I have a opportunity to buy a cat pee house, Should I?
exr...@yahoo.com
about 300000. The place really stinks from pet urine. It's mostly cat
but the neighbor said there were 2 dogs as well as the 9 cats.
Can I fax this place for 50000???? so I have money to renovate and
make a profit when I sell it?
aemeijers
is built, what the floor and wall coverings are, how much work you can
do yourself, so on and so on. I've been in few cat houses where
Cleansing Fire was the only viable solution.
Personally, I would only consider such a place if it was a hell of a
deal, and nothing in the area was even close, price and features wise.
You may end up doing close to an entire gut job on the interior,
including replacing part of the subfloor, and the bottom 4 feet of
drywall anywhere spraying took place. A UV lamp and goggles, or an
electric stick-mounted urine tester like inspectors use in rest homes,
would probably come in handy. Local safety equipment dealer should be
able to hook you up, or point you to a company that can do a site survey
and provide a report. (Before you ask, the stick tester has 2 points on
end, and measures the conductivity between them. If carpet or wood or
bedding or whatever conducts electricity too well, it indicates it has
been repeatedly soaked in pee, which is basically like sea water.)
In most areas, there are a hell of a lot of cheap houses right now from
upside-down owners looking for a way out. The margin for house-flipping
is likely to be real skinny for several years.
--
aem sends...
Robert W
I would consider it only if you can buy the property for the price of the
land. Based on your description, the building may be a write-off. Even
if you can fix up the pee damaged structure (and 9 cats not cared for can
really destroy a house, even without the dogs), you will never be able to
clean some areas, supports, subfloors, beams, etc. Don't forget that you
will have to disclose the original damage as well, which will decrease
your selling price and customer base.
A better option would be to demolish the house and build a new modern
house that will be much easier to sell and have better value for you.
Don't forget to consider demolition costs in your calculations, as well
as comparable recent house/land prices.
Oren
>I have a chance to buy a house that the retail value is 435000 for
>about 300000. The place really stinks from pet urine. It's mostly cat
>but the neighbor said there were 2 dogs as well as the 9 cats.
>
The original owner of my home had two dogs. Hard to imagine this
place; with eleven animals! I worked about six months, before I moved
into the house...
>Can I fax this place for 50000???? so I have money to renovate and
>make a profit when I sell it?
We don't know your OUCH! factor:)
Edwin Pawlowski
<exr...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9lg9149c09blca8q0...@4ax.com...
Probably too big to fax.
Too tough to call sitting here if you want to fix it though. . Worst case
is you have to remove all the flooring and drywall. Best case is you remove
the carpeting and seal other stuff with shellac.
>
Dave Bugg
> I have a chance to buy a house that the retail value is 435000 for
> about 300000.
Given the housing bubble that just burst, you really need to consider if
those values are currently relevant to your market. You just might find that
the realtor's stated price, and the actual value are way far apart.
> The place really stinks from pet urine. It's mostly cat
> but the neighbor said there were 2 dogs as well as the 9 cats.
>
> Can I fax this place for 50000???? so I have money to renovate and
> make a profit when I sell it?
You're planning on Flipping? In this market climate? A large percentage of
foreclosures have been occuring on people thinking they could do a flip and
make easy money.
Summary: You are seeking advice on real-estate speculation. The real estate
agents are always the winners, the mortgage holders are the ones who are at
risk to lose.
--
Dave www.davebbq.com
What is best in life? "To crush your enemies, see them driven before
you, and to hear the lamentation of the women." -- Conan
Smitty Two
exr...@yahoo.com wrote:
You should be able to fax a house for about 25 cents.
As for value, there is no such thing as "wholesale" and "retail" when it
comes to houses. If you buy it for 300k, then you will have paid more
than anyone else on the planet was willing to pay for it.
Oren
<prest...@earthlink.net> wrote:
>As for value, there is no such thing as "wholesale" and "retail" when it
>comes to houses. If you buy it for 300k, then you will have paid more
>than anyone else on the planet was willing to pay for it.
