can I finance a heating and cooling system with USDA 502 Direct?

[rideswithchrist1]

yes they are taking a portion of the land- it says 24' at the north property line, sloping to 17' at the south (or vis versa).

That would be a pretty big chunk, but the diagram does not look like that much. 

BUT if they leave it as a residential area, the value would go down, plus we have less land so I think we would end up stuck and upside down there.

 We are just going to count that one as a home for someone else!

[rideswithchrist1]

AHHH! We keep getting drawn back to this house. I can't tell you why, maybe it is the .6 acre lot that would be fine, even if they took a chunk out of the front of it...but it just feels like home LOL

BUT We don't have the money to drop a bunch of inspections just to have the USDA office say "no way"

It needs grading, foundation repair and HVAC.  But it is priced 10K below market, so if we get them to come down another 5K- and spend 15K in repairs, we are looking at buying at market value. From there, any improvements would increase the value. 

[coterotie]

Why buy at market?

If the house has issues make them an offer that reflects those issues.  Worst thing that could happen is they counter.  The $7,500 is about likely about right on the HVAC.  Grading and foundation, I'd get someone to come out and give you an estimate that I would keep completely confidential from everyone involved.  Then make an offer based on that information, trying to get the house at least 10% below fixed up market.

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@rideswithchrist1 wrote:

AHHH! We keep getting drawn back to this house. I can't tell you why, maybe it is the .6 acre lot that would be fine, even if they took a chunk out of the front of it...but it just feels like home LOL

BUT We don't have the money to drop a bunch of inspections just to have the USDA office say "no way"

It needs grading, foundation repair and HVAC.  But it is priced 10K below market, so if we get them to come down another 5K- and spend 15K in repairs, we are looking at buying at market value. From there, any improvements would increase the value. 

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[rideswithchrist1]

What do y'all think? Here is the proposal, you can see the existing road under the image. the purple is the new road, the green lines are the right of way/sidewalks. The house we are looking at is in the middle. 

[rideswithchrist1]

IT is hard to tell market in this area for sure, but guessing, after we fix the foudntion and put in the HVAC, it should be around $140-160K. 

So if we can get it for $135,000 including all the repairs, we are doing great. 

My concern is the road expansion. I emailed the commisioner because it is still a proposal, which means the residents can say "no, just fix the road and put sidewalks, we don't want a 5 lane!"

[DanTheMan77]

In a situation like this,  I always assume the worst. Assume they will take the land and there will be a four-lane highway in your front yard. Assume it will cost you twice as much to fix and will take twice as long. Then knock another 10% off for the risk and hassle involved.

I think you answered your own question, though. There's no way you should touch this without the inspections, and I think there's a good chance you'll have a hard time getting this through USDA. If you can't get it for low enough a price that it makes sense to risk the cost of the inpspections, or you can't risk the money it will cost to do the inspections at all, I would definately pass on this house.

[coterotie]

Based on the picture, it actually seems to me the value would be improved.  The addition of the sidewalks and curbing alone would be worth $$$.  If they would do those and maybe not do the 5 lane you would come out ahead.  Looks like the neighbors houses are substantial as well.  (other than the trailer)  Do a good job on the comps and make sure your work bids are good.

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@rideswithchrist1 wrote:

What do y'all think? Here is the proposal, you can see the existing road under the image. the purple is the new road, the green lines are the right of way/sidewalks. The house we are looking at is in the middle. 

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[rideswithchrist1]

Yeah- that whole street is hit and miss- next door is a trailer, a well kept one though, and across the street is a brick home. Down the road it is dotted with trailers, single and double, and huge 2 story rock houses with pools in the yard.  I have no clue what the house would be worth! 

There are also MANY businesses up and down that road, some are homes that have a large shop in the back with a business. There are 2 homes for sale on this street. 

{mod cut to remove personal/identifying information~Lexie}

[rideswithchrist1]

The hard part is here in Texas, you can have a 4 lane street- that isn't a highway or has heavy traffic... I need to look around at some residential areas that have a 5 lane and see if the homes are close to the road. 

Worse case I guess we could sell it as commercial later...? 

* commisioner said it would be a 4 land undivided street/road.- so not as big as I thought.