Perrysburg Blog

See that cute brick house in the picture – with the big back yard, all brick construction, a full basement, shed, garage?

In Perrysburg?

On 795/Avenue Road?  Right across from Valley Stream?

That one – this one here: 

It’s for sale.  Bank owned.  $56,700.

FIFTY SIX THOUSAND SEVEN HUNDRED and NO cents.

You interested?  Better call me FAST.

Normally I write about the “big picture” in Perrysburg real estate.   And about the little picture of the lessons and corrections and information that I gain/acquire/pick up/and am corrected by in my daily life of listing and selling houses in Perrysburg.

Today – I am writing up 2 new listings in Perrysburg.

They are polar opposites.

A happy story of great, satisfied, loyal, smart clients.   I sold them the house – now transferring out of the area.

One is a modern, contemporary floor plan, staged to perfection (hat tip to my Stager – Gina Graf!), in perfect condition.   1st floor master. 4000+ sq. feet.  Finished basement.  Modern high ceilings.  Whole house sound system, vacuum, video, Cat-5, etc.

The second?  A terrible tale of injury, financial distress, legal trouble, and sadness mixed with grief and sickness and divorce.

It’s on a challenged lot.  With a new owner – Fannie Mae – who really is not interested in owning houses in Perrysburg but in helping new home owners acquire them for a fair price.  I had to help this owner foreclose on the prior owner.   Long story – but the end result is a brick ranch with a bargain price.

2 houses.

2 different conditions/locations/stories/journies.

So – if you are interested in 3628 River Ridge . . . or in 11001 Avenue Road (the official street name for SR 795) you can let me know.

I will show them both and see which one meets your needs . . .

In Chicago today.

Getting the latest real estate news and training with Inman.com.

First speaker the mobile device guru Chris Smith.

The Toledo Blade just ran a story here.

About March 2011 City of Toledo numbers.

And their rather precipitous drop.  *(Which I have written on/predicted/sang like a canary in a coal mine about)*

They say:

I just got a message from my REO asset managers at Fannie Mae:

They are having another “Spring/Summer” REO sale.

Wow!

Sadly, this kind of scam is going on all the time.

This one, that has generated some emails and calls for me is about a house I am selling in Toledo.  Now it is magically “for rent” for peanuts.   Sure it is!

Google “Nigerian Craigslist Scam” and you will get a couple of hundred thousand hits!

If it sounds too good to be true . . . it is not true.  It is false.  A scam.  And somewhere, somehow you are going to be asked to send a little bit of money to “London”.

I am going to copy/paste some of the current, state of the art scamware used by these Nigerian guys.  So that you can see the offer and the hook.

One email says this:

I’m satisfied with your profile, you could be the “owner” of it if everything turns out all right and you are serious. I spent a lot on my property that I want to give you for rent, so I will solicit for your absolute maintenance of this apartment and want you to treat it as your own, is that taken, I want you to keep it tidy all the time so that I will be glad to see it neat when I come for a check up.

I resided in the apartment with my family. I lived in it for over 5 years, loved every day of it. I am a very sincere and honest person! I am currently 45 years old and married. I have only one child. I work hard for my family. I don’t have time to play games with other people.

Right now I`m out of town, I’m in London, England. I got the opportunity to open a franchise ( a small business ) in London, England. We’ve tried to develop a family business but unfortunately the things didn’t work the way we’ve expected and now I am at one step from losing my market.

I had all my family moved here for 3 years. I want to start a new life here, in 3 years I will decide if I will keep that apt, and get back in town or if I will sell it and move forever in England.

This is the second time I tried to rent the apartment… I had a deal with somebody before who said he will rent the apartment if i come back… So i got a plane ticket, and guess what? When i arrived there, he didn’t show up and after 2 days he gave me a call and said that he is sorry but he can’t rent it anymore…

Please DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail if you don’t have the amount available, or if you don’t intend to be serious! So don’t get me wrong and don’t take it personally, but now i don’t want to buy another plane ticket to come and fall for it once more, maybe you wont show up.

The apartment is unoccupied, you can move in the same day or whenever you are ready. The lease is flexible, can be month to month, min stay 5 months.

I have found a way for us to complete the deal safe and fast, and in this way you will receive the keys in less than 2 days, if you move fast as well. I think this is the best and safest way for the two of us.

This is a 100% safe method!

