Empty Houses. Are abandoned homes for sale a good decision?

When the relocation is on agenda, probably the idea of purchasing an empty, abandoned house is the last one to be considered. It does sound creepy to move into a might-as-well-be-haunted house when you don’t know its history nor you can be sure the house is not a bank of mysterious or even criminal secrets. But people still buy empty houses a lot. And here, in this article we’ll give you some nice reasons why the abandoned property is a big part of the market. We will also explain how to purchase an empty house without any risks of suddenly losing it.

Why do the empty houses end up in the property market?

Among os many potential explanations why this or that house becomes abandoned there are basically only three main ones that can explain a lot.

The house becomes empty due to financial reasons. The owners of the house would at some point stop paying the mortgage, left or were departed/imprisoned etc. Шn this case the house would be placed in the market as an abandoned one by the bank.

The house becomes empty due to any other legal issue: the owners either did not have any inheritors or one of the conditions of the inheritance was not to sell the house. In that case the inheritors sometimes just don’t want to get their mind occupied with this property and leave it empty.

A small percentage of houses end up empty and abandoned as a result of a certain natural disaster: a flood, a landslide, an avalanche or a forest fire. If a destroyed property is not covered by the insurance, it ends up abandoned. There is a great disadvantage in dealing with such a type of property. Such  houses are normally in a very bad shape and in most cases it is not worth trying to restore them.

There are many more special cases but in 99% cases the story of an empty house can be summed up to one of the first two reasons. And of course there is a chance of some kinda family fata curse that would explain why the house stays empty for a certain period of time. We wouldn’t recommend listening to those folk fairy tales but rather visit a local archive, mayor or any other authorities available to certify criminal history and make sure the house is really abandoned. Also, consult your estate agent for more details on how to deal with empty property in this particular area. The legislation can be different depending on the state. If the empty house is in Florida or Texas you are very welcome to visit MyReProperty.com and get some professional advice from our experts.

Why can an empty house be a good property?

First of all an abandoned house is a perfect chance to buy a piece of very nice property for some very good money.the history knows the cases when the abandoned property was bought for some ridiculous $100 because the bank just got tired of keeping it on balance. Such cases are very rare though, but possible. So, if you are on a limited budget, do not hurry to write off such an option.

Another good reason to buy an empty house is again, a financial one. An empty house is a very appealing investment for the developers. Given a certain amount of time and effort a remodeled used-to-be-abandoned house can bring up to 50% income even if you didn't buy it for a humble $100.

Dependless if you are a developer or planning to buy a house for yourself, be prepared to invest a lot of time and hard work to make it a welcoming home. Sometimes you will have to deal with total renovation and it may take years of hard work. So, be prepared but don’t be scared. Whoever were dealing with such cases finally felt proud of their choice and the result of the work they have done. 

How to find an empty house for sale?

As you can guess, there are no official lists of empty property on none of the official governmental sites. You can try the archive but that would be a long story. It is better actually to do it the other way round: find the abandoned property first and then request the info on it from a local archive. There may be the information in the local banks but they are usually reluctant about sharing it.

The best advice here would be to ask locals for help: either a postman or a delivery service. Basically the people who always drive around and may know the area quite well. Another way to do it is just drive around the area that you’ve chosen for relocation and find houses that look abandoned: the grass is dry to really high, the windows are broken, the house looks empty, the general visible condition of the house is poor. 

Once you identify such a house, start investigating its history. You can look at its address at a county record to make sure it really is abandoned and you can start legal action to make it yours. In most cases you will be able to find the current owner of the property and contact them for the next step. During this process you may find out that the house is over a hundred years old. In this case we recommend having it inspected to calculate how much the house is expected to be subsidized into. Be very precise on these numbers for it can be cheaper sometimes to build a house from scratch rather than restore totally worn out systems that may be older than your grandpa.

What needs to be done to legally become an owner of an empty house?

Once you’ve been through the home inspection, estimated the potential costs and finally decided that you want to proceed with this property, you’ll have to place a bid on this house. Make sure you consult your estate agent. We do not recommend doing it on your own. Not only will your estate agent suggest you the appropriate sum of the bid but will also recommend a more appreciable time to do it to catch the best price. 

All in all the idea of buying an empty house is not one of the easiest ones to become a proud owner of your own house or a successful property developer. But it definitely is worth it if you want to have a precious family legacy, the place that became fully yours after applying a great deal of your heart and soul, your time and efforts. As a property developer you will learn a lot, gain some great experience and will be able to make a good income. With a certain amount of luck and the help of an experienced estate agent, you’ll find your perfect house for sure.