Kansas Property For Sale: The Medium Sized Bedroom

USER GUIDE AND INTRODUCTION

The User Guide and Introduction has numerous important topics regarding this site, how the sale is proceeding, the different ways to buy, the price, and more. Since the price is regarded as way too low by many, and a little too high by a few, explaining the breakdown of the price is important; that breakdown is one of the User Guide topics.

Like the posts about the property that follow the User Guide, information in the User Guide is being updated, added to, improved from time to time. But keep in mind that unlike the date stamped posts about the property, nothing in the user guide is archived in the sidebar.

In order to jump past the user guide and get to the posts that describe the property in detail, simply click the link just above this explanation, and just below the site page header.

July 22, 2008 STATUS: STILL FOR SALE
There are no cash buyer purchases, no earnest money holds, and no mortgage contracts immediately pending. However, anyone interested in this property is advised to act without delay, because there are those trying to gather funds to buy, there are potential mortgage customers, and because active marketing to find a cash buyer is continuing .
The cash price is now $21,500 firm, reduced from $22,000 permanently. If this property were located in a less country lociation, it would be a far higher price; it would be $100,000 or more in many areas. If the price were any lower than $21,500, there would no longer be any reasonable way to distribute the total between the parts, so it would mean that we were giving either all of the land, the house, or the large building away for free!

There are at least 3 parties who are trying to gather funds to buy at the cash price, but all parties trying to buy for cash are being delayed by a combination of current unreasonable bank policies and/or they are being delayed in selling real estate they currently own due to the current dysfunctional real estate market and/or because the real estate they are trying to sell is located in a town with a depressed economy. All of the folks who are known to be trying to buy, so far as I know, are going to be delayed for at least 1 1/2 to 5 1/2 more months and possibly more months than that. So as far as known prospective buyers are concerned, the predicted legal sale date for this property is currently between September 15, 2008 and January 15, 2009.

On the other hand, someone could at any moment come out of the blue and buy this property, considering it's super low price and it's relatively unique features. So please do not delay in taking action if you are interested.

WHY NO SALE YET DESPITE THIS BIG MARKETING CAMPAIGN?
There are no hidden defects regarding this property. The reason it is taking extra time to sell it is obvious. Were it not for the current overall economic situation, and for the current unwillingness of banks to make loans to customers with good credit, this property would have sold after less than 60 days of marketing, in late May 2008. That is an actual fact, not just an estimate.

MORTGAGE OFFER NOW AVAILABLE
As I suggested I would eventually do a few weeks ago, I am now offering a mortgage. Here are the main conditions that a mortgage buyer has to meet and/or agree to:
(1)The price of the property will be $23,500.
(2)The minimum down payment will be $5,000 and a larger down payment is recommended.
(3)The buyer must be able to document income, but any kind of income is acceptable.
(4)The buyer must not have bad credit.
(5)When the mortgage payment, the mortgage service fee, the property tax, and the insurance premium is added up, the buyer must be able to make payments of approximately $500 per month.
(6)The buyer must agree that there will be a $19 per month mortgage servicing charge, which is the amount the company I am using to set up and service the mortgage charges for all the work they do and all the assistance they provide to both the buyer and the seller. For example, this company will see to it that the buyer's credit record is improved by the inclusion of his or her payments on this mortgage.
(7)The buyer must understand and agree that he or she is NOT merely renting the property but is owning the property. Property tax and basic property insurance is required as part of the mortgage plan.

For further details, particularly further details regarding the mortgage itself, please visit here:

http://kansaspropertyforsaledollarsandsense.blogspot.com/2008/06/is-payment-plan-available.html

EARNEST MONEY HOLDS FOR CASH BUYERS
I can accept a hold on the property in exchange for earnest money only if:
(1)The sale price is $22,000
(2)The earnest money is at least $7,000.
(3)The hold is for 3 months or less
(4)The buyer is 100% certain that the other $15,000 will become available to him before the 3 month deadline, so that there is zero risk that the $7,000 will be lost.

