Condemned Home Section108-Unsafe Structure & Equipment Buildings

[Enrique Rivera Jr]

Hello B.P, I currently live in Westchester county N.Y. I’ve come across a property that I believe has potential. It’s a duplex, 2br 1ba for each unit. The listed price is $350K, which in this particular neighborhood is on the low end. The house has been vacant for about 10 months as far as I know. I’ve done some due diligence and made some calls to the towns building dept., clerks office, as well as the municipal dept..I’ve found out that the taxes are behind going on 3 years, the municipal dept. advised me that one of the units water bill is outstanding about $7k. I recently drove to the property and it appears that the building inspectors have deemed the property as condemned due to a water leak which is the result of the $7k unpaid water bill, which according to them makes the property unsafe and inhabitable. I originally was running the numbers and at a price of $280K it makes for a good deal. After seeing the property in person (only from the outside) peeking through the first floor windows you can clearly see water damage on the walls, ceilings even the fan that was installed is nearly hanging. I’m assuming it’s going to need a full gut job now to get it up to code. My question is how do I find out more specifically what needs to be done for the building dept. to clear the condemned notice and if I wanted to make an offer on the property should I begin with discounting the back taxes owed along with the unpaid water bill and then once I figure out what the repairs of the property will be, discount the estimate as well? I’m getting different opinions on what the value would be in as is condition from friends and family, they seem to think $150K is probably what it’s worth right now. I know the comps near by could be anywhere between $399k-$580k. Any help would be much appreciated! Thank you!