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<p>I agree. I think the cost of repairs on these shows is completely false.</p>
<p>FYI, my Dale St competition (see previous post) has pulled a fast one. They took it off the market for one day and then came back as ‘New Listing!!’. Still priced at $439-449k but it is not selling.</p>
<p>However, there is a small 3bd/1.5ba 1400sf house in original 1925 Tudor style, still in original condition that sold in less than 9 days for $490k. I cannot figure out who bought the thing b ecause it needs work and was sold As Is. This house is more comparable because it is in the same neighborhood and there has been low inventory in the neighborhood for many years. It will be our best comparable when we sell and the buyer needs a bank appraisal.</p>
<p>I am very happy about this.</p>
<p>The kitchen looks nice, cb. What type of kitchen floor are you planning? </p>
<p>I like while cabinets. (We repainted ugly dark cabinets in an old house - the best investment ever… $18 of paint and a bit of sweat equity).</p>
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<p>That happens around here all the time. All. The. Time.</p>
<p>^ And it doesn’t fool anybody.</p>
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<p>^^ I have white cabinets, I was told I was able to buy this house because the cabinet color(and some other stuff). It had only drawn 16 bidders when it was on the market and many neighbors told me afterwards that I would lose the bid had the cabinets in dark color.</p>
<p>Its matter of taste. But white cabinets in most cases is the cheaper of the line.</p>
<p>In our area painted cabinets are very popular right now. I chose white cabinets because I desperately need to lighten up the space. These are not the Home Depot stock cabinets with the dated door design. These are shaker style. I hope people like them.</p>
<p>^^ I bought shaker style cabinets in Cherry for my duplex. It was even cheaper than HD. The cabinets have self closing drawers, very nice.</p>
<p>HD is for convenience only, actually, some of the stuff they sell is very expensive. Their paint is of lessor quality with the same or even higher price, but I can’t drive 10 more miles to get Kelly Moore for paint only.</p>
<p>Today, I was in HD 5 times… it is still home away from home.</p>
<p>I’d love the link to the photos.</p>
<p>My kitchen cabinets are from HD. They were not cheap, and they are very good quality. HD has a range.</p>
<p>Somewhat off topic, but a quick question because I have a feeling you guys might know the answer–</p>
<p>After her divorce, a friend of mine (she lives in Maryland, if it makes a difference) signed a four year lease on a house in her neighborhood to ensure her daughter could finish at her high school. She did not know that her landlord had stopped paying on his mortgage. She has paid full rent promptly every month.</p>
<p>Now the bank has foreclosed on the house, and it was recently sold at auction. The new owner wants her to vacate the house immediately. She has about 2 1/2 years left on the lease.</p>
<p>Does she have to vacate? Or did the house sell subject to the lease?</p>
<p>boysx3, I think your friend is likely out of luck although I am no expert. My leases say that if I sell, they have to move out in 90 days regardless of the length of the lease. There probably are state specific laws that pertain to that but I believe landlords generally retain the right to sell property.</p>
<p>Another off topic: We ripped the flat roof off of a house we are redoing yesterday. Several layers of tar paper, gravel etc. On the roof were 2 MDs, and an MFA. One of the MDs, a willowy intellectual Jewish 50 something from NYC who’d unwittingly volunteered to help, said at one point “when I asked if I should bring any tools, I didn’t realize <em>I</em> was the tool.” Good time was had by all.</p>
<p>Regarding a signed lease:</p>
<p>There was a new federal law a couple of years ago to help renters who are caught in this situation with foreclosure.</p>
<p>If the lease was signed and executed by both parties PRIOR to the Date of Default (prior to a recording of a Notice of Default), and the house is foreclosed to a new owner, the renter has the right to remain in the property until the end of the lease. This is federal and overrides any state laws.</p>
<p>The only exception is if the ‘buyer’ intends to occupy the property as their principal residence. In that case they must give 90 days notice. Also, the renter must be paying Fair Market Rent. So, she may have to increase her rent to Fair Market Rent to stay in the property (if she is paying below market to rent the place). </p>
<p>Foreclosure doesn’t fall into the ‘Owner sold property’ part of the lease - or at least as argued by the courts. The owner did not sell the property and did not give her any notice that the property was changing hands. Have her check the lease for any type of language upon sale.</p>
<p>Your friend does not have to move unless that new owner can prove they are a principal residence homeowner, which is 99% unlikely. So, tell your friend to dust off their lease and make a lot of copies. Tell her to google the law and print it out. Hand the Federal law and the lease copy to the next person that shows up at the door trying to get them to move. Most likely it is an eager real estate agent and/or a real estate investor that is telling her she has to move.</p>