All one needs is the "right buyer!" :)
hal...@aol.com
of work but not super expensive and well worth the efforts:)
Background my mom, step dad and 3 incontenient dogs. honestly god rest
ther souls all were incontenient.
so much so the light brown hardwood floors turned black from pee.
house reeked:(
took 4 months for myself and a friend to fix all the odor issues. plus
renovate nicely
first you CANT wash it off, its soaked in everything.............
begin by removing all possesions, carpeting drapes etc and toss in
trash.
then scrub the entire place down,,,,,,,, nice strong spic and span or
similiar so you feel less gross working there......
then replace any damaged drywall, make mechanical repairs etc
ventilate well during this time to lessen the odor. replace anything
urine damaged.
clean all the air ducts or have them cleaned and deodorized, espically
air returns that tend to collect dust that stinks like pee......
then paint all the walls with oil based BIN or KILZ primer sealer.
refinish hardwood floors with OUTDOOR POLYURETHANE ONLY, so in moist
weather odor never returns, during renovating oil based kilz any
places that will be covered by say new cabinets
outdoor poly concrete floors if you have them.
if hardwood floors were stained they can be bleached to remove black.
we just sanded and sealed them, and covered with carpet, color didnt
matter
then paint home normally, install new appliances, carpeting etc and
move in.
if you follow these simple instructions there will be NO ODOR:)
but dont scrimp on primer sealer or outdoor poly.
incidently this is exactly what fire restoration companies do in fire
damaged smoke odor homes.,
you can call them for a estimate, bend over no KY they all charge big
bucks.
me and my wife looked at a cat pee house in orlando a few years ago,
no biggie for me, told the realtor what to do. she said obviously you
have been thru this before........
we didnt move, and i still want to move to somewhere that never sees
snow:)
buy it if you can get a great deal on price!! get fire restoration
estimate and present to sellers with a home inspection to drive down
price futher:)
I would buy a pee soaked home in a instant its no big deal
Mark Lloyd
>On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:18:24 -0400, exr...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
>>I have a chance to buy a house that the retail value is 435000 for
>>about 300000. The place really stinks from pet urine. It's mostly cat
>>but the neighbor said there were 2 dogs as well as the 9 cats.
>>
>
>The original owner of my home had two dogs. Hard to imagine this
>place; with eleven animals! I worked about six months, before I moved
>into the house...
>
I once had 2 dogs, then one of them had 10 puppies. They didn't go in
the house much, but I really remember what the back yard smelled like.
>>Can I fax this place for 50000???? so I have money to renovate and
>>make a profit when I sell it?
>
>We don't know your OUCH! factor:)
--
Mark Lloyd
http://notstupid.laughingsquid.com
"So far as I can remember, there is not one word
in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
--Bertrand Russell
hal...@aol.com
> On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 12:27:00 -0700, Oren <O...@127.0.0.1> wrote:
> >On Sun, 27 Apr 2008 14:18:24 -0400, exr...@yahoo.com wrote:
>
> >>I have a chance to buy a house that the retail value is 435000 for
> >>about 300000. The place really stinks from pet urine. It's mostly cat
> >>but the neighbor said there were 2 dogs as well as the 9 cats.
>
> >The original owner of my home had two dogs. Hard to imagine this
> >place; �with eleven animals! I worked about six months, before I moved
> >into the house...
>
> I once had 2 dogs, then one of them had 10 puppies. They didn't go in
> the house much, but I really remember what the back yard smelled like.
>
> >>Can I fax this place for 50000???? so I have money to renovate and
> >>make a profit when I sell it?
>
> >We don't know your OUCH! factor:)
>
> --
>
> "So far as I can remember, there is not one word
> in the Gospels in praise of intelligence."
> --Bertrand Russell
50 grand should be far more than you need provided its DIY with
perhaps some help.........
fire restoration company might charge more, call them for estimate
HeyBub
Without going into the numbers, if your question is the cat/dog urine smell,
then, yes that can be overcome.
I assume you're going to replace all the carpets anyway.
Buy (or rent or contract) a commercial Ozone generator. This is the device
used by commercial companies to render a house fit for habitation after, for
example, twelve people and a fish were killed a month previously and left to
decompose.
After scooping up all the disintegrated and decomposed tissue, the maggots,
and scrubbing the walls where tissue was flung as the rotting bodies
exploded due to the build up of internal gasses, they turn on the machine
and leave.
In a short while - like 24 hours - the place is as clean as a hospital
operating room.
You'll have to use your imagination as to what these companies have to deal
with; decorum and the knowledge that sensitive types visit this newsgroup
constrain me from being more graphic.
Oren
> nice strong spic and span
Bob, I have to ask. Do they still make"Spic n Span"?
Boden
Yes, it now makes the tree huggers happy...but doesn't work well. The
forget to put the trisodium phosphate in it now.
