Columbus HUD Homes

Can you determine the condition of a Columbus HUD Home before you go out to take a look?

Yes, you can! HUD has every property inspected and publishes a so-called Property Condition Report for each of their listings. These are very detailed reports you can use to get an excellent picture of the condition of a Columbus HUD Home.

Let me show you how to read the Property Condition Report. As an example I want to use our featured condo on 3005 Seeger St, Grove City, 43228. Here is the property detail page. 

The top of the page states the case number, address, appraised value, list price and other important facts about the property. When you scroll down the page, you will see two yellow bars indicating that this is a new listing and that it is available for bidding by owner occupants only.

Just above the 2nd yellow bar is a line item titled “Property Condition” with a link to a pdf file called “Property Condition Report PCR Part 1”. Here is the link to the PCR for 3005 Seeger St, Columbus OH 43228. 

This 19 page document gives a detailed description of the property  condition. It starts out with the address, case number and picture, the date the inspection was completed and the name of the inspector. Next you see the Table of Contents, the Inspection Requirements, and finally the actual inspection Report Summary.

On page 6 the report gives a quick summary of the overall condition of the property (this one is in excellent condition). It states that only the dishwasher is there, all other appliances are missing. The report also lists which utility companies service this property.

Further into the report you can read which Furnace, A/C unit, water heater, electric panel etc. are present.

The Property Condition Report is especially helpful when you are trying to evaluate a Columbus HUD Home that needs substantial repairs. We suggest you read the report before you invest a lot of time on the road inspecting properties.  HUD is doing the property inspection for YOU – with significantly more information about the conditon of the home than you will find for most other Columbus Houses offered for sale.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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Don’t hesitate on this 5 year old Hilliard HUD Home! We already have showings scheduled. Great Columbus Houses like this one go fast!

This 3 bedroom free standing condo offers an open floor plan with 2nd floor master suite. It comes with lovely wood floors, a fireplace on the 1st floor and 2.5 bathrooms. There’s a spacious master suite w/ vaulted ceilings on the 2nd floor.

A 2 car detached garage and a poured patio adorn the rear of the house, a lemonade porch sits in the front. You’ll save money by paying Columbus taxes, but your kids attend Hilliard Schools.

Enjoy all the benefits of home ownership, with the luxury of condo living!

Click on the address to see all 14 pictures of this great home:

3005 Seeger Street, Hilliard, OH

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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Guidelines for home loans have tightened significantly over the past 6 months. Lenders got scared by high default rates on their loans, so they will no longer hand out money without guarantees or significant downpayments. However, there is at least one program that continues to offer superb benefits to the buyers of Columbus Houses: the VA Loan Guarantee.

VA Loans are actually loans made by regular banks, but they are guaranteed by the Veterans Administration. You have to qualify as a US veteran and you have to buy the house as a personal residence (owner occupant). Fore details on the program go to the FAQ section of the VA Website.

The two biggest benefits of VA loans are the fact that

1. you can get 100% financing, including closing costs, and that
2. you don’t have to pay for mortgage insurance.

If you had a bankruptcy you have to wait for 2 years after it was discharged before you can apply for a VA loan. The lender may make an exception if the bankruptcy was completely out of your control.

A few weeks ago one of my clients purchased a home with a VA loan. The seller agreed to pay all of the closing costs. The loan did not require any down payment from the buyer and the bank even included the VA funding fee (2.4% of the purchase price) in the new loan. At closing the buyer received a check for almost $1,400 – all formally disclosed on the HUD-1 settlement statement and approved by VA and the bank.

When you buy Columbus houses you can use VA financing, buy without any downpayment, and you may even get some money back at closing. However, if you buy a Columbus HUD Home, you won’t be allowed to take any money at closing. HUD specifically disallows payouts to the buyer at closing. All credits have to be applied to closing costs.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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Here is a wonderful Columbus HUD Home in The Woods at Reynoldsburg subdivision! If you want to live on the east side of Columbus, this one is for you.  You can buy this 4 year new home in the City of Reynoldsburg for only $140,000.  Other homes in this area are advertised in the $170’s. YOU do the math!

This home has a beautiful entry way, with brick exterior, and nice wood staircase. The kitchen comes with all matching white appliances. You’ll enjoy the large family room with fireplace, looking out to a wooded back yard. 

