When a house sits on Zillow for 178 days...

[Ashley Wolfe]

There's a 3/3.5, 2,250 sf 1959 SFH that I found on Zillow today that is priced at $67K. Its been on Zillow for nearly 6 months. Its in a decent part of town. I would no be opposed to living there myself. The description says its got an updated HVAC and roof. Driving by, the roof looks good. Siding needs to be 100% replaced. The house doesn't have a garage or carport, just a concrete pad in the back. Small but cute yard. Indoor pics show the need for extensive updating. Its next door to a church and within walking distance to the local elementary school and town library. The school district has a good reputation.

In driving the neighborhood there are all different sized houses, some old, some new. Looking at the comps on Zillow (please note: I don't have knowledge of any other market research tools and I don't currently have personal access to the MLS), this house has great potential. There's a 3/2 2,700 sf house priced at $140K on the same street and several others nearby in an adjacent neighborhood that are in the $110-$150K range.

I called the listing agent and left a message.  I want to know why this property has been on the market for so long.  And, why else do properties like this sit for so long?  Would a low-ball offer of $25K be passed up if we had it in cash tomorrow?  I feel like I'd like to get it under contract and start some due diligence.  I would have thought that a seasoned investor in my area would have snatched this one up long ago!

With a house this big, would it be silly to think of doing a rental rehab and trying to rent it out?  On rentometer.com it came up as around $1400/month potential rent rate.

Doing the math on this one is tricky to me because the asking price is already so low.  

$65,000*.65=$42,250

minus repairs of $10000 (only a preliminary estimate) to get it rent ready - $32,250

So, our MAO for renting it out would be half of what they're asking. Does that seem crazy to you?