A Weber County, Utah based blog that keeps you informed on real estate and related subjects. For all your real estate needs contact Jeremy Peterson ~ Owner/Broker of Vesta Real Estate ~ 801-390-1480
A professional Real Estate Broker, Father, Husband, and Former State Legislator who writes this blog to share his thoughts and experiences with those seeking knowledge.
Vacant homes are always a challenge. Homes were designed to be lived in and attended to. When they are vacant for long periods, minor deferred maintenance can quickly balloon into serious problems.
Today, I got a call from a tenant who we had just moved in a couple days ago. They were frantic. The message: "There is sewage in our basement!!! Help!"
This particular home sat vacant for many months as it was renovated and then placed on the market for sale. Since sales were slow, the owner decided to rent the home instead. It was also built in the 1915 era with clay sewer pipes. After calling Drain Tech to scour out the line, they determined that the pine tree in the front yard had grown roots into the line. Also, since the home had been vacant for so long, any paper or other solids that sat in the line at the time had dried up. When the new tenants arrived, the sudden rush of water expanded the waste again and it was impeded by the root ball that had grown in the meantime.
For this reason, landlords and investors should be careful and inspect sewer lines prior to taking ownership. I recently replaced a sewer line at a property. It was inconvenient but necessary to continue renting the building. Had I known when I bought the property what I know now, I would have done the sewer inspection and perhaps acquired the property at better terms.
So, the moral of the story is be diligent and be prosperous. A little due diligence goes a long way.
I went shopping with a client today looking at distressed homes. While out, we stumbled upon some pretty funny things.
Have you ever thought of enclosing your covered porch? If so, corrugated plastic works. And when you are done, you can dress it up up with a useless awning.
This fan looks so sad. What could be making it so blue? The home was turned into a swamp when the basement flooded. The standing humidity bent the blades and left condensation 'freckles' on the ceiling.
Finally we bumped into this. It seems that there is never really a bad place to put a bathroom vanity...even though the toilet and tub are in the real bathroom. Also, it comes in handy as a springboard for washer/dryer hookups. Nice!
I just closed on this purchase for a client. It is a 3 bed 1 bath victorian era cottage located at 777 27th St. The home has had an interesting history. In 2006 the home sold for $54,900 cash as a fixer upper. Later, in 2008, the home sold for $109,900.
By 2010 the home was nearing foreclosure and was listed on the market as a short sale. The short sale failed and in 2011 the home came on the market as an REO listing. The property sold in May of 2011 for $33,000 cash.
In September 2012 the owner listed the property for sale at $56,800. After two weeks the price was dropped to $53,500. That is about when I began generating interest in the property from my client base.
After two failed contracts (there were some structural repairs needed), my third client committed to the project and we finally negotiated a sale at $49,500 with the seller paying $1,500 in closing costs.
The home is worth about $85K-$90K after repairs and needs an immediate $5,000 in repairs to begin renting. New carpet, a new furnace, floor joist repair, and curb appeal are on the priority list. The home will make an excellent rent-to-rehab-to-flip project. It has a good floorplan and all the cute trimmings you would expect in a home of this vintage.
If you are looking for a fixer upper or rental home, CONTACT ME and let's find one that works for you.
I just closed on this home for a seller. This property was a 3 bed 1 bath bungalow built in 1913. It had much of the original craftsmanship from its constructions including original windows, casing, doors, hardware, and more.
My seller rehabbed the home with a more convenient and conventional kitchen and bath setup. With the home finished and ready for the market, we listed the home in June of 2011 for $84,900.
Unfortunately, the location of this property was problematic. We had many showings but the tight quarters of the neighborhood and some neglected road surfaces turned many buyers away at our list price. In September 2011 we reduced our price to $79,900. We maintained that price through August 2012. At that time we finally reduced the price to $74,900. Within a couple weeks we had a buyer who made us a near full price offer. Unfortunately, he was under qualified and had to excuse himself from the contract.