Oren
No wonder the bride likes TSP!
hal...@aol.com
The trouble is the odor permates everything all the way thru
it.........
before my mom died I added a outlet in the bedroom. cut out for the
outlet, the box sized piece went in the bucket when i cleaned up.
the next morning my van stank, the yuk odor from the wall piece......
ozone generator no doubt helps but sealing it in works 100%
after i completed the project 4 months, mary ellen moved in, heard
about what had happened and remarked how clean the place was, not a
odor at all..........
if pee permates surfaces by absorbtion dont expect 24 hours of ozone
to fix it.
plus no one can be in home while ozone is in use it hazardous
hal...@aol.com
> > <hall...@aol.com> wrote:
>
> >>nice strong spic and span
>
> > Bob, I have to ask. Do they still make"Spic n Span"?
>
> Yes, it now makes the tree huggers happy...but doesn't work well. The
> forget to put the trisodium phosphate in it now.
this explains why it doesnt clean as well anymore, and its only sold
as a liquid.......
recently i found a old box of the powder it worked great
Smitty Two
"HeyBub" <hey...@NOSPAMgmail.com> wrote:
Sensitive types? What are *they* doing here? BTW, I was interested to
learn from my realtor that if someone died in a house that is for sale,
the fact *must* be disclosed to prospective buyers, unless the person
died of AIDS or complications therefrom, in which case the death *must
not* be disclosed.
Now, I have no particular opinion about this one way or the other, but I
found it interesting.
So after 24 hours of ozone, are the smells gone forever, or do they
start creeping back?
Big_Jake
I have had the pleasure of dealing with this on more than one occasion
House #1 - Up/down duplex with one big family living in it with. When
we got it there were 32 cats living there in about 2200 sf. 5-6 were
already dead. Plaster walls, so nothing truly soaked in. Scubbed the
whole place down, painting EVERYTHING with oil based paint or poly.
Sprayed the attic with Kilz. Eventually sold the house to a friend,
who says the attic and one stairwell still have a mild odor from time
to time.
House #2 - Lower flat in duplex, around 850 sf with 22 cats living in
it. Tenant wanted to stay, so we attached our new ozone machine to
the cold air return on the furnace and left the fan turned to "on" for
around six weeks, putting out 4-5 grams of ozone per hour. In any
other circumstance, I would worry that so much ozone would be
dangerous to the occupants, but the tenant commented that her constant
breathing issues had become much better since we installed the
machine.
She moved out a couple of months later, and we washed and painted the
entire place, again with oil paint and poly. We changed out all the
registers and washed out the register boots as much as possible.
Smell was pretty much gone when we finished, but came back, fairly
strong, within 90 days.
House #3 - 1100 sf duplex upper flat plus attic. Property was vacant,
and a gang of teenagers in the area broke in and were kidnapping dogs
and staging fights. Attic had at least 50 lbs of dog poop.
Amazingly, the house pretty much aired out in 3-4 weeks after we
cleaned it out. Lesson learned - Cat smell is WAY harder to deal with
than dog smell.
There are also two other houses that I dealt with that weren't
anywhere near as bad. I like the ideas that the other posters had,
especially UV lights (for finding urine) and ozone for treating the
smell. Also, I have had some success with a product called "Nature's
Miracle".
BTW, $50K is a lot to spend on odor removal. A good ozone machine is
about $1,000. If the cat urine has gotten into the subfloor or
drywall, it will have to be replaced.
JK
Edwin Pawlowski
"Smitty Two" <prest...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> Sensitive types? What are *they* doing here? BTW, I was interested to
> learn from my realtor that if someone died in a house that is for sale,
> the fact *must* be disclosed to prospective buyers, unless the person
> died of AIDS or complications therefrom, in which case the death *must
> not* be disclosed.
People die in their homes every day. Never heard that had to be disclosed.
Perhaps they are talking about murder?
People also die in hotels every day. The bodies are quietly taken down the
back elevator so as not to disturb the rest of the guests. If you think
about it, big hotels in places like Las Vegas can have 1000 to 4000 rooms
with people of all ages. I imagine they lose a couple a day.
Smitty Two
"Edwin Pawlowski" <e...@snet.net> wrote:
> "Smitty Two" <prest...@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> > Sensitive types? What are *they* doing here? BTW, I was interested to
> > learn from my realtor that if someone died in a house that is for sale,
> > the fact *must* be disclosed to prospective buyers, unless the person
> > died of AIDS or complications therefrom, in which case the death *must
> > not* be disclosed.