You must see the pictures of this great home – click on the link below:
8320 Reynoldswood Drive, Reynoldsburg, OH

HUD OWNED Wooded Views in Reynoldsburg
OFFERED for $140,000
CASE NUMBER 413-436478
BID DEADLINE 2/1/09 for Owner Occupants
 
Watch the video and you will be impressed by this beautiful home:

 
This is a new listing, and bidding is open for owner occupants till Sunday Feb 1, 2009.
 
Don’t wait! This is a very desireable location and offered below market to sell quickly. Call me today to look at this home and submit your offer! 

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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We already explained two easy ways to explore Columbus Houses from your computer: Google Streetview, which gives you street level pictures homes, businesses and the roadway in general, and Microsoft Live’s Bird’s Eye View, which allows you to see Columbus HUD Homes from above.

Combine these 2 tools with our inside pictures and video previews and you get a very good visual impression of a Columbus House. Today let’s look at another tool that gives you essential information about a property: the Property Records of the County Auditor.

Most County Auditors have a website where the general public can access property information. Typically, you see the owner’s name and mailing address, the size of the property including number of rooms, the auditor’s tax value of the home, the most recent sale price, the sale date and the annual property taxes.

Why is this useful when you analyze Columbus HUD Homes?

You certainly want to know what the auditor thinks the property is worth, because it determines how much you will have to pay in property taxes. We’ll show you how to appeal this valuation, but it’s a lengthy process.

You also want to compare the property size and number of rooms to what HUD has published. The most recent sales price gives you an idea of what the property was worth at that time.

Some auditors have access to property maps (GIS), so you can see the layout of the lot and its surroundings. You also may see potential easements which give utilities or cities certain rights to access your property.

Here are the links to County Auditor’s web-pages in Central Ohio:
Delaware County Auditor
Franklin County Auditor
Fairfield County Auditor
Licking County Auditor
Madison County Auditor
Pickaway County Auditor
Union County Auditor

If you need help using these tools, feel free to email or call.  We’d be glad to help you analyze your HUDhomes purchase

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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This is a short update on two Columbus HUD Homes we featured a few days ago. Both are in contract by now, because both of these Columbus Houses were exceptional deals!
 
Initially, the 4 Unit Rehab Project on 9th Ave did not get any offers from owner occupants. It became available to investors on Tuesday. It was immediately snapped up for more than asking price - HUD accepted an offer of $22,000 the first day the property was listed for all bidders.
 
The other deal I featured a few days ago was the Grove City Condo offered for only $6,400. I thought this was a typo.  It was not!  The condo went in contract for $31,100 to an owner occupant. Honestly, you won’t find a more affordable place in the suburbs than this one.  The appraisal was $64,000, which means HUD accepted 48% of the original listing price!

This proves that HUD is entertaining reasonable offers to sell their listings quickly.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI
Columbus Realtors specializing in
HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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Today’s featured HUD listing is 15 years old, located in the Walnut View subdivision on the far east side of Columbus. This charming stone front hudhome features a vaulted great room with overlooking loft. The open floor-plan compliments the first floor master suite. It also comes with a 3-car garage.

Click on the address below to view all 18 pictures:
2721 Barrows Road, Columbus, OH

HUD OWNED 3 BR w/Loft & 3 car Garage
OFFERED for $82,000
CASE NUMBER 413-369493
BID DEADLINE 1/25/09 for Owner Occupants
 
Watch the video to see the inside:

 
Bidding is open for owner occupants till Sunday Jan 25, 2009. This Columbus HUD Home has many nice upgrades – take a look at it.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Specializing in HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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You probably wonder how low you can go when you submit a bid for a Columbus HUD Home. There is no easy answer, as HUD does not publish their acceptance guidelines. I researched a few HUDhomes that sold recently to give you an idea about the discounts they accept.

It appears that the final purchase price depends on how soon offers are submitted. Owner occupant offers are usually much closer to the original listing price (appraised value) than investor bids. If offers fall through (which happens quite frequently) and HUD had to reduce the listing price they become very motivated. Sometimes they even drop the price so low it creates a bidding frenzy among investors.

