bank took over we offered $106,000 and got it. it did require work but nothing major (5k in repairs) often times banks start to get desperate and just want to cut there loss.
just make sure it is a clean sale and there are no tax leans that will come back and bite you.

First thing I would assume is rubble foundation and rotten roof with water damage.

Can't know for sure until you put your head into it...

Buying old houses takes some discipline.. What looks real cool on the outside might be hiding some real problems on the inside.

I'd buy it for 90 grand free and clear. Then I'd tear it down and build what I wanted on the ten acres.

My daughter has been trying to buy a house for two years. She ha made full price offers and at least four bank owned homes but he banks never respond to the offers. I can understand if she was cutting the asking price but full priced offers?

Federal law says a bank cannot be in he reality business. They foreclose on a property hey have o have it sold and off their books in twelve months. I understand he Feds in these times have relaxed the enforcement but to just ignore a full priced offer seems strange to me.

Sounds like you know what the soil engineering and perc tests say..

Any info on the well, too?

Dumbass..

banks and credit unions have extended the time frame they can hold OREO property.

Maybe it's not the house but the neighbors next door.

It's got to be something major. Check for asbestos, lead plumbing, aluminum wiring...

A thorough home inspection of the house AND the property could be money well spent. If everything is on the up and up, it could be someone who just wants to be rid of the place regardless of the price.

Good luck!

Rancho_Loco - Hey dumbass I said free and clear! Learn how to read.

It looks haunted.

Banks and credit unions did that? How about the Feds did it. That I could believe.

True Scott. Didn't word that right. The gov. extended the time frame that banks and credit unions can hold foreclosed property before selling it.

Figured that is what you were saying. Any idea how long they can hold one now?

That property is very near some pretty amazing country...

JFC.. Free and clear ownership will over ride any potential problems with soils and engineering?

news to me.

know for a fact that it's 24 months for a credit union . they still have to show examiners that they are making a concerted effort to move the property. with the decline in values, that could take more time. the gov is a little more lenient than had been in the past because of the current housing market.

Thanks, I thought something like that would have to happen.

tn. has seen a dip in house prices and foreclosures but not anywhere near what florida and nevada and other states have seen.

Thee are plenty of empty homes with for sale signs out front in the Pac NW. If I hit the lottery I would be buying like mad.

true. there are some good buys out there.

All it takes is twenty million.

Setting down in the rural (no need to commute) and dry side you could live like a king in a fairy tale land on the VERY cheap.

Probably haunted.

Yes you could. We do a fair job of living pretty good and doing it cheap over on the wetter side too.

FOUND IT. I got to checking some maps. It's either in or bordering an EPA designated wetland. I wouldn't touch that place for any money.

If you're looking for a home to retire to, I would strongly suggest considering a single story. Believe me, those steps get old quicker than you do but your legs won't like them in ten more years or so.

It's in Washington?
Ya better like rain.

One thing I really liked about rural Wa. was the people, lots of nice people.

Wetlands are not bad things. Bordering is not a problem.

Or dryness... please see- EAST of the Cascades.

Depends on where in Washington. We get about 9-10 inches of moisture per YEAR here in the Kittitas Valley.

That silver Lace is pretty country. But you had better think twice about moving there. It not all that far from our place.

You want a great retirement place with no baggage and guaranteed to increase in value? Check this one out...

Google this...John Browning house for sale.


OGDEN � You now have a shot at owning an eight-bedroom historic mansion that once belonged to famed gun maker John Browning.

Many are familiar with Ogden's Browning Museum, but the Browning home has not been open to the public. The home on 505 27th Street in Ogden was built by Browning in 1900 and is on the National Register of Historic Sites.

He had a large family, so this Ogden Mansion has eight bedrooms and three bathrooms. It�s 6,700 square feet and still has the original fireplaces and main staircase.

Marc Weaver, Deseret News
An eight-bedroom historic mansion that once belonged to gun maker John Browning is up for sale. The asking price is $350,000. After the Brownings, the YWCA used it as a women's shelter, then a law firm bought it for office space. Ten years ago, the Smith family moved in and made some home improvements.

"We replaced the carpets. We tried to keep it as original as possible, but we did replace some of the furnaces to give it central air and heat," said Stephanie Smith. "We have put up new wallpaper, kind of period-type wallpaper, restored some of the bathrooms that they used as offices, we put a kitchen in."

