Homes for sale huntsville Huntsville Alabama Real Estate

Please let us know when you have picked a home inspector. We can coordinate schedules and make arrangement to get him in all the units.
Has the seller signed yet? I want to get the inspector ready.

We did get the fax with the paperwork and check but can't read it. Was there another fax?

Have you spoken with home inspectors yet?

I called the owner who told me they have been with Nationwide Insurance since they have owned the property. I spoke with Barbara at 256-350-6315 she said the premium would remain "about the same" as the current $3,583 but they would need to speak with you to get more information .

I spoke with Aubrey Tycer with Tycer Home Inspections. He gave me an estimate of $750 to inspect all of the units and do a radon test on one of them. I think you could probably get him to go a little lower on the price. The link below is to his website.

http://www.tycerpropertyinspections.com/StaffProfiles.aspx?ID=618196


The link below is to other area home inspectors that you may consider using or you may consider using some that you already know.

http://www.ashi.org/find/results.aspx?st=1&lat=34.7364493&lng=-86.5501654&radius=150

you can follow the link below to the form. I had to make some assumptions on your down payment and interest rate. Your lender will prepare a more accurate estimate.

The form "Estimated Closing Statement" has been set up for your review.

On being able to resell;

The email I sent you below shows comparable units that sold for more that the agreed purchase price. Based on that data one could expect to be able to resell at or greater than your purchase price. As I mentioned on our initial conversations, my personal investment preference is for single family properties. One of the reasons being they are more liquid. There are fewer prospective buyers for multifamily properties and in general they take longer to sell. That being said, based on the sales data, I think you are getting a very good price on the units.

Since this transaction is a little more complicated than most we need to stick with a proven closing attorney. Stan McDonald and Associates have closed a number of transactions for us. His office is always efficient. In this transaction Seller will probably not come to closing so the attorney will need to coordinate a mail away closing. The property consists of six tax parcels / legal descriptions. The closing attorney will need to make sure that title searches are performed on all to make sure there are no unknown liens or encumbrances. I think that the property can be transferred with one deed but the attorney will let us know for sure.

Once we get all the forms executed by both parties, I will send you a list of home inspectors and coordinate with the inspector and tenants to make the properties available. It is not necessary for you to be present but most inspectors like the buyer to be there. My preference is that you be there to see anything the inspector points out first hand and to ask questions.


Thanks for the documents. I just have a few questions. How much will be my closing costs not including bank fees and loans? Do you have a real estate attorney that you recommend?

At the price  will I be able to sell this complex at this price in the current market? The age of the houses concern me a little. I just want to make sure that I am not over paying for this property.

 Please see the attached paperwork we need to complete. I'm sure you will have questions so feel free to call me at any time. If I am not able to pick up just leave a message.

Under the sales contract;

I assumed you would make a 20% down payment. If that is not correct we don't need to alter the agreement.

On a property in this price range a $2,000 earnest money is customary. The earnest money check would not be deposited into Rosenblum' s escrow account until all parties sign the agreement. At that point the funds would be held in escrow and credited to you at closing. If the closing fell through through because you couldn't get funding of if we found something on inspection, we would get you and seller to sign a mutual release from the contract and return the funds.

Please make out a check to Rosenblum Realty Inc. for $2,000 with "earnest money " in the memo line. You can scan and email a copy of the check for now and then then mail it to my attention at Rosenblum Realty 2314 South Memorial Parkway Huntsville, Al 35801.

I set the closing date as the end of August to allow your lender plenty of time. We can close sooner or if needed extend that date out further.

Since there are several properties with six legal descriptions in the tax records, I attached a schedule of properties including all six parcels.

Since the properties were built prior to 1979 federal law requires that we include a lead based paint form. Seller is not aware of the presence of lead based paint but it's best to assume that it exists and just take precautions. The link below is to the EPA lead based paint pamphlet referenced in the form.

http://www.epa.gov/lead/pubs/leadpdfe.pdf

Under the inspection addendum I allowed 15 business days from everyone signing the agreement to have inspections done. This should be more than enough time to have the inspections done..

I also attached the real estate services and dual agency forms that I already sent.

You can email the forms to me and I will forward then to seller for their signatures.

At this price they wouldn't be able to pay closing costs or make any repairs if we found something on inspection. The transaction would be 1032 exchange for tax purposes so we will need to include that wording on the agreement. It wont effect you in any way but is required by the IRS.

At this sales price we would be at $34,800 per unit. The link below is to a summary of two sales and several active duplex listings that are well above that price.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112404050

I will just wait for the seller's response, and thanks for the heads up.

I still haven't heard back from the owners yet but will let you know as soon as I do.

We sent notices to the one bad tenant to start the process of getting them out. I sent a 14 day termination of lease notice for violation of the lease. The tenant's father is still paying the rent but the unit is junky and we have a excellent tenant that wants the unit.

