NationStates Jolt Archive

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

Also, would forgeign investment restart the market in any way, or would it just be a case of cashing in on others misery?

Now is the time to buy houses. The sooner the banks get rid of the houses the sooner they can put the money into the economy. The only draw back will be property taxes the local governments will assess higher then you pay trust me.
As for which neighborhoods you'd have to ask a local new yorker. Texas really wasn't affected by the whole sub prime crisis, and our land prices are only off an average of 4%.

Buy it, insure it for more than you brought it, then get a methhead to burn it down (preferably with him inside).
They'll never work out your clever ruse.

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

Also, would forgeign investment restart the market in any way, or would it just be a case of cashing in on others misery?
It might be this good. I've looked at several $50,000 houses in good neighborhoods and they've needed work. For about $1000, or so, I could put each of them back into service as a rental. Prices were probably $120K, or so before the rash of foreclosures.

I don't think the rock-bottom lows are going to last long. Most get contracts right away.

Buy it, insure it for more than you brought it, then get a methhead to burn it down (preferably with him inside).
They'll never work out your clever ruse.

Quality stuff - only the second reply and I'm urged to commit a crime :)

We could go into business - I buy 'em, you burn 'em, split the progit and retire to Aruba

It might be this good. I've looked at several $50,000 houses in good neighborhoods and they've needed work. For about $1000, or so, I could put each of them back into service as a rental. Prices were probably $120K, or so before the rash of foreclosures.

I don't think the rock-bottom lows are going to last long. Most get contracts right away.

I wouldn't mind putting the work in to maximise rentals/resale value. I wonder how the work permit thing would work if I said that having a couple of properties to renovate was my reason of a short term visa?

Quality stuff - only the second reply and I'm urged to commit a crime :)

We could go into business - I buy 'em, you burn 'em, split the progit and retire to Aruba
Don't tempt me!
They'll never in a million billion years catch on.



serious stuff: Big problem about buying overseas is that you've no idea what the suburb or surrounding area is like. Sure, the house itself might seem great, but the entire area could be a shithole, or there could be a motorway just a block away, or no public transport, or a gangpad two doors away. List goes on.

I've been looking to buy also, and I'm looking to buy back where I spent the better part of the 90's. Apart from it being a pretty nice area to live, I know the place well enough to know the areas to avoid. For instance, I was looking online just today and saw a place that looked good and extremely reasonably priced ($50,000 under GV) - until I saw the address: right smack bang in the middle of the worst suburb for burglaries (and other such crimes) and unemployment. No way I'd want to live there, and even just as a renter it'd be difficult to find decent tenants (plus the asking rent would be lower than comparably priced places outside that area).

So you could make a healthy profit, or you could find yourself lumbered with a white elephant.

Don't tempt me!
They'll never in a million billion years catch on.



serious stuff: Big problem about buying overseas is that you've no idea what the suburb or surrounding area is like. Sure, the house itself might seem great, but the entire area could be a shithole, or there could be a motorway just a block away, or no public transport, or a gangpad two doors away. List goes on.

I've been looking to buy also, and I'm looking to buy back where I spent the better part of the 90's. Apart from it being a pretty nice area to live, I know the place well enough to know the areas to avoid. For instance, I was looking online just today and saw a place that looked good and extremely reasonably priced ($50,000 under GV) - until I saw the address: right smack bang in the middle of the worst suburb for burglaries (and other such crimes) and unemployment. No way I'd want to live there, and even just as a renter it'd be difficult to find decent tenants (plus the asking rent would be lower than comparably priced places outside that area).

So you could make a healthy profit, or you could find yourself lumbered with a white elephant.

Yep...things always look nicer on a glossy website. They are hardly gonna plug the fact that the address in 9 Meth Lane, Cracksbro.
I suppose my next job is to talk the wife into a fact finding mission. I may as well spend a few hundred dollars before investing a few thousand

It might be this good. I've looked at several $50,000 houses in good neighborhoods and they've needed work. For about $1000, or so, I could put each of them back into service as a rental. Prices were probably $120K, or so before the rash of foreclosures.

I don't think the rock-bottom lows are going to last long. Most get contracts right away.