Now, she said, it's someone else's turn. The Smiths put the home up for sale on KSL Classifieds for the price of $350,000

Silver Lake is at the base of the western side of the Cascades It's going to rain bunches, say 60" and 186 days a year average.

http://www.bestplaces.net/climate/zip-code/washington/silverlake/98645

They're terrible to own because the feds so closely regulate everything you want to do with your own land. There's no shortage of horror stories about people who have lost thousands because the feds decided that they can't use their land. If this is in a wetland, tearing down and rebuilding might be impossible. It just isn't worth the hassle when there are so many other places available.

Besides, it's way too wet for a guy who's lived 60+ years in the high desert. I'd like more green, but I'm not a duck.

Yep. We get in the low 20's here but that is because we sit at the tip of the rain shadow.

No doubt.

My comment was directed at the statement that WA as a whole, is rainy.

The state, I believe, is nearly 30% desert by moisture definition.

Looking at the pictures (FWIW), it looks like it has asbestos siding, water damage in the kitchen, 2 wire receps in the kitchen (ie, no ground), it has exposed 12/2 NM-B (ie, Romex)in the kitchen (dishwasher?) that is "floating" which could be indicative that any of the "recent improvements" were done half @$$. The age would also imply a good chance of their being knob and tube wiring hidden in the house. Plumbing could very well be cast iron and copper, with lead solder. Septic line could also be made out of cardboard if it was installed in the 50-60's.

Having recently owned and sold an early 1900's house, that I fixed up myself, I really am enjoying renting for right now.....

Map of he rain shadow. http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/olympicrainshadowmap.html

I am between Port Townsend and Quilcine at the tip of the bay off 101.

Very interesting Map Scott, thanks. I knew your area had less rain and have always wondered why. Does anyone really know?

Taxwise, WA isn't a great place to retire. They have no income tax so you don't realize a drop when your income goes down and you get the double exemption. They do have a 9% sales tax and I heard that car tags are going up again.

Wet-wise, the rain quits as soon as you cross the Cascades. After leaving Seattle, you'd think Ellensburg was in a different world. The entire middle 3d of the state is hot and dry. It greens up a bit when you're near the Idaho border and Spokane can get hammered with snow.

Then there's WA politics....

Yep, we get about a third of Seattle.

This is why. http://www.olympicrainshadow.com/rainshadoweffect.html

Call the assessors office, they might give you some insight. The moss growing on the roof might not be a good thing, at least that's what it looks like.

Silverlake is shown to have 55 inches/yr avg. rainfall.

That algae/moss on the roof didn't get there from being hot and dry..

Thats funny, I live in the Kittitas Valley and get 22"/year. You must be out in the pocket.

Somewhere in the area north of White Salmon, far enough north to escape the tourons. Seems like it might be east enough to miss most of the rain but not to far from the Columbia and the Ocean. Beautiful area when I looked around some, would like to spend time there and look it over more.
I think the distance to the ocean is my biggest complaint with Idaho.

55 to 60 sounds about right for there.

You've definitely got that right Close to Mt St Helens, good deer & Elk populations within driving distance. Good Steelhead and Salmon fishing in the rivers as well as trout in both the rivers and surounding lakes. Only about a two hour drive to Portland for big ticket items as there's no State Sales Tax in Oregon.

Silver Lake has some big Bass.

Badger pocket?

Whose in the windows upstairs, or is it my eyes deceiving me ?

What happened in the house that might make it hard to sell ?

It's full of dead bats to start with. A friend of my wife went through it. Apparently they fumigated it but didn't clean up the carnage. She said there were even a couple on the kitchen counter. Can you imagine the smell?

Even though I do spend a fair amount of time in the Pocket I actually live near Kittitas.

Check Kittitas weather here

Either Norman Bates or Chuckie.

Home inspection are not fool proof. They are almost robbery. I had a friend that purchased a 500,000 dollar home in Colorado. Within 3 months they were having water problems with the home. Seems the landscape had drained the water into the home. No sign at the time of buying and never disclosed but now he has about 100,000 in landscaping and some more cost with cleaning up home with wet drywall, mold ect. I hope your luck is better than his?

great map Scott how many miles --minutes from Port Angeles
norm

looks to me that the front roof is slightly sagged -rotton rafters ??

i've done renos in older homes ,its a crap shoot,most people loose at craps,,,unless you can do it all yourself ,and live in the mess for 2-3 years ,,,trouble with renos once you start WHERE DO YOU END????????????????????????????????

norm

As noted by many of the above posts, you NEED a through inspection.

Hey! You stole the smart-azzed comment I was gonna make.

Sheesh, renters think they know everything...

Well, that certainly explains a lot...

Maybe it's built over an ancient Indian butial mound! ?

"Get Ouwwwt!"

Rotten roof? Call the landlord!

After living and remodeling my own homes for ten years straight, it's sure been nice to rent for awhile.

Burnt out lightbulb? Call the landlord!

