Tips for buying a house that has been on the market a LONG time

[Zachary Miller]

Hey all, I am looking to purchase my first house and begin house hacking in the near future. One important thing to note is, due to my living in this house, I am not looking for the best investment property. Rather, I am looking for the best investment that I would be happy living in. 

I was recently perusing the MLS listings and found a 4 bedroom/5bath in a neighborhood that was on my list of places that I wouldn't mind living. Here is the weird thing, the house has been on the market since November 2006. While the house has been reduced in price since it was first, it hasn't been reduced since 2010.

A Realtor that I talked to who had visited the house warned me that it appears like there was some water damage in the kitchen and that the house was in need of a number of cosmetic repairs. I feel like the house is very overpriced at it's current listed price and would probably put in a bid much lower than the listed price if I decide to move forward with it.

My question is mainly, has anyone here purchased a house that has been vacant for a long period such as this and, if so, do you have any tips of things to watch out for? Also, has anyone had any luck with a lowball offer on a house that has lingered on the MLS for years and, if so, would you mind sharing the details of the deal? Thanks for your help. Since I am new to the game, I want to make sure I do my due diligence in all of these areas.

[John Powell]

I did exactly what you are talking about doing. The house I bought sat for two years because it had been ransacked and had no curb appeal. It is in a very nice area but looked like it had foundation issues (cracks in the brick) it was originally listed at 175k but sat forever and the price kept dropping. When I made my first offer it was down to $138k. It took two months after that first offer but I finally went under contract at 108k. During inspection we tried on the water and found 3 different broken pipes which ruined the drywall in the living room, a bed room and the garage. Who'll still in the inspection period. I was getting such a good deal that I closed anyway. I did a full Reno on a construction loan then refinanced to a traditional mortgage. The appraisal came back at $220k I only put $30k into the Reno so it turns out very well for me. But the house is still ugly so it prob won't sell fast but that's ok because we live in it and it costs half of what a comparable house would cost me to live in.