To my knowledge, the housing market in western new york wasn't hot that hard. There's houses in Buffalo that have been known to be sold for $1, and that was before the crash. I don't think its likely to be a decent property, although I don't know much about Rochester, but 20k seems suspiciously low. Any decent home in a good neighborhood should go for around 75,000+ (more likely 100,000+). But since you're just trying to make a profit, I presume, then I'm afraid I wouldn't know.

Rochester's cheap to start with. You could probably have that house for 100K under normal circumstances. As it is, there are bound to be issues and conditions that make it a little less appealing, but if you're willing to put your neck on the line, do a lot of legwork, and--most importantly--move to Rochester, you might make it work.

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

serious stuff: Big problem about buying overseas is that you've no idea what the suburb or surrounding area is like. Sure, the house itself might seem great, but the entire area could be a shithole, or there could be a motorway just a block away, or no public transport, or a gangpad two doors away. List goes on.


If the properties are in Rochester, then yes they are in a shithole.

To my knowledge, the housing market in western new york wasn't hot that hard. There's houses in Buffalo that have been known to be sold for $1, and that was before the crash. I don't think its likely to be a decent property, although I don't know much about Rochester, but 20k seems suspiciously low. Any decent home in a good neighborhood should go for around 75,000+ (more likely 100,000+). But since you're just trying to make a profit, I presume, then I'm afraid I wouldn't know.
Distressed properties are always going to be on the low side. There's no substitute for a visual inspection, though. Pictures always look good.

Hah, you should look in to Detroit. The median house price there is $5,700 or thereabouts. I could literally buy and own a property there with the part-time wages I'm making now. Of course, it'd probably burn down in a year or so...

Hah, you should look in to Detroit. The median house price there is $5,700 or thereabouts. I could literally buy and own a property there with the part-time wages I'm making now. Of course, it'd probably burn down in a year or so...

Burn down next Halloween.

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

Also, would forgeign investment restart the market in any way, or would it just be a case of cashing in on others misery?
Never buy a house that you havn't visited/inspected on your own.

Odds are the deals are real, but each house is different. You never know if if it's a money pit until you look at it.

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

Also, would forgeign investment restart the market in any way, or would it just be a case of cashing in on others misery?

Prices that low are usually foreclosures. And when people are foreclosed upon they take everything with them. Not just the obvious stuff like furniture, or even the unusual stuff like the fridge and dishwasher.

They often take toilets, bathtubs, pipes, wiring, and anything else that can be sold.

In short, the people who live in houses you'd want to live in can afford to hold on to their houses until the price comes back up to what they'd want in exchange for it.

Houses like the one you mentioned would be a good investment for a developer who can afford to invest for a profit a year or two down the road.

Western NY is fucked. However there is a small cottage industry which involves selling houses that are worth $0 to people who don't know anything about western NY.

Seriously, it's a scam.

And forget knife catching. Housing bubbles take forever to unwind. If, IF, you can cash flow a rental it might be worthwhile, but it takes years to clean out property bubbles. Look at what happened in the late eighties in the bubble regions.

Western NY is fucked. However there is a small cottage industry which involves selling houses that are worth $0 to people who don't know anything about western NY.


Buffalo NY is a crazy situation. In the bad part of town, there are houses in nearly perfect condition for $15,000. Streets and streets of them.People just got up and moved by the thousands and entire neighborhoods just went vacant. There are of course entrepreneurs who try to buy them up and rent them on a small scale but for the most part Buffalo is trying to find money in their budget to just bulldoze entire blocks of perfectly serviceable homes.

My friend worked for a guy who attempts to buy some of the houses that are in better condition, rehab them on the cheap and rent them. My friend gets his work instructions for the day from his boss, gets the address wrong from his boss on what house to go work on, so he accidentally rehabbed this wrong abandoned house. So he said screw it, and paid the back taxes on the place, (was like $500) and he moved in and rented the upstairs and lives there for free and rents the upstairs for $500 a month and he DOESNT have a clue who the old lady that technically owns the place even is. She is long gone and will never return im sure and hes just totally squatting in the place, living for free and making a profit. And there are countless houses just like it. But its kind of a scarey neighborhood not to paint too rosey of a picture.

Why doesn't someone come into Buffalo or Rochester or Detroit with say 2 or 3 million dollars, and buy out an entire neighborhood to redevelop it, either as new better homes or shopping? A lot of these areas seem like they would be in old parts of the city that are geographically desirable for these things.