I am very reluctant to offer this type of hold, and I will only do so in the case where the buyer needs time to get the funds, but is 100% certain that they will get the funds. For example, if someone needed a few weeks to gain access to a trust fund, or to an inheritance, these are things that I might accept as good reasons to accept earnest money and put a hold on the property.

In summary, although this property is likely sold if you look down the road a few months, it is not definitely sold even looking at the 4 month time frame, and it is most definitely neither sold nor in the immediate process of being sold at this time. So it is still ready for an immediate purchase by a cash buyer "who comes out of the blue" for $21,500.

BREAKDOWN OF SALE
This shows the price that the cash buyer will be paying broken down by component. The components add to $21,500. You will see that the price is about as low as it can be without it becoming a truly ridiculous giveaway. Remember, this is a package deal; legally I have to sell all of these components at once. When you look at the price breakdown, you can quickly see what a bargain this property is. You get a livable house that is almost 1,200 sq. ft. for $8,200, a 2,800 sq. ft. strong quonset building for $5,500, and more as broken down here:
1. House, 1180 sq. ft. $9,700 ($13,300 county value minus $3,600 upgrade allowance)
2. Land, 2.55 acres $4,300 ($6,450 accessed County market value of the land minus 33%, or $2,150, to make it a bargain)
3. Quonset Building, 2,800 sq. ft. $6,150 ($6,750 county value minus $600 upgrade allowance)
4. Barn, approx. 1,000 sq. ft. $750 (estimated County market value; 1/12 of roof damage factored into county value)
5. Storage Building #1, about 200 sq. ft. $200 ($400 minus $200 for junk removal)
6. Storage Building #2, about 107 sq. ft. $100 ($200 minues $100 for junk removal)
7. Work Shed, approx. 125 sq. ft. Free (due to roof repair needed from recent roof damage)
8. Furniture and Appliances $300

SUMMARY OF SALE
TOTAL COUNTY MARKET VALUE: $26,000
Minus total of allowances for upgrades and repairs to make the property average in it's comparable class: $4,800
Plus conservative estimate of value of furniture and appliances included: $300
SALE PRICE: $21,500 firm and not now negotiable. However, offers for less than $21,500 will be filed and considered at a later date if and when I have to lower the price a little more.

It is unlikely that I will ever have to lower the price to $21,000. It is very unlikely that I will ever have to lower the price to $20,500. It is extremely unlikely that I will ever have to lower the price to $20,000. It is virtually impossible that I will ever have to lower the price below $20,000.

THE HOUSE AND ACTUALLY THE PROPERTY AS A WHOLE IS PRICED AT WHOLESALE, AT FORECLOSURE, AT SUPER BARGAIN, AT DISTRESS, HOWEVER YOU WANT TO PUT IT...

The amount of land being sold with this property is 2.55 acres. The Western Pawnee County land being sold has been recently selling for about $2,530 per acre. This is the County assessment rate. However, since this property is being sold as a bargain in all respects, I have reduced the assessment value by 1/3 or 33%, yielding $1,686 per acre, to make sure that the land is a bargain. The price of land in Kansas has been rising relatively rapidly in the 2 1/2 years I have owned this property. But I will conservatively use 67% of the Pawnee assessment of land as of 2006 in the following calculations.

