3 ft high weeds

[Webbed Feet]

To All,

I've seen a crew of four people take an entire weekend of two ten hour days to clean a property back up again from a summer of neglect. That totals 80 man hours of labor plus equipment and local dump costs. Just $10 an hour per person, not including other benefit costs, other costs, and it sounds a lot more like around $1,000 of you ask me. The estimate is not what it takes a property owner if they do the work themselves not charging for their time, the estimate should be coming from having to hire a service to clean the place back up plus penalty for market reaction for a buyer having to deal with it.

Webbed.

 

[TJSum]

To All,

I've seen a crew of four people take an entire weekend of two ten hour days to clean a property back up again from a summer of neglect. That totals 80 man hours of labor plus equipment and local dump costs. Just $10 an hour per person, not including other benefit costs, other costs, and it sounds a lot more like around $1,000 of you ask me. The estimate is not what it takes a property owner if they do the work themselves not charging for their time, the estimate should be coming from having to hire a service to clean the place back up plus penalty for market reaction for a buyer having to deal with it.

Webbed.

Agreed. IMO the market reaction in circumstances like this is also much greater than the actual cost. "Curb Appeal" is the first impression any property makes on potential buyers. For REO assignments I usually give the market value of this "repair" much greater than the cost to cure.

 

[RSW]

Webbed,

We have ordanances here in Knoxville and in the county that says a property owner cannot let their yard become over grown. I have seen two situations recently where the city or the county had the lawn mowed and put a lein on the property for the cost.

 

[al002kim]

In my REO assignments I always include these weeds as Fire Hazard (dry weeds) or lack of landscaping maintenance and include a picture in my report; The cost to cure is trimming and disposal, it always worked for me tho...

 

[ZZGAMAZZ]

Statement 1: Looking at this issue from a different perspective . . . virtually every REO requires maintenance including materials and/or labor.

Statement 2: I've been told by a few r.e. agents that the listing agent of a lender-owned REO is not permitted to resolve any deferred maintenance even if they wish to do so.

Question: If a lender that has foreclosed upon a property will not make repairs, and if a loan cannot be extended until deferred maintenance is resolved, how does the REO "system" work in the absence of appraiser coercion to overlook issues?

 

[Farm Gal]

ZZ -

What happens is sooner or later the lenders REO department starts to figure out in which arenas they prefer to play - fix and sell at someplace closer to market - OR - bargain basement time and never a repair to be done.

A great deal depends on what they see happening in a particular market - for a while there were so many eager beaver 'flip this house' wannabe's that the lender was in the cat-bird seat, and by sticking to the no-repairs rule often got above market prices for homes in poor condition.

When the market swings too far the other way - excessive inventory and dearth of interested buyers at any price - it doesn't pay them to do so much as cut the weeds (absent any municipal fines of course)... its throwing good money after bad on their losses!

Someplace in between is the gray are where negotiations between list agents whining that they can't get so much as a showing without some fronting to repair minimal cost defects that are deal-killers (and grass tends to be one of those in our area) "drive on" says the potential buyer without ever stepping foot inside..."

OR Agents abusing the repair deals, OR buyers over-demanding with agent collusion OR appraisers micromanaging the market with 'required' repairs which are figments of their own imagination!! Report but remember it is the LENDER who has to make the calls!

Too many factors and as always it depends on the MARKET Supply/demand and how the particular property fits in at a specified point in time!

Refusal to pony up repairs may result in escrows for repairs out of loan proceeds. That is pretty much what happened last time there was a 'down and buyers market.'

Lastly if the Banker wants to sit on a property in hopes of making money eventually - they will eventually unload at some price. In nearly any market in the nation at present most banks do NOT want to be long term owners - because it will cost them more in hard costs and 'reduced values' over time! They are reasonably getting a little nervous about becoming landlords!

 

[Mike Boyd]

I have an FHA appraisal for a mfg home (vacant) and the weeds are 3 ft + high. Question (don't laugh) is this a safety question or a deferred maintenance problem.......or both? Snakes and things you know.

I assume it would be curable with the purchase and use of a weed eater.

 

[Bearslide]

I assume it would be curable with the purchase and use of a weed eater.

And a snake poker.............last one I did had 3 foot high grass and weeds. I use a bamboo pole to swish the grass aside, and found a nest of copperheads. That was when I discovered my reverse gear was in perfect working order.:blush:

Here...safey hazard that needs to be mentioned. Two days later a crew was over there taking down the grass.........no arguements from the lender or the realtor.

 

[Charles Witt]

We had one with high weeds (2'+) in our area and the appraiser discovered it was hiding an obviously failing septic system drainfield. Just seeing the high weeds is not enough. You must investigate if they are hiding anything! Other than rattlesnakes!:Eyecrazy:

 

[Mr Rex]

If its Hopland weed, it could add considerable value if they have the proper permits. Greg B can elaborate. Of course at some point it becomes a commercial venture, and a residential mortgage might be inappropriate.