Seems like in Detroit, you could probably get an entire square mile for that much money.

I've just been looking at a website in the UK that seems to show some incredible deals to buy houses that were repossessed recently in New York State. The prices are as low as $20000 for a 4 bed house in somewhere like Rochester

Americans NSGers - are these sorts of prices true, and if so, are the houses ex-crack dens?

Also, would forgeign investment restart the market in any way, or would it just be a case of cashing in on others misery?
http://www.century21.com/search/property.jsp?svf=lsp&where=rochester%2C+ny&sort=price-asc

Gives an idea of the price range.

http://rochesterny.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm
http://www.spotcrime.com/ny/rochester
http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ny/rochester.htm

Gives an idea of crime rates.

Western NY is fucked. However there is a small cottage industry which involves selling houses that are worth $0 to people who don't know anything about western NY.

Seriously, it's a scam.

And forget knife catching. Housing bubbles take forever to unwind. If, IF, you can cash flow a rental it might be worthwhile, but it takes years to clean out property bubbles. Look at what happened in the late eighties in the bubble regions.

I was going to post but you said exactly what I was going to say. Remember kids if it is to good to be true it probably is.

http://www.century21.com/search/property.jsp?svf=lsp&where=rochester%2C+ny&sort=price-asc

Gives an idea of the price range.

http://rochesterny.areaconnect.com/crime1.htm
http://www.spotcrime.com/ny/rochester
http://www.idcide.com/citydata/ny/rochester.htm

Gives an idea of crime rates.

So moral of the story is don't buy these homes, you might get shot when you go to check up on your property.

Buffalo NY is a crazy situation. In the bad part of town, there are houses in nearly perfect condition for $15,000. Streets and streets of them.People just got up and moved by the thousands and entire neighborhoods just went vacant. There are of course entrepreneurs who try to buy them up and rent them on a small scale but for the most part Buffalo is trying to find money in their budget to just bulldoze entire blocks of perfectly serviceable homes.

My friend worked for a guy who attempts to buy some of the houses that are in better condition, rehab them on the cheap and rent them. My friend gets his work instructions for the day from his boss, gets the address wrong from his boss on what house to go work on, so he accidentally rehabbed this wrong abandoned house. So he said screw it, and paid the back taxes on the place, (was like $500) and he moved in and rented the upstairs and lives there for free and rents the upstairs for $500 a month and he DOESNT have a clue who the old lady that technically owns the place even is. She is long gone and will never return im sure and hes just totally squatting in the place, living for free and making a profit. And there are countless houses just like it. But its kind of a scarey neighborhood not to paint too rosey of a picture.

I'd just like to add, that this has little to do with the housing bust, properties inside the actual city have been like this for as long as I've been alive. Its mostly due to people leaving the area, particularly the city for the suburbs, but also the state and county as well. In some parts half the lots are empty as the houses finally got bulldozed (or burned down by an arsonist), after sitting there vacant for years.

Why doesn't someone come into Buffalo or Rochester or Detroit with say 2 or 3 million dollars, and buy out an entire neighborhood to redevelop it, either as new better homes or shopping? A lot of these areas seem like they would be in old parts of the city that are geographically desirable for these things.

Seems like in Detroit, you could probably get an entire square mile for that much money.

Someone already did it, it's called the suburbs. No one with any money wants to come to the city, the 'burbs are good enough for them. A lot of this has to do with racism I believe, but its also a fact that these areas are pretty crime ridden, and if you have kids, and want to send them to a good school, and not worry about getting shot or robbed etc. moving to the suburbs is a pretty good plan.

Someone already did it, it's called the suburbs. No one with any money wants to come to the city, the 'burbs are good enough for them. A lot of this has to do with racism I believe, but its also a fact that these areas are pretty crime ridden, and if you have kids, and want to send them to a good school, and not worry about getting shot or robbed etc. moving to the suburbs is a pretty good plan.

The move of the middle classes to the burbs had to do with local funding of schools. If your kid has to go to school far away form you and someone from far away goes to your local school you begin to worry about the conditions your child is in. That's why the move to the burbs wasn't just white people it was the entire middle class, including the black middle class. Even now the black middle class moves out to the burbs.