reversemigration

Thanks Jim, I'll give him a call. My advice from the law side of things thus far has been that the city can either be a bear to deal with on a matter like this, or a great help. And was then told, "good luck trying to predict which."

This is definitely the case. I've more or less made the point to the seller that I'd be doing them a favor by purchasing the house. I've given them a soft offer of $500, pending additional information. Thanks for this. Stopped by the Property Maintenance division this morning and spoke to an inspector. He ballparked $8-10K. I should have asked, and need to determine, if this needs to be cash or can be bonded. I have a decent insurance company that I've used for other properties and will be running this place by them today. But yeah, another carrying cost to figure in. I get a lot of heming and hawing from various city sources about how specific this needs to be. Are there any hard and fast guidelines, or is it up to the discretion of someone in the department? I figured that's the case...once the house is under the microscope, everything's got to be done the city's way. I'm lucky to have a bit of familiarity with the process and could hopefully keep costs down. Cash is do-able. (To add, though, not a bank loan - there are private lenders who'll lend on condemned properties. Not this one, though, as they wouldn't find the numbers comfortable, particularly since it'd be a long-term hold.) An issue for sure. Keeping a property secure is a challenge. While I know a few of the neighbors, this stuff still happens. I try to leave nothing of value on the job site. That's what I heard from the inspector; on the other hand, he said that's the same time at which the demolition bond would be released. Still, better a VBML waiver than the VBML costs themselves, given that this building has been vacant for several years and would doubtlessly qualify for the most expensive yearly fee. Definitely what I'm trying to avoid. It's not famous and it's on a run-down street that won't see gentrification for at least ten years or so, if then. On the other hand, it's a nice solid brick building that doesn't have any structural/foundation issues. It needs trashing out, a new roof/gutters/fascia/soffits, doors, windows, insulation, new HVAC/plumbing/electrical, and the kitchen and bath replaced. Doubtlessly there are unseen issues, but it's not such a bad little house after all, as Linus might say. I generally do a significant portion of the work myself in concert with subs. *sigh* You're probably right. As I've been told more than once before, there are some houses that they can't pay you to take.

I'm hoping someone on the forum who's had experience dealing with the Board of Housing Appeals and, more particularly, the common pleas court can make a recommendation for an attorney. I'm looking at a house for sale that's eminently salvageable, but which has moved into public nuisance status, and within that status, is "out to bid". Since it's been declared a public nuisance, I can't go through the BHA to bring it back into compliance; instead, it has to be done through a court appeal. I spoke with Margo Warminski at CPA, who suggested that the "out to bid" status would probably require an injunction as well (to stop demolition prior to a court date, I assume.) It's currently owned by one of the companies specializing in bulk purchases of REOs. I've spoken to someone there and believe the price is strongly negotiable; however, having to add in the expense of legal appeals may make it a losing prospect at any purchase price. If there's an attorney who can do it for a reasonable fee, though, it may be a different prospect. I've also heard that a bond or other deposit is required in these cases to cover the potential costs of demolition. Does anyone have specifics about that? TIA!