Shortly after that contract failed, we received a cash offer for $69,000 from a well-funded investor from outside the Ogden area. We countered at $73,000 and they accepted and that is the price we closed at.
This home was an example of trying to flip a property in an adverse market. Prices dropped so quickly and significantly that our resale price was not bearable by the market for almost a year. To bide the time, my clients rented the home while we had it for sale. As our price dropped, the market finally began to catch up to us and we consummated the sale. The key to this transactions' success, I believe, was accounting for the location of the home and it's impact on value. Any home will sell if it is priced right.
If you are thinking of selling your home, CONTACT ME, and let's find out what your home is worth.
I have been working on selling a difficult investment property to some buyers. I placed the home under contract with my first buyer and after we determined half the floor joists were ruined, he excused himself from the transaction. I placed the home under contract again a second time with another buyer. This buyer obtained further bids on repairs and was uncomfortable with a settling crack in the foundation. He excused himself from the transaction.
Undaunted, I presented the property to a third buyer. I reviewed the property's known deficiencies with him and we proceed forward. Our due diligence deadline was three weeks from our contract date. We gave ourselves an extra week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
We began getting repair bids for plumbing, HVAC, roofing, structural repairs, and landscaping. One issue was that the gas was not turned on to the property. We couldn't check out the furnace. I contacted the property manager two weeks prior to our deadline and told him that we needed the furnace turned on so the pipes didn't freeze. He concurred.
Well, it appears that conversation was forgotten because four days prior to our due diligence deadline the gas was still off...with the water still turned on to the property...in December. Fortunately, our mild winter prevented any damage. However, we still hadn't had the furnace checked. All our other bids checked out and finally with three hours before our deadline left, our HVAC tech tells us that the furnace is at the end of its life and needs to be replaced. That was unexpected. My buyer asked for a $2k a price concession even though we had already negotiated the "rock bottom" price that the seller was willing to go.
We quickly submitted our request. The listing agent said she would get back to me quickly. An hour passed. Since my client's earnest money was on the line, I forwarded him a Contract Cancellation that we planned to submit 15 minutes prior to the contract due diligence deadline if we had not heard back from the seller. At 15 minutes to our deadline I called the agent. She still didn't have word. I notified her of our intent to cancel if we didn't get a response. With 10 minutes to our deadline I called her again, she said the seller agreed to the concession and would have the addendum signed and to us in a half hour.
My fear at this point was that with our backs up against the wall the seller would reconsider after our deadline had passed. In our business we live and die by our paperwork. So, I suggested to her that a 30 minutes wasn't good enough. I asked her to have it to me in five. Three minutes later we had our signed addendum.
This experience was a good lesson in the importance of contract deadlines and the importance of paperwork. Earnest money keeps the parties interested in the contract and acting in good faith to move the contract forward. I am glad we were able work out the final wrinkles in our transaction and move forward...even if by the hair on our chin. Now on to closing...
One of Ogden's most endearing qualities is the sheer quantity of old Victorian houses that adorn its streets. Ogden benefited from the economic boom of the late 1800's that was mostly spurred by the railroad industry. With that boom came lots of construction.
However, despite the abundance of stately designed Victorian edifices from that era, those same buildings are missing much of their original charm and grandeur.
What's missing? Decorative and ornamental woodwork...especially on front porches.
For those of you contemplating restoring an Ogden Victorian home, I thought I would present a few examples of what a Victorian front porch is supposed to look like. Join me for a brief tour in front porch design and restoration.
Our first stop takes us to 28th Street and Adams avenue to an old 1880's farmhouse. It's now in the city but hasn't always been that way. Notice the turned columns and brackets decorating either side. A very simple design.
Next is an excellent example of how a nicely done front porch can make even the most simple home look prominent. This home is located at 322 31st Street. Most folks don't notice it because it is on a busy one way road headed into town. Take a look next time you drive by. Notice the turned colums, brackets, and top railing that decorate the home. Original top railings are hard to find intact these days but add a ton of charm to a home.
The next two homes are Italianate Victorians. The are characterized by tall vertical lines and low hipped roofs.
