| In April of the next year we found another government-owned fixer-upper in a nearby development. This house cost more, but was in a development with additional amenities and was about 600 square feet larger. We bought it from FreddieMac. Theirs was not an auction system. The house was officially listed with a local agent and worked like any ordinary purchase: We as the buyer negotiated with FreddieMac as the owner, via the agent. They agreed to 8.2% less than the original appraised price. We couldn’t take possession until August, since the previous title company had lost documents that had to be replaced. Using some of the same workers as we had in HUD House, and the same techniques, the house was ready to sell the following April and closed at Thanksgiving of that year. Deducting repairs, closing and holding costs and commission, we netted $12,000 before income taxes. |