<p>The renter has two choices at this point… she can endure trying to stay in the property for the remainder of her lease and possibly pay a little higher rent to the new owner. OR, she can sit put and demand CASH FOR KEYS to move. Cash for Keys is where the new owner will pay a chunk of money to the renter to ‘break the lease’ and have her move within a certain period of time. I would recommend that she ask for a sum about two months rent and ask for 90 days to vacate the property. Also, renter needs to insist on receiving back her deposit (the new owner DID NOT get the deposit transferred during the foreclosure, the prior owner left town with her deposit) This should be reasonable for both parties. That will give her time and money to move on with her life.</p>
<p>ihs76 - you are lucky to have friends to get on a roof and rip off shingles. Sometimes in the summer that can be the worst Cruel and Unusual Punishment there is ! Nothing hotter than an asphalt shingle roof</p>
<p>Regarding cabinets from HD… there are two kinds you can get. They have in-stock on the shelf low end cabinets that are brown or white. Both have old fashioned door styles and can be immediately recognized by those of us in the business. But they also sell custom cabinetry where you sit down and design a kitchen and make an order, those are actually way expensive and there is a large mark up on those cabinets. But a lot of people like the kitchen design service and the guaranty provided with that program.</p>
<p>Nowadays with the Internet and a lot of pre fab cabinet shops in your local industrial area, if you can design the kitchen yourself you can get medium quality cabinets for low prices. Some of them you have to ‘assemble’ and others come pre-assembled. Most of them are made in China and you have to get creative with modifying the cabinets if you need some custom areas outside their standard sizes. But, they are made of real wood and they are higher in quality (self closing etc) than the pressboard cabinets.</p>
<p>The law is titled “Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009”. Your friend falls under Section A - Bona Fide Tenant (as long as she is not related in any way to the prior owner)</p>
<p>Here is the exact legal language:</p>
<p>SEC. 702. EFFECT OF FORECLOSURE ON PREEXISTING TENANCY.
(a) IN GENERAL.—In the case of any foreclosure on a federally related
mortgage loan or on any dwelling or residential real property after the date of enactment of this title, any immediate successor
in interest in such property pursuant to the foreclosure shall assume
such interest subject to—
(1) the provision, by such successor in interest of a notice
to vacate to any bona fide tenant at least 90 days before
the effective date of such notice; and
(2) the rights of any bona fide tenant, as of the date
of such notice of foreclosure—
(A) under any bona fide lease entered into before the
notice of foreclosure to occupy the premises until the end
of the remaining term of the lease, except that a successor
in interest may terminate a lease effective on the date
of sale of the unit to a purchaser who will occupy the
unit as a primary residence, subject to the receipt by the
tenant of the 90 day notice under paragraph (1); or
(B) without a lease or with a lease terminable at will
under State law, subject to the receipt by the tenant of
the 90 day notice under subsection (1),
except that nothing under this section shall affect the requirements
for termination of any Federal- or State-subsidized tenancy
or of any State or local law that provides longer time
periods or other additional protections for tenants.</p>
<p>Also, I have known many renters that have held out for large sums of money to break their lease. She has the upper hand in this situation and it depends on how desperate the new owner is to get her to move out. If it is a flipper who is going to renovate and re-sell the property they need her out of the house. She can bargain for a large payout if she wants.</p>
<p>Very funny:</p>
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<p>. . . but why is the religion of the protagonist relevant?</p>
<p>Regarding the renters, as cb said. It is easy to fond out in ca if the new owner is going to owner occupy the home as there is a place on the purchase agreement that indicates the buyer’s (now the new owner) intent. </p>
<p>Also, even if the new owner send that 90 day notice there are ways to fight in the court of law. It could take as much as one year to remove the existing tenants. You need to speak to a lawyer who specialize in the landlord- tenant laws in your state to learn all the options.</p>
<p>I agree on that house I saw being a fantastic flip. Our real estate agent kept showing us these real fixer-uppers that were already towards the upper end of our price range. If we spend all of our savings on just the down payment, how are we supposed to be able to fix it up!</p>
<p>I’ll see if I can find the address of the house; I know my girlfriend kept records of everywhere we visited.</p>
<p>We did see one amazing house that needed a bit of TLC in a beautiful secluded part of town. Right at the upper end of our range, only needed cosmetic fixes, and had been on the market for over three months. Pretty glad we didn’t fall for it too hard, because it wound up going for 50% over listing a month later!</p>