Each of these homes has original front porch woodwork. Very nice.
The Jefferson Ave. Historic District has many examples of finely restored front porch decoration.
Finally, here are some other examples of fine front porch and ornamental work.
I have a great book that references old Victorian design elements and floorplans. If you are looking to restore a Victorian home, CONTACT ME, and I can point you to the right resources.
One of the rental properties that I manage for a client needed some new concrete stairs. The stairs were probably poured sometime in the 1940's by our estimate. You can see that the lower stair was actually rotting out from the bottom.
I called our concrete contractor and he installed some new stairs for us. The job cost about $500.
If we estimate a 72 year lifespan like the previous steps, these new stairs cost about $0.02 per day...highly affordable and an attractive addition to the home.
Making meaningful improvements to your rental property increases your tenant quality, reduces vacancy rates, and improves your bottom line. Don't be afraid to invest in your property. If done within reason, it makes good things happen for you, your tenants, and your community.
We have been slowly restoring our home. One of the projects that has been on the back burner for several years is our back porch. When we purchased the home, the back porch screens had been vandalized. They were also made of chrome frames. We quickly discarded them and never got around to putting in their replacements.
Finally, I had a couple weekends to work on the back porch. To put the screens back in place, I purchased a roll of tight mesh black screen at Home Depot. I used my staple gun to stick the screen to the existing wood frames with 1/4 inch staples being sufficient for the job.
Obviously staples are not pretty to look at. I searched for some trim strips and came up with some hemlock 1.5 inch pieces that seemed to work well. After two coats of paint, they were ready for installation.
I got the hemlock strips up with 4d nails on the frames and 3d finish nails for the door. After that, I pulled the original copper hardware out of storage and gave it a bath in Goof Off. That helped soften up the coats of paint that cloaked the metal finish. A rag and some very fine steel wool did the trick of removing most of the paint.
NOTE: Rubber gloves break down with Goof Off so I just used some sandwich bags to keep it off my skin. If you leave it on your skin too long your skin turns into a giant callous. Believe, me. I know.
After about fifteen minutes of buffing the paint off, the pieces were ready for installation.
As with all rental properties, they need repair from time to time. As a landlord, you hope that the big ticket items are in good shape. Roof, plumbing, and electrical are systems which need to work in order for you to be in business.
Recently I had the plumbing on one of my rental properties go bad. The home was constructed in 1911. The main sewer line leading out of the home had backed up several times in a year. I called a technician and we scoped the line. Here is what we found:
Those white concentric rings you see in the top photo are joints in the clay pipe used for the sewer line. The reason we can see them is that they have been infilled with roots. Lots of them. The bottom photo shows just how much they can grow.
Given how many problems were were having with the line, I was not surprised but I was still disappointed. It meant we needed to replace the line.
One of the problems for us putting in a new line the traditional was that it would require taking out some huge 100 year old trees in our park strip. It also would require cutting all the way to the opposite side of the street where the city sewer main sits.
Fortunately, I called Jay at Utah Pipebursting and he had the perfect solution.
The pipebursting method breaks apart the existing pipe where it sits in the ground via an auger. At the same time the pipe is being broken apart, a new solid piece plastic pipe is pulled through the opening. Instead of trenching scores of feet through the yard and street, the pipebursting method just requires holes to be dug at the end points.
In our case, the sewer line zig zagged back and forth beneath the home. It required that a hole also be dug in the basement as well.
The entire replacement took about 12 hours to complete. We patched the hole in the basement and the property now has a functional sewer line. Whew!
If you are contemplating replacing an old sewer line, contact Jay at Utah Pipebursting. He can be reached at 801-920-3178. I highly recommend them and it is highly affordable.
We listed this property in June for $106,900 and received an about a week afterwards. The buyer offered $100,000 and asked for $3,500 in closing costs with an FHA loan. We quickly sent a counteroffer to the buyer for $105,900 with the seller agreeing to pay the requested closing costs. The buyer accepted.