There’s a return policy so you will have the chance to inspect it (2 days) before final decision. You will see it and decide if you will stay in the apartment or not before I receive my payment.
If you are interested in it mail me back and I am sure that we will find a good way to conduct this deal.

Then they set the hook:

I think this is the best and safest way for the two of us:

I request a safety deposit – $450.00 – they will be the payment for the first month of rent. I accept payment though Interlink Express Service, which will ensure the funds and hold them.

I will not receive this deposit, the payment details will be unavailable to me, i will get the payment only if you decide to rent the apartment… if you do not rent the apartment you will get the money back the same day! These details will be kept in escrow until the delivery is made and the inspection is completed.

Basically the money will be sent to them and they will keep the money until you will receive the keys and the contract and only after you will inspect the apartment they will forward the money to me.

You will have the chance to inspect the apartment 2 days and decide either you keep it or not. If you decide to keep it, the Interlink people will release me the funds, if NOT, you only have to return the keys to them, they will refund the money to you and the keys back to me, on my expense!

If you agree with the rental conditions, we can get things started. This way I will also reserve the apartment for you and refuse other offers.

These are my terms, please email me back soon with your decision!

Note – they are not in London.  They are not the owners.  They don’t have a key.  They won’t ever contact you after you send them your money.  And they are breaking the law.   But there is no law in trying to separate a fool from his money . . . . at least when you are sitting in an internet cafe in Lagos Nigeria.

And . . . it’s not even an apartment!  It’s a house.

ANY online deal that requires you to pay first?  Probably ought to cause you to stop and think.

These guys are simply playing the odds.  1 out of 20?  1 out of 50?  $450.  Run enough ads on Craigslist and it apparently is a “living”.

Picture the scene:

A great 3000++ sq. foot brick 2 story.

A great location hard by Ft. Meigs, River Road, the Maumee, the Y, and the great Rivercrest Subdivision.

And . . . the foreclosed seller decides to “send a message” to the bank.

So he removes all the light fixtures.

And he removes and discards all the cabinet doors.   In every room.

And the doors.

He even takes the toilet seats.

THE TOILET SEATS!

So . . . . the bank gets the message.

The $350,000 two story brick home with a finished basement, sideload 3 car garage, deck, and more . . . . has become a $212,500 house.

And if you think about it, the next owner is going to be able to do the work, make the repairs, put some sweat-equity into his new home . . . and laugh all the way to the bank.

So the story will at least have a happy ending.

You want to get inside 1400 Rivercrest – call or email me today!

A while ago I posted this video about the great year I had.

But it’s not totally accurate.

You see my hands. “My” sales. It’s my video.

But . . . . a lot of Realtors are quitting or retiring because it is getting tougher and tougher to sell in this market. The “old days” are looked back on favorably. The “old ways” are fondly remembered.

The reality of this current market is that with more and more government rules and regulations, more and more financial rules and loan regulations, and more and more distressed and bank owned property . . . . not to mention all the other changing rules, regulations, and strictures . . . that it takes MORE people than ever to sell one home.

Just thinking about it gives me this list:

Seller
Buyer
Listing agent
Listing broker
Selling agent
Selling broker
Loan officer
Loan processor
Underwriter
Loan funder
Appraiser
Appraisal manager
Home inspector
Contractor/Handyman (for inspection repairs)
Title Agent
Title Attorney
Seller’s mover
Buyer’s mover
Utility companies (transfers)
Buyer’s lawyer
Seller’s lawyer

And often we have relocation company personnel, asset management personnel, and others too!

One thing I do is to make sure that everyone is on the same page . . . . or at least working towards the same performance.

And that the entire team is keeping the goal in sight.

Then you have to have cash.

Lots of cash.

Today, most local lenders want you to have 30% or more to buy investment property.

But not always.

Not if the seller is sick of getting .5% as a rate of return in a CD . . .

And not if the seller is able to sell a fully paid for/unencumbered apartment building or house.

THEN . . . then we have a great situation.

These deals are coming on the market now with greater frequency.

Already this week I have listed a SFR in Rossford with no mortgage and owner financing available to a qualified investor.  And I am finishing the paperwork on 4 apartment buildings with owner financing available in the form of a purchase money mortgage.  Instead of needing $100k or $150k down a good buyer could purchase with much less down.

I still see no sign of a housing recovery in Toledo.  I do see smart buyers buying for cash flow.  Smart sellers selling on terms to the right buyer.  And smart money moving into multifamily and rental houses.