How do you buy condemned homes?

Question : How do you buy condemned homes?

I'm not interested in the courthouse auctions of foreclosed homes, i dont have that kind of cash/credit for mortgages. A buddy told me that some condemned homes simply dont go up on the auction block because they are too cheap. an example is, i live in pennsylvania, near lancaster city, supposedly theres condemned row homes that are listed for 3k(buy price, not auction) these are the types of houses that you gotta sleep in as you remodel because its in a bad area, yet you will have no problem selling it for about 30k when its finished, rehab is supposedly about 10-15k if totally stripped and condemed (which they usually are).

You can drive through these areas and see the condemned homes, and when asking neighbors, they tell you they've been like that for years, sometimes 10+years. how does one purchase these properties?

And on a side note, are there ever any other types of homes that dont go up for auction? i know for instance in my neighborhood there is 2 foreclosed homes, one of which has been vacant for 8 years, if i understand right, typically properties go up for auction within 3 years from the date of vacancy, not just the 2 homes in my neighborhood either, within a 20 mile radius i could point out over 20 homes that have been vacant for 5+ years, why dont they go up for auction? how else can i aquire them? i've never gone up and read the literature thats always posted on foreclosed homes.

Hey, we all gotta start somewhere don't we? pretty sure this is the bottom of the house flipping business.

Also any other advice you might have for someone trying to get into house flipping as a career will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Jeff


Answer : How do you buy condemned homes?

Answerer 1: If you think you can buy a condemned house for $3k and rehab it for only 10-15K you're dreaming. Houses are condemned for various reasons. Some are condemned because the property has been seized by eminent domain to make room for other development. These houses can be bought for next to nothing but they must be moved. Moving a house and setting it on a new foundation can be costly. There are too many variables to give a blanket estimate.

Other houses are condemned because they are unsafe to live in. The longer it has been empty the more it will cost to fix it up. $10-15,000 doesn't go far when you need to replace heating, plumbing and electrical systems. That doesn't even touch the structural or cosmetic repairs.

Buying the house is the easy part. Find the owner and make an offer. When you buy a condemned house the bank or the city usually gives you a certain amount of time, usually 3, 6 or 12 months, to repair or demolish it. Before getting in over your head try working for a residential builder for a few years to get exposed to all phases of house construction. Then you will be able to do your own inspection and estimates before risking thousands of dollars.

Answerer 2 : Condemned houses are not for a beginner like you. Please, ask yourself a simple question: why those houses got condemned in the first place?

- The banks do not want them.
- The owners abandoned them.
- The city hates those homes so much, they don't know what to do with them.
- The Judges don't want to open a floodgate.

Condemned houses are very much like cancer. They will cost you a lot of money - and we all know there are no cure for cancer. Owners of condemned houses (include banks) are willing to pay you ton of monies, just to have title transfer to your name. Especially houses with sanitary system problem(s).

Many people may think tear down a condemned house, then build a new one (I mean everything new, include a brand new septic system) and can resale it for a profit - WRONG. There are many hidden problems, even an expert does not know until later. Soil contamination is the worst nightmare.