Tag Archives: gwinnett

Can a $29,000 Home be overpriced?

Thursday, 04 June 2009 23:44

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

I wandered out to look at some investment properties this afternoon… One of the properties was priced at $29,000… in a neighborhood of $100,000+ homes. In fact, this very home had sold for over $110,000 in the last couple of years.

Could it be overpriced at $29,000?

Yep.

The funny thing is that the wholesaler says it needs like $12,000 in repairs… Maybe if you pick up all of your materials from the curb after they are tossed out of nice homes… I would put the budget at closer to $40,000. and that is assuming that the mechanicals and structure are ok, and that isn’t a safe assumption.

Here is a list:

Gutters
Roof repairs
Front door and casing
Enough of the siding to make it worth replacing all of it
Ditto for the windows
All of the flooring. That which is still there is nasty
And every wall and ceiling needs paint
Rebuild the rear deck
About 20 sheets of drywall
All of the appliances
EVERYTHING in the kitchen… like the cabinets and counters
Landscaping
Un-convert the garage from its bonus room conversion

I would peg the property at a value more in line with $15,000. An investor will need to realize a healthy profit AND have enough room for hidden defects.

Mold abatement
HVAC replacement
Structural repairs
Foundation repairs

I’m not saying that those are probabilities… just that they are possible.

An end-use buyer would face similar issues, AND they will need to be able to finance it without FHA support, since it probably wouldn’t qualify. It also would have trouble with many renovation programs… so cash might be in order for renovations.

But for the right buyer it could be a great deal.

I did run across another property that looks like a much better deal…

Location, Location, Location…

Tuesday, 02 June 2009 19:31

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image by jeremypullen via Flickr

That has to be the most tired and over-used statement in real estate. But there is a problem with it… It kind of died as a truism.

The idea behind that statement is that homes in the right area could bring more money. And that has always been true… But there is a big donut hole in the theory…

People go to where they can get the house they want…

Even Clark Howard says that. Look at the Gwinnett County market or the Atlanta area market. Up until a couple of years ago, buyers would drive out from the center of town until they could find the house they could afford with the amenities they wanted. Twenty years ago that was “way out” in Lawrenceville or Duluth. Ten years ago that was Dacula or Buford. Just a couple of years ago it was Loganville or Flowery Branch. I would imagine that forty years ago it was Lilburn and Peachtree Corners.

But then last summer gas prices skyrocketed… there were shortages. People started to look at their lifestyles and the cost of living 40 miles from Atlanta… and working close-in. And there is a major cost… not just gas, but time as well.

That is one of the reasons my wife and I settled in Lilburn eight years ago. She worked in Midtown and I worked near Northlake. Later she worked near Perimeter Center… now she has clients in Midtown again. She can make it all of the way to the Atlanta Station area in 20 minutes.

We also have to go the other way… Garrett is playing ice hockey at the Duluth Ice Forum. It takes about 20 minutes to get there. And then there were the Thrasher’s Season Tickets… 30 minutes to Philips Arena. My wife’s parents in Sugar Hill… 30 minutes.

We have found that this is an excellent location to get anywhere in Gwinnett County or into Atlanta easily. We have at least three ways to get almost anyplace… so we can drive around the traffic.

The best part is that prices here are quite reasonable. There are areas with homes under $100k that are quite nice. There are luxury homes knocking on $1m. There are loads of options in between.

And the other best part is the schools. Lilburn is the Home of Parkview, and a few parts are severed by Brookwood. These are a couple of the best clusters in Gwinnett County… and Georgia. They have both ranked well for decades.

If this area of Gwinnett County sounds like someplace you’d like to call home, give me a call, Tweet, IM, email… whatever. I know some great homes for sale here.

Come and Get It…

Monday, 01 June 2009 23:03

Written by Lane Bailey

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: Image by lane.bailey via Flickr

Today was Garrett’s first day of Hockey Camp. And he had a ball.

Dan Sullivan of the Gwinnett Gladiators, and some other area “hockey-types” have been putting together a new camp at the Duluth Ice Forum. Dan approached us last week and asked if Garrett might like to try a “big-guy” hockey camp… most of the participants are past the Cross-Ice stage, and are competitive players. Garrett’s answer was a resounding YES.

