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Originally Posted by BlueStreak
I'm sure it is and that's part of the gamble. Of course the longer you hold it, the less return you will see.
The thing is this; No one is paying taxes on a lot of it now. Nor is anyone "mowing the grass" or anything else for that matter. It's currently a burden, rather than an asset, to the city. (Have you seen it?)
So, what costs are there? I don't know what it is, but it can't be much.
There was a segment on this on T.V. about a year ago. 20/20 or 60 minutes, something like that, I don't remember. Anyhow, they showed a guy going around buying properties for as little as $1. When asked what he was going to do with the $1 property, he said. "We'll be around to tear down the house in a few days. After that, I wait."
Dave
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I've seen pictures of it.
Tearing down old houses and chopping brush is a lot of hard work. And if you pay someone else to do it, it gets expensive in short order. And once you get it cleared, if you don't stay on top of it, you'll have to do it all over in a couple of years.
Hell, I don't have to go to Detroit to find degenerate properties for cheap, there is a little town app 6 miles away that is lousy full of 'em. It's slowly experiencing a modest renaissance, but if you built anything up there now you would lose your ass. And I don't want to be driving up there every week for the next 5-10 years mowing lots in the hope that it will finally pan out.
I've already got two lots here in town to deal with, and at the moment I'd be lucky to break even building on them. Before the subprime meltdown I could envision making a modest profit on a couple of dedicated ADA homes, but I'm not so sure now.
Chas