Monday, August 20, 2007

The Law of Attraction



Dear universe, somehow I am going to own THIS house. I don't care that it's old and most likely falling apart. I'm just going to find a way. I am going to stay up late at night restoring her. I'm going to put in blood, sweat and tears, elbow grease you never knew I had. The small window in the chimney, the tiny greenhouse, I used to see this little home every single day on the way to school. I grew up four streets down, in a magic, tree lined neighborhood with endless hordes of kids to play with and great trick-or-treating. Universe, send me some boxes or renters, I'm moving.

*Edit: Jon wanted me to add this in. He asked if this neighborhood was closer to downtown than our current neighborhood. I thought for a minutes and said: "Well, all I can tell you is that once, when I was a kid, I needed a Ouija Board real bad, and I ran from my front door to the toy store downtown in 12 minutes flat. They were closing and I was desperate, so I sprinted. When I got through their door at about 4:55, I was like "Huuuu huuuu .....do you guys carry Ouija Boards?", and they did."

*Edit #2: Hey, this is very strange.... Zillow says that the house was sold in May 07' for $382,500...I called on the house before May, when it was for sale, so I guess it's up again!? Also the Zillow estimate.....the "Zestimant" is @ $600,000. Something must be very off.

UPDATE! - I just called on the house! Here is the scoop. The house has been vacant for about a year. It was listed with some strange company up in the Upper Peninsula. The agents at the old company were not very helpful at all and the house didn't sell. I actually called about 9 months ago and spoke one who was borderline rude and not helpful at all. The bank bought the house this year. Bottom line, three things: 1.) The agent said he was surprised that the house really wasn't in too bad of shape. Just needed some updating. 2.)I got the story, and don't think I should publish it here but it was bought in 2006 for $685,000, the person lost the house, the bank, now wanting to get rid of it bought it for about $400,00...they want to sell! 3.) We're going to see the house later today!

I know it is a long shot, but this is interesting. We'll see...pictures to come!

10 comments:

Judy said...

Its a FORECLOSURE - deal, girl, deal!

It is an adorable house, no matter what shape it is in - talk about character!

Lauren said...

Thanks Judy, I actually didn't realize it was a foreclosure until Jon told me. I wondered why it was proced so low for the neighborhood, even for an smaller, older home.

Now I'm worried that the house went into foreclosure because of some sad story, in which case, I don't know if I could ever buy a house like that. You know, sad vibes? Anyway, I know I can call and ask the real estate agent or bank about that.

Seriously though, this house does has character, I wish there were better pictures. I love that house! Now I just need to see this house or rent it. As you know, the Detroit real estate market at the moment is CRAZY, in a bad way, so cross your fingers. Thanks Judy!

Meagan Vanover, CWP said...

i was sad to see that, too. unfortunately a lot of listings that you see say that.

and though foreclosure sounds awful, you may feel better knowing the process. it takes a long time for the house to be listed again- usually well over a year, and in the meantime, people tend to trash the house and strip everything that they can.

on top of that, there's some kind of foreclosure tax or something that you pay on top of the purchase price.

it's sad, but at the same time, if they were having trouble making payments, they should have downsized, cut the satellite bill, perhaps should have shopped at target instead for awhile.

you never know, lauren, but it does take some effort to lose a house. it is in very rare circumstances that people lose everything after they've tried everything.

Sarah said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Brianne said...

I think you should buy that house, and then I will buy your house. I will squeeze my big ass family into your house which will thereby force me to purge my life of all of the crap and we will be forced to live like Moby. Finally, my dream will come true! Then we can bake cookies together and go to Target! But I can't buy anything because I have to live like Moby.
:( Maybe I'll buy a shed.

Sarah said...

Beautiful house - I am pretty sure I have seen it too...I love tudors.

Wow, did you see the taxes? They paid $10k last year. Yowza.

Foreclosures are so sad - there have been so many around here...

Brianne said...

Orrr check it, for around the same price point you can get a freaking mansion here. What it lacks in charm it makes up for in acreage and community swimming ammenities- think of how much fun Noah would have! Plus, this is the best school district.
http://homes.realtor.com/search/listingdetail.aspx?zp=45044&ml=3&mnp=27&mxp=26&bd=5&bth=4&typ=7&sid=a5050b7861664ef688fccbac5cb17029&pg=2&lid=1079442140&lsn=11&srcnt=12#Detail

http://homes.realtor.com/search/searchresults.aspx?zp=45044&ml=3&mnp=27&mxp=26&bd=5&bth=4&typ=7

Doesn't look like you need too much elbow grease for those. You'll just go out of your mind living in the middle of nowhere.

Lauren said...

Thanks for the comments girls!
"Live like Moby"... you're so funny Mag!

Meagan, I know...foreclosure is so sad. I know it's a long process. I didn't catch that it was a foreclosure at first. If memory serves me correctly, I think the same family had lived there for years and years. We moved in in 79', so I am guessing it might have been an elderly people/persons. So...I don't know if they went into debt or something like that. All I can do is ask and go from there. Try to see what the story is. Like Sarah said, there have been so many foreclosures around here, I've seen first hand the devastation, so I will tread lightly on this one. My best guess is that it is more old than trashed because of the neighborhood it's in.

Sarah, I'll show you sometime, it is a cool house! Yes, the taxes are crazy but so our our taxes at the moment too. Also, the house will be reassessed at much less the value than before due to the market, so I am hoping the taxes would go down a little.
Yes, foreclosures are sad. I try to find out what happened. If it was some sad story I wouldn't do it, but like I said, I think it was a really old family.

Magda- I would want nothing more than for you to squeeze your big ass family into my house! I will give you a SUPER deal! I would bake cookies and go to Target with you daily! That said, your acreage is tempting! Should we?

Laura said...

I just love that house! I hope that things work out for you. If I had a good reason for coming back to MI, I'd buy your house in a heartbeat. From the pictures I've seen, I really like it, especially the finished basement.
Like Judy said--deal, deal, deal! A good friend of mine who lives in Canton just brought a foreclosure there that was originally valued at $326K for *drum roll* $215K including fees. Keep us posted.

Jonathan said...

How does this scheme affect my plan to live here?