Bring up the number of foreclosures and the amount of time properties have been sitting on the market in your neighborhood when you protest your property taxes, and the Harris County Appraisal District will take that evidence into account. But the Fort Bend County Appraisal District won’t. [Houston Press]
Read more about: Foreclosures, Fort Bend County, Property Taxes, Taxes
Chronicle reporter Matt Stiles continues his tour of substandard Houston apartments, stopping this week for a visit at the 172-unit Candlewood Glen Apartments, near the 5400 block of DeSoto:
Now, only about 12 units remain legally occupied, and the management office is shuttered. Rotting trash sits in piles. Copper pipes and air conditioners’ coils have been ripped on a mass scale from burglarized units. The swimming pool is filled with water the color of crude oil.
“It’s just a horrible place,” said Roy Millmore, executive director of the Near Northwest Management District, an organization that focuses on reducing crime in the area.
The poor conditions inside the complex have persisted for months, in part because many of the property’s 43 fourplexes are owned by out-of-state investors, rather than a single owner. That makes applying pressure to improve conditions more complicated for city inspectors.
Still, code inspectors had not visited the property in a decade until the Houston Chronicle documented its conditions. City officials say they had not received complaints from people living there and that they are trying to enforce codes more aggressively than in years past.
After the jump: Stiles’s Candlewood Glen Apartments photo tour. Plus: Available now!
Read more about: 77091, Apartments, Candlewood Glen, Crime, Foreclosures, Hazards, Inwood Forest
We get mail . . . from a reader who’s considering renting one of the many available condos in Montrose’s famed Tremont Tower:
I am moving to Houston in June and when I was looking around for housing I found an ad for a rental at Tremont Towers. I went to look at the place and liked it but something seemed odd to me. If this place is as nice as it looks, it is in Montrose (apparently a desirable area to live) why is is so silent and why does one man own at least 5 separate units and even more odd, why are they so cheap when last year they were valued at >300K (odd even in this real estate market). So, I plugged them into Google and started following a trail. I read about Jordan Fogle and Heather Mickelson.
I talked to my possible future landlord and he told me a story that Jordan Fogle confused the builder of Tremont with the ones who built her home. In addition he offered a story that the Heather Mickelson had purchased the property and then not long after moving in decided to move out with her boyfriend. Since they would not purchase the property back from her she sabotaged the apartment by opening her windows through all weather which then lead to some horrible development of mold.
My issue is that since the coverage in 2005-2006 I haven’t been able to find much information and I cannot verify either side of this tale. I was wondering if any readers had passed on more information about the Towers or if anything had been done in this building that had nearly 100% foreclosure. I am concerned because I would prefer to avoid paying nearly a thousand a month just so I can get sick and not be able to work.
A little more below, plus: your chance to help!
Read more about: 77006, Condos, Foreclosures, Highrises, Homes for Lease, Leasing, Mold, Montrose, Tremont Tower
A story by Paul Knight in this week’s Houston Press adds a little color to the Houston foreclosure map:
Houston’s 77449 ZIP code, on the northwest side, made the top 100 in the nation for 2007. The area saw rapid growth in the early part of the decade, with retail strip centers and a sea of new homes popping up almost overnight.
“They started developing that area really aggressively,” says Erion Shehaj, a Houston realtor who specializes in foreclosed homes. “Like clockwork…[foreclosures] have been popping up one after another, because they were pushing them to people that couldn’t really afford them in the first place.”
Large signs are now planted along the roadside, advertising housing deals such as “Inventory Clearance!” and “Closeout Specials.”
One subdivision in the area that was hit particularly hard is Bear Creek Meadows. The neighborhood was developed about five years ago, with houses priced in the $120,000 range and marketed to first-time buyers.
Below the fold: More on Bear Creek Meadows, plus a few photos to illustrate Knight’s reporting on foreclosure cleanups.
Read more about: 77449, Bear-Creek-Meadows, Foreclosures, Interiors, Katy, Real Estate Investing
An update on the 1031-exchange debacle surrounding the West Oaks Mall: In March, the mysterious Edward Okun — the mall’s owner — was indicted by a Virginia grand jury on charges of mail fraud, for misappropriating $132 million invested in his 1031 exchange company, 1031 Tax Group — along with bulk cash smuggling and related charges. Days later, Okun was arrested in his home on Hibiscus Island in Miami Beach.
