what are some red flags for bad deals?

Question

I just found a house that's in our ideal neighborhood (we'd use as a rental now and later move in when we move to the area because the schools). It's a for sale by owner and the price is 50k but it says that they've done 100k in upgrades. Just a typo, I think.

Also the little marker on Zillow shows it in the wrong neighborhood. And is says it's in a gated community. The corn field certainly isn't "gated" nor is the actual street where it supposedly is located.

The guy gave his email and phone number. I may call to get some info cause it seems too good to be true.

I'm wondering what's wrong that I'm not seeing. I suppose anyone could make errors like an extra 0 or clicking the wrong box (if that's how entering data on sites works). But I'm also very new to this and I don't know what I don't know...so I'd love to know what others see as red flags or in which ways you've been lured into a bad deal.

Chris Martin · Answer

Sounds like the FSBO seller hasn't figured out the Zillow interface.

When I look at property, I presume it's a bad deal unless proven otherwise. There are properties out there for sale with significant impairments that impact valuation. Once you talk to the owner, you will probably find out what the 'catch' is. Get the parcel number and verify the address via the county GIS. The property card may give you a hint as to why the valuation is what it is. There could be dozens of issues from flood plain to irregular lot size to zoning.