So, this morning I loaded him and his gear up for the trek to the Ice Forum. He was suited up and on the ice for the 9:00 Power Skating session. Over the course of the day he had three hours of ice time, including the Power Skating, Puck Handling and a one hour game. In all the kids are there from 8:30 until around 4:30. They get a breakfast snack, mid morning snack and a lunch.

I left Garrett with the staff in order to go about my day… after watching a little of the Power Skating. The coaches were really working the kids. I noticed that they were able to spend time with just about every kid during each exercise… the bigger guys were getting pointers while the smaller guys were getting reminders of what they were supposed to be doing.

Around 3:30 I came back to watch some of the game. It was excellent. Basically, each team had three lines… big guys, medium guys and small guys… and they played against kids their own size. They would play in short shifts and a couple of coaches were on the ice with them… and even a ref to make it feel official.

Coming home, Garrett told me all about his day. And he told me how much fun he had. He said that he wanted to be in camp all summer…

The camp runs this week and then there is another week August 3rd-7th. We will be trying to arrange it for Garrett to make it to the August camp as well.

If you might have a kid interested in this, keep eyes here for contact info or feel free to contact me. I’ll put you in touch with the right folks.

New Property Videos!

Wednesday, 13 May 2009 23:59

Written by Lane Bailey

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Here are the newest property videos.

590 Baltimore Ave, Lilburn, GA 30047

1033 Constitution Way, Cumming, GA 30040

9010 Brixham Court, Suwanee, GA 30024

Looking for a real estate deal?

Wednesday, 06 May 2009 15:32

Written by Lane Bailey

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Of course you are… everyone is. Maybe not everyone, but there are a lot of people that are looking for good deals in real estate in Gwinnett County, GA, during a buyer’s market… which is basically what we are in right now.

While looking for something semi-related, I ran across some interesting and possibly good deals out there for the right buyer. These are basically unfinished, brand-new homes. The builder apparently didn’t make it, and the bank has these things on their hands.

The ones I concentrated on are all finished on the exterior… except for landscaping and final doors… and a couple need replacement windows. Possibly some other exterior repair on some as well…

The interiors are a different matter. At the very least all of them need flooring, cabinetry, paint, fixtures and appliances. Some also need HVAC, electrical and plumbing finish work and drywall repair. In each case, I would expect to see $75k or so to get these done and ready to live in.

Since the builder is no longer viable, I would assume that these are without any sort of warranty. And just to be clear, these are NOT move-in ready. In fact, as a very inexperienced construction estimator, I would guess that it would take 60 days to get into one of these after getting the work started.

On the flip side, the prices for some of the larger homes are around $250k. Keep in mind that the ARV (After Renovation Value) of the homes should be in the $400k to $500k range. So, one could expect that in a couple of years their $350k investment ($250k house + $75k renovation + $25k in stuff that always comes up) could yield $50k or more in profit.

That isn’t to say there aren’t challenges… the subdivision is not very built out and I don’t think the amenities are in. The HOA doesn’t exist.

Another interesting point… all of the homes I went in had very tall garages. With the right changes to the garage doors, I think that lifts could be installed in at least one spot of each garage. One of the plans also had an unfinished bonus room over the garage… Interesting!

And my buddy Ken Cook at Novation is working up some special financing plans for these properties.
I noticed that several of the homes had gone under contract in the last few days…. don’t wait too long.

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Tag Archives: gwinnett

Can a $29,000 Home be overpriced?

Could it be overpriced at $29,000?

Location, Location, Location…

People go to where they can get the house they want…

Come and Get It…

New Property Videos!

Looking for a real estate deal?

What's YOUR Home Worth?

Browse Listings

Custom Listings

Follow Me on Pinterest

Tag Archives: gwinnett

Can a $29,000 Home be overpriced?

Could it be overpriced at $29,000?

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Location, Location, Location…

People go to where they can get the house they want…

Share this:

Come and Get It…

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New Property Videos!

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Looking for a real estate deal?

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