To the 340 investors who had trusted $150 million of their 1031-exchange funds to supposedly-qualified intermediaries controlled by Okun, this was good news. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll get their money back — or find a way around the huge tax liability now associated with their failed exchanges.
The 1031-exchange investors in Okun’s 1031 Tax Group had hoped to recoup some of their missing funds by raiding Okun’s other assets — including the West Oaks Mall. But the Okun-controlled companies that owned the mall declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October.
Today, the Costar Group reports that the freestanding building formerly known as JCPenney at the West Oaks Mall has been put up for sale, along with a mall in Salina, Kansas. The trustee in the bankruptcy case has hired Keen Realty, the new real estate division of KPMG Corporate Finance, to market both properties.
Read more about: 1031 Exchanges, 77082, Alief, Crime, Financing, Foreclosures, Fraud, Malls
Git yer fresh, hot foreclosure listings right here! Hey, not all of them are newish red-brick homes in the low hundreds outside Beltway 8!
This house at 1902 Wagon Gap Trail, for example . . . isn’t brick! It’s in Ponderosa Forest, just north of FM1960, which means it’s super-convenient to . . . FM1960! And it just popped up on the market, listed for $129,000! Not bad for a 1970s 4-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath, 3,119-sq.-ft. two-story with diagonal wood siding.
After the jump, a few furtive interior shots of this foreclosed-upon bargain, plus a special something in back!
Read more about: 77090, FM1960, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, Ponderosa Forest
There’s been so much exciting news for dedicated Houston foreclosure gawkers lately. Last month’s HAR redesign added a feature that allows anyone to search current MLS listings for foreclosed properties. And now the Chronicle has put together its own database chronicling foreclosed properties by neighborhood. Plus, the paper includes the handy interactive foreclosure map pictured above, full of dancing bubbles!
A lot of that bubbly makes it look like the foreclosure corks have been popping more frequently in the outside-Beltway-8 neighborhoods, with Katy the big winner. And the map is fun to play with and click on. But don’t miss the more mundane-looking 2007 Neighborhood Foreclosure list, which allows you to sort data on neighborhoods that had 5 or more foreclosures last year, and which spills some fun real-estate secrets . . . like Tremont Tower’s 97.37 percent foreclosure rate! Bear Creek Meadows’s 83 foreclosures! And the Memorial Cove Loft Condos’ perfect record: 20 units, 20 foreclosures — in one year! How’d we miss that one?
If you have time to play with these fun tools, and unearth any interesting data, let us know what you find!
Read more about: Foreclosures, Online Resources
A househunter writes in with questions about the townhome at 5248 Larkin St. Unit D, calling it “possibly the strangest property I’ve ever seen.”
When I saw it on HAR.com, I thought I’d better be ready to spring with an offer immediately . . . I’m a first time home-buyer, so honestly, no expert. I’ve looked in Cottage Grove before, but with the exception of 2620 Detering, nothing of this size is that cheap.
On the same lot are three other identical townhouses, all advertised as new and offered at $315,000 by Mike Adams Enterprises. Unit D is listed for $219,000 and is being sold by a division of Sallie Mae.
The price is not weird for the neighborhood — I just think it’s odd that you have this foreclosure that is discounted $100k below the three new properties and they are on the same lot. . . .
The foreclosure sign is still hanging in the hallway, the red code violations are still on the door, and I’m just curious. . . .
Inspections were performed in spring of 2007 . . . but it doesn’t look like the code violations were addressed. If someone lived there, I’d be very surprised. . . .
I mean, it’s weird because they had nails in the wall –lots of nails, including ones in spots you wouldn’t necessarily hang pictures. At some point, someone had hung a television in the master bedroom. But it didn’t look as if the range had ever been used, that the showers, etc, had ever been used. If someone lived there, it was an extremely short period of time and they didn’t do anything but watch television. We were wondering at first if it had been a model home and that would account for the wear on the stairs and the holes in the wall and the nails. . . .
There were way too many red flags for me . . .
After the jump: more photos from the listing . . . and flags!
Read more about: 77007, Buying and Selling, Cottage Grove, Foreclosures, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Townhomes
Foreclosure, vandalism . . . what more could possibly go wrong at this mansion-on-the-prairie near Brunswick Meadows, off 288 in South Houston?