The vast majority of house lots around the country range in size from about .1 acre at the small extreme to about 1 acre at the large extreme. We can calculate what this property would be selling for if it consisted of just the house and various typical amounts of land. In other words, we can look at what the price would be if there were not an extra 2 acres or so of land, a 2,800 sq. ft. building, and several other outbuildings included. The house is being sold for $9,700 and the land is $169 per 1/10 acre. So:

House and .10 acre extremely small lot: $9.869
House and .20 acre very small lot: $10.039
House and .30 acre small lot: $10,208
House and .40 acre medium lot: $10.376
House and .50 acre large lot: $10.545
House and .60 acre large lot plus: $10.712
House and .70 acre very large lot: $10.881
House and .85 acre very large lot plus: $11.133
House and 1.00 acre extremely large lot: $11.388

So this shows you that the house is being sold as if it was a foreclosure or a distress sale. But unlike actual foreclosure and distress sales of houses where the price is around $10,000:

WHAT REAL DISTRESS FORECLOSURE HOUSES FREQUENTLY HAVE AS NEGATIVES BUT THIS HOUSE DOES NOT:
1. This house is livable as is. The electrical and plumbing systems are in good working order, and the kitchen and bathroom fixtures are as well. The heating system, however, is limited and needs to be upgraded with propane heating units that cost a few hundred dollars at Home Depot. There are already propane pipes run from the propane tank into the house, and three rooms of the house have incoming propane piping ready to be used. Alternatively, wood stove heating would be excellent here, and I am almost positive wood stove heating would be cheaper given the current oil-based economy.
2. The most important basics of the house are in solidly good condition, including the foundation, the roof, the siding, the floors, and the interior walls. There is no fire damage, holes in walls, holes in ceilings, or holes in floors. There is a small 8 foot square area of missing kitchen ceiling tiles.
3. The property tax for this property is less than $400 per year, less than what it is for most other super bargain foreclosures.
4. The cost of electricity at this property is 9-11 cents per kilowatt hour, versus 15-20 cents per kilowatt for many or most other super bargain foreclosures.
5. Whoever buys this house does NOT have to have the house inspected by and follow any orders of local government employees before they can occupy the premises because that type of regulation does not exist in Pawnee County.
6. Moreover, whoever buys this can update and upgrade as little as or as much as they want free of prohibitions, permit requirements, permit fees, fines, penalties, and so forth because, once again, those mechanisms that add large amount of time and cost to upgrades of housing, for all practical purposes, do not exist in Pawnee County. To sum it up simply, unlike with most other ultra low priced properties around the country, you can do as much as or as little as you want to this property without government interference and without government fees.
7. This house is in an extremely low crime area, whereas most foreclosure super bargains in states such as Michigan and Ohio are located in areas that have far higher burglary and other crime rates.

The fact is, this house is one of the most outstanding bargains in the entire United States being sold in 2008. But you have to be willing to pay a few thousand dollars for the excess land and a few thousand dollars for the quonset building and the other outbuildings in order to take advantage of the house price. And you can't be afraid of living out in the country a ways!