Our appraisal went as planned. The inspection revealed some repairs that the buyer asked to be completed. After negotiating those repairs, the seller completed them and we closed on time.
What makes this transaction so interesting is that this was an investment "flip" property for my seller. You might recall that I wrote about this home being purchased in December from HUD.
My client did very well on this transaction. His secret? Attention to detail. Unlike many "flip" properties where problems are just painted over, my client took the time and effort to worry about details like landscaping and finish work as well as the basics like kitchen and baths. That attention to detail put us at the top of the pack and the home sold quickly.
Congrats to my seller on a job well done!
If you are considering purchasing a property to fix and resell for a profit, contact me, and lets put a plan together for you.
I was driving by a property to check it out for a potential client. After I did my walk around the property, I turned back to the car and cast my eyes upon this interesting dichotomy:
Both of these homes have the same floorplan and were built at nearly the same time in the 1890's. Yet, today one is quite different from the other. A home is meant to be much more than just stucco encased square footage as this interesting comparison illustrates.
Before you decide to irrevocably denude your Victorian home of its ornamentation, contact me and let's review some affordable alternatives.
One of the challenges facing owners of old homes is the issue of handling repairs and upgrades while preserving the architectural integrity of their home. Today’s new construction is performed to much lower architectural standards than in days of yore.
For instance, lets use our Arts and Crafts Style (aka Craftsman) home as an example. Unfortunately, our home has been in need of a new roof for some time. The original roof from 1908 was beautiful cedar shake installed on cedar slats. Over 104 years, three other layers of shingle were added. Another layer of cedar shake was installed along with two layers of asphalt. The last time the roof was shingled was likely in the late 1970’s. You can see the moss growing on the cedar shakes below.
One of the unique characteristics of our home (relative to new homes) is that it has crown molding adorning the fascia boards as an ornamental architectural feature. Since the crown butts up against the roof, any roofer would have to work with it to have a nice looking finished product while maintaining the decorative ornamentation.
We called several roofers to bid the job. One of the responses was disheartening:
“Oh, I can do that job no problem. Let’s rip off all that ugly crown molding and just put some drip edge on there. We can get’er done fast!”
Clearly, this roofer had no appreciation for old homes. As I later confirmed, he mostly worked on homes built after 1960 and was only bidding my roof because he was starving at the time. We passed on using this contractor.
Of the three bids we received for our roof, we ended up going with the highest bid. The lowest bid was a 35 year old guy and a truck who had been roofing for 5 years. He was nice enough but he was unfamiliar with working around the crown molding. We ended up using Stuart Roofing which had 80 years experience as a family roofing business. Their bid was only $2,000 higher and we felt they were by far the best value for our home. We definitely got our money’s worth.
The tear off crews arrived around 6am one morning and had the roof torn of and dried-in after just two days. They removed 60 yards of debris. Amazingly, they used drop clothes around the home and didn’t leave a single nail in the grass or on our driveway.
Then it was time to pause while we dealt with our crown molding. After searching for the right contractor for the job, we tapped Paul Martin to install new crown molding and paint our home. We had Ellis Planing, on Wall Ave. and 26th St., custom mill our 4” crown out of paint-grade poplar. Paul got to work priming, painting and installing the new crown.
After Paul installed the crown, he painted our dormers and the decorative woodwork around the home. We asked him to leave the lower half of the front porch for us to paint as a Saturday family project. Paul completed his work in just over a week and it was time to put the shingles on the home.
We chose a 40-year architectural asphalt shingle as we figured we didn’t want to install another roof on this home in our lifetimes. We tossed around the idea of installing a cedar shake roof but the cost would have doubled our bid. So, asphalt prevailed. Three more days of work, and the project was finished.
The work on the Ogden temple continues forward. You can see pictures from last summer's update HERE.
The exterior appears to be taking shape as concrete pouring has been completed to form the shell of the structure. Wood supports have recently been removed from the massive window openings. I am sure these acted as braces while the concrete cured. The main level of the building has some type of exterior covering and new window inserts.