Our house (3 bedroom townhouse, nice area of MD, 1930s construction, plumbing trashed) was originally listed at $170,000.

Then it dropped to $130,000.

Finally it dropped to $99,900. Then I bought it.

So right there, in an 8-month period after a year and a half on the market, is a @ $70,000 drop in price.

Our house was structurally sound and a good buy at $99k but at $170k, no way.

They'll keep dropping the price until it sells. It may take months to get them to accept your offer (in our case, @ 4 months from the offer of listed price) but in many cases they are losing their tail. I pulled the documents on our house and the bank lost @ $45,000 when they signed it over to me.

I told my dad, next time I rob a bank, I'll wear a mask.

As soon as I see this in an ad...



...I get very suspicious, and would be looking very closely to find out what prompted the "as-is" designation.

Yep, it's haunted for sure! Possessed by the most evil type of demons.

Yeah, I've been watching " A Haunting" on cable also. Don't worry, demons are just like any other pest.

Having walked through quite a few of these types of properties before we found our house (also as-is listed!) I can say they vary widely. Some are solid but need work, others really are basket cases.

Buyer beware, and bring a friend that knows remodeling/construction/something similar if you don't.

Not necessarily. I've sold most of my homes as is. They're in good shape. The buyer has opportunity to exercise due diligence just as I did when I purchased it.

Reliance on the word of realtors and inspectors is an excellent way to wind up with a nightmare on your hands.

About 13 miles from the PT ferry terminal.

Besides those things others have already mentioned another thing I would be concerned about with older homes, especially those built prior to the 1940's, is does it have any insulation inside all the exterior walls, and if so, what kind and how much. While it's usually not too difficult or costly to add insulation above the ceiling and below the floor, adding it behind the walls can be a very different matter.

It also can be hard to tell with older houses that have been remodeled just what deficiencies may have been covered up to save money, time and work. Sometime you may even be dealing with multiple partial remodeling and/or room addition jobs spread out over a good number of years by several previous owners.

Relatively inexpensive "eye-catching" aesthetic improvements can add "wow" factor where as correcting more serious deficiencies can get very expensive and add extra work without adding much, if anything, to the overall aesthetic appearance.

Most homeowner's or house flipper's have limits to how much they can or are willing to spend on a remodeling job and often times are more concerned with being able to see and show off to others the attractive changes and upgrades.

Bank owned property is almost always "as is".
You can beat them up on price, but they ain't gonna fix a thing.

I have wetlands on two sides of me and love it. I don't worry about someone building next door!

Maybe it's the dead guy staring down from the top floor window?

I'd say first problem is location, it's not close to any major city with a economy or medical care.

Second problem is age and cost of maintenance or repair. Most older homes I've looked at would be better off burnt down so you can start over unless you have a love for fixing up old houses and investing money you will never get back out of it. In that region you can be almost guaranteed to have some rot, probably lots of it. That old of a structure is going to hard or impossible to finance and expensive to insure.

You can find all kinds of cheap property in SW Washington and Western Oregon if you don't mind living in an area without much of an economy or medical care. Twenty years of diminished logging and mills jobs has damaged at lot of those areas. I used to live in the region and most of the old cheap places are what I would consider a "burner".

A couple of concerns. 1) You would be going from a generally conservative gun freindly region to a region rife with liberal thought and likely niehbors 2) I bought a home built in 1910 once and its construction methods were awful and even unsafe in areas. Insualtion? What was THAT? Nope, none in that old place 3) I would HATE to be the one who had to re-roof that monstrosity, clean its gutters, or its windows! 4) the region is known for producing lots of mold and moss die to wet weather and a damp climate

I could have worked and moved to Western WA when I chose Walla Walla 18 years ago. Never been sorry about thqat decision.

If you decide that you can handle living in a wet, overcast region filled with Liberal Weenies then I would definately donate the house to the local fire dept. for a pracitce burn. You might be able to salvage some old antiquey fitings, lights, windows, etc from it first and sell them for a profit. The rest of the house? I would watch it burn then build a modern home.

Should add, many people who move from sunny climates suffer from depression when they move to Western Wa or Oregon due to too many overcast days and rain. A real issue and one to seriously consider. My wife would go freakin nuts on that side of the mountains with that little sunshine. I would be right behind her to the nut house after I snapped and evaporated several liberal weenie niehbors in a flurry.

I resemble That! Oh, wait a minute, that should read resent, yes, that's it, I resent that.

You, my freind, are a noteable exception of course.

Glad you could smile at that, but am I wrong on my point?

Not one word of your post was wrong. I went to town this morning and had coffee with all he conservatives in the county except one. Archie was not here but the other four were.