>
> People die in their homes every day. Never heard that had to be disclosed.
> Perhaps they are talking about murder?
hmm, my realtor may not have gotten the story entirely accurate, at
least based on this
http://www.wwlaw.com/death.htm
although a few other google hits i read seemed somewhat contradictory.
One of them suggested that any death in the last 3 years was considered
"material" and also had a slightly different interpretation of the aids
disclosure guidelines.
cshenk
One, this isnt the time to try to 'flip' a house, especially if you are new
to it. Unless you are buying for your own use, best skip at this stage.
And yes, it can be fixed but some aspects are going to cost depending on how
bad it is. You may have to rip out drywall and if the floor is carpet over
plywood, you may have to remove that plywood too.
hal...@aol.com
the realtor who explained what to do with my moms stinky house had cat
odor troubles in a unit he owns.
had to rip out carpet, and seal plywood floors.
The OP should call a fire restoration company they usually give free
estimates.
have them visit the home and provide the cost........
ask exactly what their plans are, you might learn something
Stormin Mormon
if the house can be faxxed?
--
Christopher A. Young
Learn more about Jesus
www.lds.org
.
<exr...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:9lg9149c09blca8q0...@4ax.com...
catmanndont
Very interesting reading!
I have been intentionally seeking out and buying smelly houses for 7
years now and have tried all of the fixes offered by the people who
have responded. Most have cost me lots of time, money and long delays
in selling the house involved.
What I can tell you all is that urine contamination is not easy to
fix. My own chemistry background and input that I have gotten from
Vets and a few chemists that understand the chemistry better than I do
have enlightened me to the real problem.
There are 2 kinds of cat odor. Urine, and Scent spray.
Scent spray is actually the easier of the two to remove because it
will oxidize with ozone or hydrogen peroxide or chlorine dioxide and
sometimes with chlorine or oxygen bleaches SOMETIMES If you can get to
the source. Paint, sealers, primers etc does not seal the gas produced
by scent spray in. Remember you are sealing 1 side of a 6 sided object
that breaths every time the barometric pressure changes. Second the
scent spray is always mixed with urine.
Urine residue (urea salt, not ureic acid) comes in 2 forms. 1. that
which has bonded chemically to the material it precipitated on and 2.
that which has crystallized on the bonded variety.
The crystallized version can be dissolved in water and removed, but it
must be REMOVED or it will bond when the water it was dissolved in
evaporates. A shop vac is really good for this process.
The bonded version can not be removed unless you remove the material
it is bonded to or neutralize it in place. There are obvious limits to
neutralizing in place when dealing with high level contamination like
wood that has turned black and becomes wet after being washed and
dried. There are also cases with long term repeated peeing on concrete
that the salt has penetrated to deeply that it can not be neutralized.
Because urea salt is hygroscopic (sucks water vapor right out of the
air) and when urea salt, water and hydrogen sulfide come together,
mercaptin gas is produced. This is similar to the mercaptin gas put in
propane and natural gas so you can smell a gas leak. And mercaptin
gas is produced at quite high pressure which is why it goes right
through sealers and most paint. The paint it does not go through will
blister or the gas will simply find another way to escape.
I have used the natures miracle product mentioned elsewhere and other
enzyme products and found that they often do not work because they are
sensitive to and incompatible with detergent and detergent residue
(read the box) and that includes TSP and SPIC-N-Span in spades.
Through my association with the people at my local REIA (Real Estate
Investment Association) I was turned on to a odor eliminator that
actually worked when NM and others could not. I still have to replace
black wood and baseboards made of structural foam and the really soft
pine and fur, but concrete, plywood, osb, hardwood and grout are
usually really easy to fix.
To avoid being called a spammer, email me if you want the product name
exring, I would but the house in a heart beat if I had a buyer or the
house is in the area were houses are selling. but remember, a 400k
house on the east and west coast is a starter house and will be harder
to sell in the current market, in the rest of the US its an up scale
yuppy house and should be easier to sell.
One of the tactics I have been using recently is to partner with the
seller. When their house has been on the market for a couple of
hundred days and they have had no acceptable offers, and they are
upside down, I go in an offer to fix the house for a big chunk of
money. Maybe 25% of the difference between the highest rejected offer
and the actual price it sells for after I am finished. I file a
mechanics lean on the house so I actually get paid at closing!
Always use OPM!