SITE DEVELOPMENTS:
July 22: Over the last few days, updates, additions, and improvements were made to what is now called the "User Guide and Introduction". A "jump link" was installed just above the User Guide, for those who want to skip the Guide and go without any scrolling to a post about a room or a building of the property. Also, the price breakdown was slightly adjusted so as to make sure that it is understood that the land is a bargain.
June 26: It was discovered that the slide show of the pictures of the inside of the house and of the inside of the quonset building expired, so the pictures from that slide show were directly posted on this main page, above the larger outside pictures that have been here from the very early days of the site.
June 17: An architectural drawing of the house was added. This will show you the floor plan of the house: how the rooms are arranged. You can find it below all of the text on the main page, just above the link for the slideshow of the pictures of the inside and just above the 63 large pictures posted on the main page.
June 15: Pictures of the inside of the house and of the inside of the quonset building have arrived, thanks to a very kind someone who took a tour. If you scroll down this main page to just above where the outside pictures are, there will be a link that takes you to a slideshow! We go from no pictures of the insides to a fancy slideshow, fancy that! I wasn't kidding when I told you the site would get better and better if the property did not sell quickly. Does anyone know of another property being sold for about $21,500, in the history of the world, that had this much stuff posted about it?
June 15: A couple of outbuildings that did not yet have their own post on this site now do have one: the two "Circular Storage Buildings." Actually, I was supposed to post these descriptions some weeks ago, but I was preoccupied with many other things until now.
June 15: Two extras the buyer will get were described. This can be found a very short distance below where you are reading now.
June 14: There is now a mortgage plan available, so detailed explanations of who could get a mortgage and of the mortgage plan itself were added.
June 4: There is a new, very detailed explanation, which is especially for potential buyers who are unfamiliar with this type of property, of why the price the property is selling for is very fair to the buyer, while being reasonably fair to the seller as well. If you have any doubts about the property not being worth $22,000, this post will eliminate them! As someone with an economics degree, this post was a nice little achievement for me, but it's main purpose, of course, is to convince the buyer that he or she is not over paying a nickle for the property, and is getting a true real estate bargain at the same time. If you want to read this, go here.
May 15: Another new page has been added, for financial questions asked and answered! The financial questions and answers that used to be on the main questions page were moved to here. This page will feature much expanded answers and information about the price and possible owner financing payment plans.
May 13: Finally, a post giving you a tour of the land has been produced and posted right here on the main page! Also, the grounds topic on the questions and answers page was updated and a small error regarding the dimensions of the property was corrected.
April 28: Another new page has been added! Now you can see exactly where this property is located on any one of six interactive maps. See the section not very far below, and in the column on the right of this page called "Location" for the link to this new page.
April 27: A whole new page has been added, for questions asked and answered. Although largely an expanded restatement of information that is already on the main page, there is also some new, very detailed information to be found that applies to only certain potential buyers. And there are also details that will reassure especially careful buyers. To visit this page, click here!
April 18: Three new posts were added, one detailed description post each for the quonset building, the barn, and the workshop.
April 18: The main property and sale information post, the one titled "Updated Property and Sale Information", was substantially improved and added to.
April 12: A detailed description of the basement and of the foundation was completed and posted.
April 5: The inside of the house detailed room descriptions were completed and posted. There are 11 of these posts. Scroll down to read very detailed descriptions of the rooms, or use the archive index just below.
March 29: The site was born, the main property and sale information post was done, and the pictures were posted

Coming Soon: A description of the outside of the house (even though you can clearly see it in the pictures). Also, a word about the wait an hour and it will change weather that you have here. If you agree that variety is the spice of life, you will enjoy the weather here during the course of the year!

BELOW ALL OF THE DETAILED INFORMATION ON THIS PAGE, YOU WILL FIND 28 BIG AND 63 VERY BIG PICTURES OF THE PROPERTY

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING PICTURES OF THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE: The slideshow of the pictures of the inside of the house and of the inside of the large building is no longer! I was not aware it was going expire and it just expired as of June 24 or June 25. I put out a request for the high resolution photo slideshow to be renewed, but it is unknown whether that will happen.

The good news is that I have the inside of the house and the inside of the quonset building pictures, and I have posted them directly on this page, below all the text and above the large, high resolution photos showing the main features of the property from the outside. The bad news is that I have the pictures in a low resolution format, so the pictures will not be as sharp as they were in the slideshow. The lower resolution photos will be good enough for any serious prospective buyer though, when you consider that the descriptions of the rooms are so detailed that pictures are really not needed at all for a truly serious potential buyer to make a decision to tour or to even buy without a tour.

So for now, you have the pictures I have posted. If the slideshow is renewed, I will upgrade to the higher resolution photos. In any event, though, the pictures are not as valuable as the extremely detailed descriptions of the rooms that have been posted, so I am not going to get upset if the slideshow pictures are not made available again.

POSSIBLE USES OF THIS PROPERTY

Extremely low cost temporary or permanent housing
Extremely low cost retirement property
A 2nd or 3rd home in the country: a vacation retreat featuring total peace and privacy.
Hunting trip lodging, with the quonset building available for processing and temporary storage of game
A Business where the storage of inventory is involved, especially if the inventory space required is in the 1000 to 3000 square feet range. The property has high speed DSL internet service available. Fed Ex, UPS, and the US Postal Service provide package pick up and delivery right to the door of this property.
Storage of a large amount of personal property; storage of a number of large items such as vehicles and boats.