How about a lack of serious buyers since the home was put on the market back in August — even after two major price cuts?
The place was built in 1950, but the listing agent’s mysterious comment that the “Home was at one time almost completed” probably refers to the recent doomed redo attempt. The asking price was cut to $345,900 in November, from an original $451,900. And it’s listed on another site for $325,900. Not bad for a 11,640-sq.-ft. home on 5 acres inside the Beltway.
Or . . . maybe not. After the jump: when vandals strike!
Read more about: 77047, Buying and Selling, Foreclosures, Graffiti, Homes for Sale, Minnetex-Place, Price Reductions, South-Houston, Vandalism
Check out the discussion going on now in the “Real Estate Professionals” section of the City-Data online forum. A reader is excited about an amazing investment opportunity at the 1342 Rutland St. condos in the Heights!
The unit I’m interested in is as of now at $34K. This if from a high of $77.5. Yes wow the suspiciousness of the place even more intriguing.
I’m thinking I could pay cash for the place maybe borrow a little but (family borrow not bank borrow)… finish the interior (it’s not finished) and rent it out for a good monthly rate (good for me that is). It’s in one of the best/trendy/expensive neighborhoods in Houston . So from the steady fall of the price I’m thinking an offer of $25K would be good. That way I could pay it completely and take my time fixing it up for rent… or sale.
Wow, a $77,500 condo for only $25,000! Sounds like a great investment. But then there’s that nagging feeling inside that makes the would-be investor end with this question:
Just how scared should one be entering this building[?]
After the jump: Reader advice!
Read more about: 77008, Buying and Selling, Condos, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights, Price Reductions
The wave of foreclosures sweeping over neighborhoods at the outer edges of town has . . . an upside!
Remember back when these neighborhoods were new — like, four years ago? Well, for buyers it’s just like those good old days all over again . . . only cheaper! That’s right: if you’ve settled on one builder model, you can be pretty picky about which upgrades and finishing touches you really want — even though the builder has moved on.
If you’re shopping for a home in Bear Creek Meadows in Katy, for example, you’ll find the four distinct residences pictured above listed on MLS. That’s right, those are four different houses. But they’re all the same model — The Cairns, Plan 509, by Legend Homes — and they’re all resales!
Which one is right for you? Clockwise from top left, the contenders are: 19411 Billineys Park Dr., 19606 Ballina Meadows Dr., 19906 Brisbane Meadows Dr., and 19510 Buckland Park Dr.
After the jump, a look at the differences between these four newish but back-on-the-market homes!
Read more about: 77449, Bear-Creek-Meadows, Buying and Selling, Foreclosures, Home Design, Homebuilders, Homebuying, Homes for Sale, Katy
Just what is it about cheaply built condos in Houston that attracts so much, uh . . . “bank interest”? According to HCAD, of the fifteen condo units at 1342 Rutland in the Heights, only six have non-bank owners — and that includes the three owned by Freddie Mac, the “1342 Rutland Lofts Council,” and an investment group. Fortunately for buyers, the financial institutions appear to have no desire to hold onto the condos for corporate housing: eight of the units are on the market, and four more are due to be auctioned off at the huge REDC foreclosure extravaganza at the Reliant Center on November 17th.
(Special bonus for foreclosure bidders: the same auction features four units from Swamplot favorite Tremont Tower!)
Sure, there’s a downturn, and maybe a few problems with some nasty mortgages, but why do so many foreclosures concentrate on a few ugly buildings?
HAIF poster Kirzania provides a few clues:
from the inspector’s findings it would appear the second level of condos was added to the top of a pre-existing building. However, the first level was not reinforced for the second story. The walls were bowed on the first level and there were evident issues of structure problems. My understanding was there wasn’t a problem with the foundation itself, but the frame of the building.
The HOA itself sounded like it was barely staying afloat; the banks owe the HOA $$$$$ for past dues but these funds are being held up in bureaucratic nonsense. I would very much reconsider even stepping foot in this place.
Let the bidding begin!
Read more about: 77008, Auctions, Buying and Selling, Condos, Foreclosures, Homeowners' Associations, Homes for Sale, Houston Heights
So much excitement at the West Oaks Mall! Don’t worry, it likely won’t be foreclosed on—because the owners of the super-regional mall at Westheimer and Highway 6 have now declared bankruptcy. This is bad news for about 340 investors who were hoping to recoup 1031-exchange funds that went missing in the middle of their transactions. They’ll likely lose more than $150 million dollars . . . and possibly be required to pay taxes on the gains they made (and were hoping to shield with the 1031 exchange) . . . before they lost them.