We get about a third of the rain that they get where the house pictured gets but our 20 inches is a lot compared to your part of the state.

Yeah, we get 9 to 11 inches of precipitation total. Your 20 inches ain't so bad, but that place gets 60? NO THANK YOU!

Sixty inches isn't that bad. You just need Filson Tinware for underwear.

THAT was FUNNY! Good one, amigo. Rockchuck.... are you seeing all of this? RUN form this one!

Bats are gonna be back (has nothing to do with being haunted, either).

Haunted

Really

Snake

It's in the Sino Soviet State of Washington.

Reminds me of a house near were I live, some years back a fellow bought it and they redid the house, then put it on the market for 800K sold for 550. I go by it every now and again its an eye catcher. My guess this house would have to be gutted and redone, It might be a good one for somebody who is prepared and willing to do that. Its a nice looking house on the out side, needs a bit of work.

You just need to get a Happy Light. Actually, my brother lived in Portland for many years and he had a terrible time with winter depression. I have a son in Seattle who does, too. My mother got him a Happy Light for Christmas to see if it helps. I suspect that a plant grow light would do the same thing.

I wonder if the house has termites.
My wife says that when her friend looked at it, her boyfriend went along. He knows old houses and has restored several. He thought it was sound except for possibly the floors under the carpets. He wasn't able to see the attic or crawlspace, though. That can tell tales.

I would guess such a thing might work really well, if it had some five fingered hemplike plants growing under it....

Happy TIMES!

Oh, and we HAVE a happy light. Its called the sun. <G>

OK, we won't buy that one. Now check out this little gem right in the same general area. I think the banks are hurting. Break out the checkbook....
ROOM TO HUNT

That fugley thing has 24 HR CF Inauguration Kegger written all over it...

Showed it to my wife. Her comment was there is now way she was going to clean all that. I think we will be staying in our 20 sq ft.

Cheezy.

My sweeites thinking as well, which is why our home is a whopping 1300 sq qft. but lots of dirt and a creek for our critters. We like it OUT side, thank you very much...

Kinda looks like a modern day Bates Motel.
Munster Resort?

I don't believe there has been any change in the holding period allowed by federal regulators. Reg. Y of the Bank Holding Company act indicates that the allowable period is 5 years, and extensions can be applied for to extend that up to 10 years.

Banks want to rid themselves of this stuff, known as Other Real Estate Owned (OREO), because it eats up capital. It is a non-earning asset on the balance sheet and these assets are usually classified as "adversely classified assets", which affects their bank rating and ultimately their FDIC insurance premiums.

I'm familiar with this house it's in Toutle, WA. where I went to HS at . It sits at 4881 Spirit Lake Hwy just down the road from the Toutle Lake High School at 5050 Spirit Lake High School. I'd really have this place looked at closely, there's been so many people in and out of this house over the years.

The edges of Silver Lake is nearby, the area is swampy, you need to see it after a good week of Westside rain.

But it grows good timber, which for me equates to $$$$$$ for the family business.

The house pictured in the original post has a series of curious roof line pitch changes starting at the front of each the two second floor windows. If you zoom in on the roof area you can better see the roof pitch changes. Directly in front of the smaller upstairs dormer window the roof starts out with very little pitch at all and has an accumulation of what might be moss or algae on it. I don't see anything resembling rain gutters on the front of the house, either.

The second house was/is owned by a Woodland dentist. I haven't been up to it for ten years, but I'd been there several times before I retired. Story was, his wife had him sinking all their money into the house for years and the last I heard they had around three times into it what they are asking for it now.
The pictures you see there are as good as it will ever look to you. If you get up close to the house it looks like a bad movie set. It was actually kind of a joke with the locals that one could spend so much money on it and have it look so cheap and gaudy.
It does have a fine southern exposure to the freeway and the town of Woodland, though. On a summer day you can see the smog of Portland. YMMV.

people were murdered in it and it is haunted.

hunter 1960; Is the first house the one that sits right out on the road, just about across from Hansen Rd? I haven't been up there in a while, but I recognize the house and I know a little bit about the area...

Yes, it is. Being right on S.L. Hwy you have all the Mt. St. Helens Summer traffic and log truck traffic year round. When Green Mtn. sawmill was running you had log & chip truck traffic 24/7.

Are you familiar with NE Cowlitz Co? How about the residents of Silver Lake/Toutle, WA.?? These folks aren't the Puget Sound liberals that your implying to. These people are loggers & sawmill/papermill workers. They hunt deer & elk. They support a school system that is the center of the community. Suggest you learn about the area before making implications as you have towards liberalism of all of W. WA.