TWO IMPORTANT EXTRAS THE BUYER WILL GET
1, The buyer will get this web site, which means that if the buyer only wants to own for a short time like I did, he or she will be able to easily sell this property him or herself. The buyer will merely have to update the site as necessary, instead of starting from scratch. Even if the buyer turned seller decides to list with a realtor, he or she can direct the realtor to make use of the materials on this web site, which will produce a faster sale in my opinion. The realtor can be instructed to publicize the web address of this site. This site will indefinitely be the home page for this property.
2. The buyer will get a "Care Manual" web page. A web page will soon be constructed that has the names and contact information for the most recommended tradesmen and service companies that would work on this property if asked, of every possible type. There will also be a small number of upgrade recommendations with internet references to products recommended. There will also be a few instructions on how to operate certain aspects of the property, such as the well water. The information is currently on Excel worksheets and will be completely copied over to a web page on or before August 31. This carefully researched information will allow the buyer to save many, many hours of his or her own time with respect to the search for companies and individuals who could do various types of maintenance, repair, and/or upgrade work on this property as needed and as desired.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

The Medium Sized Bedroom

This room can be reached only through a door from the master bedroom. Instead of a bedroom, it could be a huge closet, a storage room, or even an office, although I preferred the smaller room in the middle of the house for my office.

This room has a hardwood floor in good condition. There is no carpet on top of the hardwood floor right now.

All 4 walls have been treated the same. At the bottom, there is a large, good quality wood baseboard, at least 6 inches tall. Above that, and up to about half way up to the ceiling, there is a classic blue and white speckled pattern wall paper. As in the master bedroom, this wallpaper is sealed so tightly to the wall that I may actually be wrong that it is wallpaper. It appears as if it could be a fancy spray paint job instead. Whether or not it is wallpaper, it is nowhere discolored, faded, cracked, or peeling in the lower half. In other words, it is in like new condition.

In the uppper half of the walls, the wallpaper, or else the paint, if it's just paint, is plain white. There is no discoloration, but there are two small cracks in this paper and/or paint on either side of where the heat exhaust duct is. These two cracks, where a little peeling has started, are about 1 1/2 feet long and 1/2 feet long.

The heat exhaust duct itself, of course, is completely sealed from either the master bedroom or the medium sized bedroom. You can see the shape of it when you are in the medium sized bedroom, and it is clearly plenty large enough to handle the exhaust from any type of heating appliance that could be used.

The ceiling of this room has a unique paper on it, which has a pattern sonsisting of small stars in groups. There is a one bulb light fixture on the ceiling, whose switch is just inside the door from the master bedroom.

There are two double paned windows in this room, one on the south side and one on the west side. The dark brown interior frames and sills for these windows are in very good condition. The windows themselves are all in very good condition, with no cracks or chips. The south side outer window was replaced with a brand new window a few months ago.

There is a closet that is about 25 square feet in size off the medium sized bedroom. This closet is described in the entry "Closets."

The medium sized bedroom is almost but not quite square in shape, and is estimated to be about 140 square feet.

PICTURES OF THE INSIDE OF THE HOUSE AND OF THE INSIDE OF THE QUONSET BUILDING

And there were those who thought they would never get here!

UPDATE
The slideshow has expired, and it may or may not be renewed. I don't have control over whether it will be renewed or not. While awaiting whether the slideshow will come back, I have posted all the photos from the slideshow, which are lower resolution versions, but still good enough for truly serious prospective buyers to make good use of.

No longer working link to the slideshow--See the pictures that were in the slideshow immediately below:

CLICK HERE to take the slideshow picture tour of the inside of the house and of the inside of the quonset building after or before you have read the detailed descriptions of the rooms of the house and of the building!

Lol at the mess of papers in my office--I warned you!