Their money was to be held in escrow accounts for when they came back to conclude the back-end purchase of their tax-free exchange. When that time came, the money was gone.
Now, one of the largest of those assets that creditors had hoped could be used to recoup some of their money is untouchable.
IPofA West Oaks Mall LP, IPofA West Oaks LeaseCo LP and IPofA WOM Master LeaseCo LP (collectively, the “West Oaks Debtors”), filed voluntary petitions under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, Richmond Division, last week.
The West Oaks Debtors are directly and/or indirectly owned and/or controlled by Edward H. Okun, a controversial investor who also controls several 1031 qualified intermediaries under the umbrella firm of The 1031 Tax Group LLC that are also currently tied up in bankruptcy proceedings.
Shopping’s still good, though!
1031 exchange investors: watch where your money goes.
Photo: West Oaks Mall
Read more about: 1031 Exchanges, 77082, Alief, Financing, Foreclosures, Fraud, Malls
Some individual investors who’ve been using IRA money to invest in mortgages have been cheering as foreclosures have become more common, reports the Wall Street Journal:
No one tracks IRA loan defaults, but experienced individual lenders say it has happened rarely — though they are bracing for an uptick, given the shaky state of the housing market in many areas.
“You don’t want them to pay you,” says Charlie Adams, a Houston investor who has made about 20 mortgage loans through his and his mother’s IRAs in the past 10 years, typically charging 15% interest for one-year loans. “What’s the worst thing that can happen — you wind up owning a house at 70% of its cost?” He lends no more than 70% of a property’s value and charges interest-only payments. More conservative lenders will go no higher than 50%.
With the one foreclosure he’s done, his mother had lent $40,000 to a renovator to refurbish a house worth $85,000. The borrower made 12 months of interest payments, then stopped, and did not make the balloon payment due. Mr. Adams foreclosed on the house, his mother’s IRA spent $14,000 to finish fixing it up, and they sold it in three months for $85,000, he says, adding that he helped his mother’s IRA increase in value to $140,000 from $50,000 in five years.
Great, but you’ll need to make sure you have enough IRA money in reserve to handle this kind of “good fortune”:
For investors, one risk in foreclosing on a house is racking up so many expenses — from legal fees to repair bills — that the IRA runs out of money. If that happens, the IRA owner faces a difficult choice: Get a loan, or close out your IRA and pay any taxes or penalties.
Using a self-directed IRA to fund mortgage or real estate investments can make sense: for a lot of people, an IRA is the largest pool of money available. Self-directed individual-retirement-account companies Entrust, Pensco Trust, and Guidant Financial have seen a dramatic increase in real-estate lending activity within their IRAs, the article reports.
Read more about: Financing, Foreclosures, IRAs, Mortgages, Real Estate Investing
Twenty-five Montrose homes were foreclosed on this month, reports the Houston Business Journal. That’s a huge increase from last July.
[Mike] Weaster, a Realtor with Century 21 Excel Realty, currently has about 45 foreclosed homes in the Montrose area listed for sale.
“There’s been a big time increase — I’ve never seen anything like this,” he says. “It’s something that is so unique to Houston that I can’t even tell my buyers what’s happening.”
What could be the problem? In Houston overall, there was no increase in mortgage foreclosures: 2,090 last July; 2,085 this month. So what is it with Montrose?
Well, here’s a clue:
Many of the foreclosed homes in Montrose have never even been occupied by the homeowner and were instead purchased by investors who apparently weren’t able to sell them, according to Weaster, who says he comes across first-payment defaults in Montrose at least once a week.
Weaster believes speculation investors and bad loans have taken a toll on the trendy neighborhood.
Still stumped? What if you learned that twelve of this month’s foreclosures alone were at the same address? And what if you discovered that the building at that address was the Tremont Tower?
Yeah, that Tremont Tower, at Yupon and Westheimer. The one featured in an article called “Contractors from Hell” in People magazine in 2005. And in the Houston Press. The one the Lemon Lady used to picket.
Does that help explain?
Read more about: 77006, Financing, Foreclosures, Highrises, Montrose, Tremont Tower
