Remember that two-flat where we had the trouble determining the actual lot size (see 04/04/2009 post)?   While we were still pursuing it we’d received a call from the owner’s representative asking for our “final and best offer.” We were told at the time that they were giving us one more opportunity to adjust our bid because the seller had four other offers on the property. Once we withdrew our offer, we noticed that the property was promptly put back on the market. So much for the four other offers…

We kept monitoring the two-flat because we could not really find any comparables – and because we could not really put it out of our heads or hearts. Furthermore, we had been house hunting for close to a year and got increasingly anxious to buy.

Fast forward three months: Our two flat is listed with a huge price drop, of a whopping $35,000 – from the original $105,000 asking price down to $75,000. We were worried that this would be again one of those too good to be true situations. And I am sad to report that it was!

We went back to the property to take another look. My heart dropped to the floor when I walked up the front steps and saw through the window plaster and lath lying on the floor. Remember, this place needed a serious clean up, but was otherwise completely intact, including the heating system.

The old hutch in the living room was ripped out of the wall, probably to retrieve the lead from the stained glass doors. Some of the copper piping in that bathrooms and kitchens was removed; some of the walls were ripped open. The two furnaces in the basement were still there, but most of the copper piping was gone. We don’t own the place, nor do we have an offer on it. And still, it felt very personal.

But here is the good news: We have seen much worse. The more we started looking the more surprised we were to see material left behind, and walls only partially open. This was not a finished job. We learned from the neighbors that the vandals – excuse me – thieves, were interrupted by a resident down the street who came home from night shift. She saw someone standing guard, and the guard saw her. The thieves took no chances and were gone when the police arrived a few minutes later.

Here is more good news: This is a case were the neighbors actually look out for a vacant foreclosure on their block and call the police if something looks or sounds suspicious. This is a very good thing, another sign that this is a neighborhood where we’d like to live.

And here is the best news ever: That same week, the copper market collapsed. Whoever got that material out of the two-flat could now only get pennies for what he/she could have previously sold for dollars.

After we recovered emotionally from this shock, we decided that we should put another offer down, despite the damage and despite the smaller lot size. This two-flat in this neighborhood for the price of $75,000 is not something we want to ignore. Which presented us with a new challenge: How can we make sure no one is coming back to finish the job?