All Forum Posts by: Phyllis E.

@David Dachtera-- I agree that it must be overpriced, but the mystery is why wouldn't the owner/bank just keep aggressively lowering the price until it does sell???? Are there some tax advantages to the loss they must surely be taking on this after all this time? Do foreclosure laws (assuming it is a foreclosure) prevent them from lowering the price too much ? Perhaps they don't really want to sell the house--maybe it really is being used as a front for a mafia hide-out, LOL! (Heh- I'm from the Chicago area. We had some legendary Al Capone hang-outs in our area!) You start wondering about crazy explanations like this!!  Do any local realtors know the inside scoop on this home?

 Or could it be that it has a very stubborn, wealthy owner, still paying the mortgage and refusing to look at reality?  (I had a neighbor like that --just as the real estate market was starting to tank, he had an offer on his house for  just slightly less than his asking price, and he refused to budge off his listing price! He said, "My price is my price!" Well, the market kept dropping and it didn't sell for about 4 years, and when it did, it ended up being a short sale for far, far, less than that original offer!!!) 

Do any of you Marylanders know the answer to this mystery?  Why has this beautiful, new construction Mcmansion, located south of  Annapolis and within commuting distance to D.C., on acreage in beautiful horse country, not sold after 12 years of being up for sale? Why would the bank, or whomever owns it, just let it sit vacant for twelve years, and not keep lowering the price or put it up for auction?  (I assume after 12 years that it went into foreclosure at some point, but I can't find any info about that online. It sure doesn't look like a typical foreclosure, though!)  If there are any locals on this forum, they  probably know exactly which house I am talking about!  People have actually posted jokes about it on Facebook, with a photo of it and saying things like, "You know you are from Calvert or South County (Anne Arundel) when you know darn well this house has been sitting vacant since '05!"  link to its listing on realtor.com The inside photos look of it look very nice (though the style is getting slightly dated after 12 years) and the outside is still well-maintained. I drive by it on my way up to Annapolis all the time, and always wonder about it as I drive by.  Could be some great object lesson about  the risks of speculative building real estate, LOL?!!!  

The only negative I can see, (besides the price) is that the house is located slightly close to the road,  considering how much acreage it is on, but that is really just relative; many homes in the area are that close or closer to the road. It isn't probably a total deal breaker I imagine, if they would price it right. Is this probably some sort of lucrative tax write-off for the owner, or what?  If any one out there knows the answer to the mystery of this un-sellable Mcmansion, inquiring minds want to know! Thanks!  

@Chris Martin - thanks for the tip, Chris. This is out in the countryside, though. I doubt if the utility company cares, but who knows, it doesn't hurt to ask. 

@Account Closed Thanks for the info. This makes it sound more "doable" and worth looking into. It isn't my property so I don't know all the details , but I think it might be along the property line.  I was just looking at it as a potential investment property. If the main drawback to this property that has been scaring away investors is that power pole, and if it  really isn't that expensive or unfeasible to move it , it might be worth investigating this further, as the location is great and price looks good!

Thanks!

@Erik Peddle

"Hardest part is getting power company to show up!"  I can imagine, LOL! Thanks, Erik. That is encouraging to know that you have done it before!

@Erik Peddle Thanks! That isn't too bad, considering.  Was that to move it or relocate the powerlines underground? So it sounds like it is one of those things that isn't nearly as expensive as people assume it would be , and it scares away potential buyers. I was guessing $5000-$10,000!

   Here in the same county, a friend of mine had an large, older ranch home, built in the 50's, on a gorgeous piece of riverfront property (in a very desirable, upscale, neighborhood), that still had the original electrical meter , and the power cable /electrical feed coming into the house right next to the front door!!! They had a hard time selling that property, and I'm sure one of the big negatives that scared away buyers was that unattractive, very noticeable, electrical feed! What were they thinking back in the day they installed that??

Has anyone ever had to have a power pole moved before, or priced out the cost to move one or have the power lines moved underground?

Yesterday I drove by a home here in rural northern Calvert County that has been sitting on the market for about three years. It is in a great location, and listed for an unusually low price for this area,  and it didn't even look that bad in the online photos (for a foreclosure), so I figured it must have something unusually negative about it that wasn't readily apparent, like "black mold" or whatever.  When I finally got to the property, after driving past the many neighboring, beautiful, bigger, newer homes on acreage along the way,  I quickly realized what the "problem"  was (or at least one of the problems): a huge power pole, complete with a transformer high up on it, was located about sixteen feet from the front of the house, centered on the front door! A power cable ran down from the pole to the ground at an angle, and the overgrown walkway to the door actually led you right under the power cable, brushing by the power pole!  (If it had been an arbor or trellis you were walking under, instead of a power pole, it would have been charming, LOL!)  Anyway, the power lines seemed to stop at this pole, so I assume it was the "end of the line".   Has anyone ever had to move a power pole before, or priced out the cost to move one? Can the cables be run underground, and  the transformer put in a standard ground box?  (I believe the power company there is SMECO, btw.) (It almost gave you the feeling that the power company had a grudge against the property owner when they located the power pole there, but perhaps the power was put there long before the home? ! )  The house was actually in a beautiful, rural setting, other than the power pole. (And I peeked in, and from what I could tell, the interior wasn't in too bad of shape, considering.

Just wondering.....

Thanks!

@Cody L. : Pardon my ignorance, but what is an "outside leasing agent"? To me, it sounds like you have outside people refer renters to you and you give them some sort of referral fee? I've never heard of that (but I am no pro in the field of real estate.) Interesting.

@Cameron Benz  and @Jacob McBride

Hi. I also came here looking for information about ICS Commercial Lending after seeing a job ad posted by them.  Have you seen this older forum thread, started by Josh Dorkin himself, three years ago?  It doesn't mention ICS specifically, but it does shed some light regarding commercial lending brokers, etc.  I am surprised that they would charge you $95 for the "education". I have never heard of a legitimate company actually charging you for their training; someone feel free correct me if I am wrong. That would be kind of a "red flag" to me. 

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/32/topics/77629-commercial-real-estate-funding-financing-and-lending-a-scammers-paradise

Thanks, Maurice. I am still in the "looking around" phase, so I wanted to find out if there was an online listing site that allowed you to narrow searches to homes that had some sort of  "in-law suite", "mother-in-law apt",  or "guest suite" (they can be called by so many different things!), in the same way that some sites let you search for, you know, things like a "pool" or a house on acreage, etc.  I usually look at realtor.com or redfin, but haven't figured out how to search directly for this type of home, other than a keyword search.  Looking under "mulit-family" doesn't seem to come up with this type of home!
     I live in a  hilly, rural area where many homes have walk-out basements, which are often finished, often with a bathroom and  sometimes a kitchen (or bar area that could easily be turned into a kitchen.) There is actually very little actual "multi-family" housing per se, because we are so rural, so it is not uncommon for people to rent their basements out to friends and family.  Thanks again.