Oshawa property

[lonewolfsek]

I remember a burnt out tax sale property in the area of this sale a year ago. The property was only 13 feet wide. Has anyone seen this recent property. Is it worth the drive?

[Pawel]

It is the same property. The municipality did not undertake the proper tax sale process. Also, it was not 13 feet wide and was a clean site. Unfortunately there was too much competition for the house and people bid far too high.

[Pfm1011]

Do you remember what sort of numbers we people bidding last time??

[Pawel]

I don't remember the exact amounts, but if my memory serves me correct the assessed value of the property was 221,000 and the highest bidder was in the 215,000 range. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[justlooking]

Is this not the property where the first 3 bidders did not properly complete the outside of the envelope and the sale cancelled. I  remember the high bid was around $242,000. Crazy eh! This guy even had his lawyer prepare the tender and still not properly completed.

[Frank]

Is this not the property where the first 3 bidders did not properly complete the outside of the envelope and the sale cancelled. I  remember the high bid was around $242,000. Crazy eh! This guy even had his lawyer prepare the tender and still not properly completed.

Right, it was put up for sale early last year.  I never did hear the results, but those are obviously the butt-heads I was referring to.

That house (especially given what you can buy next door, on the market), should not go for a penny more thant $150k, and at that you would not make much.  The uncertainties of what is inside and the likely-hood of having to spend money to retro-fit and redecorate will reduce any profit you might be able to make by flipping it.  If the property has been vacant...has it been heated?, are there termites?, mice/bats in the attic? etc., etc...  Buyer beware.

[Sapajou73]

I was there at the sale.  Market value at the time had the house on Wilson street assessed at $186,000.  The top bid was about $140,000 (give or take a couple thousand).  One and his partner bid $110,000 and they were the ones that caused a stink about making sure the envelopes were properly address and marked etc.  They wanted all the other improperly marked envelopes disqualified because the rules state very explicitly what has to be one the front of the envelope etc and if you haven't done it correctly - your bid is invalid.  This would mean there bid was the winning bid.  The treasurer wasn't sure what to do at the time and finally came up with redoing the tax sale a year later. There were a maybe a total of 100 bids. That's the scoop!

[Apex]

I was at the sale last year. The house is assessed at $164,000. The highest bid was $141,500. The envelopes that Oshawa supplied for everyone to put their bids in did not say"tax sale" on the front. One bidder wrote tax sale on his and said all other bids should be thrown out since those envelopes did not have tax sale written on them. City decided to cancell sale. This house probably will not be redeemed, family in- fighting. House has been vacant for almost two years. It was on mls before tax sale, I put an offer on it but got no response. Needs major work slight mold problem in basement.

[Sasha]

Apex is correct.  Are you sure its the same house?  The envelopes had to be adressed to the 'treasurer'.

[lonewolfsek]

How would you know there was mold in the basement?

[Larry]

He put an offer on the house when it was for sale, that means that he had the opportunity to go inside.

[Sasha]

I'm quite a distance from Oshawa (I'm up north and watch the news and read the Star online).  If the GM plant in Oshawa has closed or is closing and the area is quite depressed and the home requires major work, why would anyone bid 141.5K for a home assessed at 164K?  Even on mls, with the future of Oshawa looking quite bleak and the fact that housing prices and starts are going down across the country (the west with the most dramatic decrease is house prices in the past year), I'd pay less than assessment.  I'd think at a tax sale you'd pay much less than fair market value.
In my area a large logging company is laying off many employees, many people moving and getting jobs elsewhere.  That, and the fact that house prices are decreasing, real estate agents are appraising homes at less than assessment value, especially the ones that require work.  Many homes in the area are not brick and built in the 1970's and 80's and haven't had any major renovations.  The only real estate in our town said 'in a booming market, fair market value is much more than assessment, in a market downturn, sometimes fair market value is much less than assessment value.'  If the owners don't want their homes going POS or tax sale, then they'll have to accept less. 
In southern Ontario, with the popularity of these tax sales, people are paying more at a tax sale then what the person may have gotten on mls.  The market isn't what is was 2 years ago.

[Frank]

I'm quite a distance from Oshawa (I'm up north and watch the news and read the Star online).  If the GM plant in Oshawa has closed or is closing and the area is quite depressed and the home requires major work, why would anyone bid 141.5K for a home assessed at 164K?  Even on mls, with the future of Oshawa looking quite bleak and the fact that housing prices and starts are going down across the country (the west with the most dramatic decrease is house prices in the past year), I'd pay less than assessment.  I'd think at a tax sale you'd pay much less than fair market value.
In my area a large logging company is laying off many employees, many people moving and getting jobs elsewhere.  That, and the fact that house prices are decreasing, real estate agents are appraising homes at less than assessment value, especially the ones that require work.  Many homes in the area are not brick and built in the 1970's and 80's and haven't had any major renovations.  The only real estate in our town said 'in a booming market, fair market value is much more than assessment, in a market downturn, sometimes fair market value is much less than assessment value.'  If the owners don't want their homes going POS or tax sale, then they'll have to accept less. 
In southern Ontario, with the popularity of these tax sales, people are paying more at a tax sale then what the person may have gotten on mls.  The market isn't what is was 2 years ago.

Unlike Elliot Lake (when the Uranium mines closed)...or Flint Michigan (if you get a chance check out the film by Michael Moore ...  I believe it was called 'Roger & Me')...or your logging town,  Oshawa is hardly a 'one horse town'.  A decrease would be expected in the event of GM closure, however I don't believe it will be as severe as you predict. 

And Yes, people have been paying far too much for properties that you can't even inspect...and likely have many problems. 

[lonewolfsek]

I think this one is a little too rich for my blood. I would appreciate some info from the winner of the Oshawa property. I am curious to know how much gets spent to fix it up and what the final resale price would be. My thoughts are that the profit would be less than $10,000. Especially if there is a mold problem. I called a couple of mold companies and they told me for a small mold problem it could be as little as $1,200, and as high as $30,000 for a property that size to get cleaned up. My main concern is that the heat has been turned off for 4 years and what was left in the water pipes may have burst the pipes and caused a mold problem throughout the house. I would have enjoyed fixing this one up (my first attempt). But my thought are right now that the risk is too high, I think I would end up loosing $$$. I have been waiting around for two years to find a property worth bidding on that is within my budget. Oh well, guess I'll keep waiting. No one ever said this would be easy. Not to mention I have not even checked for liens yet.

Frank...I am curious, how long have you been at this and how many properties have you got through tax sales (if you don't mind). You definitely seem to know your stuff.

[Frank]

Frank...I am curious, how long have you been at this and how many properties have you got through tax sales (if you don't mind). You definitely seem to know your stuff.

It seems like I've been at this forever, however it has really been quite a short time since I am only 28 years old....I started young.   

I've managed to land a couple, and done ok.  There's lots to stay away from unless you want to lose your shirt.