Let’s look at a HUD listing in Delaware. HUD accepted a purchase offer of $32,502 on 12/22/2008. Here’s the HUD house: 80 N. Liberty St, Delaware, OH 43015.

The history of this listing began on 7/28/08 when the HUD house was appraised for $70,000. This was also the initial listing price for owner occupants. It seems that owner occupants did not bite, so it opened up for investors. The earliest list date that produced a “lowball” offer of $20,000 was 10/3/2008, which was not accepted.

The house was re-listed a number of times. On 11/21/2008 HUD dropped the list price to $49,000. Almost exactly one month later they accepted bid for $32,502. All together 28 offers were made on this HUD house, before they accepted one.

The number that really counts for HUD is the net purchase price, which was $31,502. The difference, in this case $1,000, pays for commissions and closing costs. The net price of $31,502 is 64% of the last listing price of $49,000. The net price HUD accepted for this listing is only 45% of the as-is appraised value. It appears that this buyer got a really good deal.

Don’t be shy when you submit an offer! But you should also be realistic. HUD will not give away a property immediately, but they will discount Columbus HUD Homes significantly when they receive many low offers and the property sits on the market for a while.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Specializing in HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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When I assembled the Columbus HUD Homes map last Friday, a specific property caught my eye. It was a 2BR/2.5BA condo in Grove City, less than 10 years old, located in a sub-division I am very familiar with. I could not believe what I saw: there was this condo offered for only $6,400! The price was reduced from the original appraised value of $64,000 to only $6,400.

I am thinking this must be a typo. Someone forgot to enter a zero. Or does HUD just want to get rid of this home? It was appraised on 12/26/08, so it has not been on the market for all too long.

Anyway, one of our readers saw the deal and called me to look at the condo. This gave me an opportunity to see for myself if it is trashed, or if there would be any other reason for the price drop.

All together the home is not in bad shape. Somebody had started to remodel the place – the kitchen is freshly painted, and so is part of the great room. The carpets are clean, the bathrooms look immaculate and there is lots of extra storage. There seems to be a plumbing problem, which is also disclosed in the property condition report. There were no water stains and no mold visible, and none is disclosed in HUD’s property condition report for this property.

Take a look at this condo – looks really nice. Click on the picture to get details:
6383 SLEEPY MEADOWS BLVD W #2, GROVE CITY, OH 43123

The bidding deadline is 1/20/09. We’ll know what happened to it the next day, Wednesday the 21st. Either HUD wanted to create a bidding frenzy, which invariably happens when they drop the price radically, or someone in fact produced a typo and HUD may relist the property in a few days. I will keep you posted ….

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Specializing in HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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I have to say, this is a quite a deal. You can buy a 4 unit brick building for less than $5,000 a unit.  These are 2 bedroom units, 2 are upstairs and 2 on the first floor.

This property could become a CASH COW for the investor who is willing to take on this project. The numbers are certainly compelling (see below the picture).

2903 E 9th Ave., Columbus, OH

It is still open for owner occupants till January 20, 2009.  Yes, this is correct.  You can buy multi-family properties up to 4 units as an owner occupant with FHA financing, as long as you move into one of the units.  You could buy this property, fix it up, then live in one of the units and rent the other three. Your tenants would easily cover your mortgage payment and more. So you could live for free and make some money on top of it.

Look at the numbers:

Purchase Price: $19,600
Rehab:            $60,000 ($15,000 per unit, I am sure it can be done for less)
Total Invested: $79,600

Your payment (PITI – principal, interest, taxes, insurance) for an $80,000 loan should be around $750/month at today’s low interest rates. You should be able to rent each unit for $500 and generate a total income of $1,500 a month for the 3 rental units. This means that you could live for free and make an extra $750 a month. Not too shabby.

This is a rare opportunity. There are not many multi-family Columbus HUD homes on the market.

Please give me a call, if you are looking for any real estate investment, whether residential or commercial. We can help you find a good income property that provides a monthly cash flow and lets you take advantage of tax deductions that only real estate can offer.

Thanks for reading our Columbus HUD Homes Blog
Posted by: Susanne Novak, ABR, FIS, GRI 
Specializing in HUD Homes, Shortsales, Investment Real Estate
(614) 975-9650

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