I just received 2009 expense information below from the owner. Please let me know if there is anything else we can furnish you.

The following is the information that we are using on our 2009 income tax.

Mountain Park 2009

Waste Removal $2,00l.90
Taxes 3,734.04
Insurance 3,272.00

Thank you for taking the time out to show me the comparisons. You would be the first person I recommend for any real estate needs in the Huntsville area. I am sure your other clients feel the same way.

I guess I will wait for the seller's response. I think my offer is pretty reasonable. At that price, the investment property is returning at a 10% cap rate, which is in range with all the investment properties in Huntsville.

I have spoke to several banks, and I can get the loan for this transaction fairly quickly. I haven't gotten a response from seller yet but wanted to provide you with the best comparables that I can. Since the property is so unique, it will be hard.

To help you get a feel for property values and types of properties on Monte Sano in general the link below is to a summary of MLS activity on Monte Sano since 6/1/09.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112343249

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112343267

2500 HUNTSVILLE STREET is actually in a part of town that is not very good. The schools are poor and there is crime in the area. Most of the other sales were in the five points area north of downtown. The schools that serve this area are not very good at all. 1506 TOLL GATE ROAD is the closest to the Monte Sano property. You can click on the addresses to see a map of the location.

The link below is to a summary of the sales above.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112343273

You are wise to be cautious in purchasing multi-family property in an area that you don't know. It's a big commitment and you may not have enough information to feel comfortable yet. I would prefer that you take whatever time you need to gather information.

The income and expense data I sent you includes all expenses that are paid through our office. I will ask seller to give us current data and documentation on
Insurance, Waste Removal and Taxes.

When you ask if this would be a good investment, its hard for me to give an answer. As I had mentioned several times most of my investor clients buy single family houses with 20% down and build wealth through appreciation. Even if there is a slight negative cash flow, over time they build wealth as the property appreciates. It's easy to track a specific single family neighborhood over time to predict future annual appreciation. It is not so simple on multi family. There is limited data and the market tends to be more volatile.

Multi-family is more geared towards immediate cash flow with appreciation secondary. You have more experience than I in operating multi-family.

While we are waiting on the owner's response my suggestion is to step back and slow down a little. The property is not on the market and if we need to wait a few weeks it will still be available.

Now might be a good time to talk to your lender. Most of my lender contacts are for single family properties. I do have a couple of other contacts that do commercial and multifamily but it has been a while since I have had to use those resources. You might be better served by contacting a lender that you already have a relationship and history with. The seller will probably ask for a pre-approval letter from your lender before agreeing to a contract.

The state of Alabama Real Estate commission asks that we give a real estate brokerage disclosure form to prospective clients as they begin to rely our counsel. The form is not a contract or agreement, it just states who a realtor can represent. If we were able to put together a sale on this property we would represent both you and the seller. I will get that form to you as time allows.

Just let me know if there is anything else we can be doing for you.

Can you please tell the owner that I would like to make an offer of We have excellent credit, and getting a loan would not be a problem. There is a roof that may need to be replaced, and other minor repairs. There is a good chance that I will need a managment company to manage the property. All the units do not have central heating and cooling. In some ways it is good, and at the same time it does lower the value of the properties.

This is a serious offer, and please let me know if it is acceptable for the seller.

Based on the expenses on your sheet (some may not be current ** ):

Insurance: $1,500.00 **
Waste Removal: $2,069.00 **
Other Exp: $2,400.00
Vacancy: $1,782.00
Maintenance: $3,300.00
Taxes: $3,715.00 **
Management: $5,940.00
----------------
$20,706.00

Current Rent Roll: $59,400.00

Net Income: $ 38,694.00

On the Montesano property, yard signs generate a good bit of traffic. We also post on MLS and our website which gets a LOT of traffic. I have a handful of clients who self manage. I post their properties on our website at no cost to them. We also post on Craig's List and few other real estate related sites. Craig's List is effective as well. In this price range we have had success newspaper ads. While we are able to rent without using the paper, we have a couple of owners who put their properties in the paper.

Just let me know what days and times work best for you. We will make arrangements for you to see a couple of the units.

Do you think I can meet with you or your wife at the property and see and answer any questions I may have?

The units usually rent very quickly, within a week or two. I can have my wife Christina and you talk. She is the first line on this property.

A lot of the work that we have done was deferred maintenance and improvements. As I mentioned early in our discussions when we picked up the properties they had been mismanaged for years and has run down. We have has to replace several roofs and appliances, some water heaters, heaters and AC units. I think if you take some time and look at the narrative of each repair you will get a feel for what we have done.

We will need to confirm these numbers with the owner but the following was stated on the listing when the property was on the market.

Insurance: $1,500
Waste Remov: $2,069
Taxes: $3,715
Lawn care was included in the other maintenance costs.

As I mentioned we had the property under contract for sale in the summer of 2008 but the buyer's funding fell through. After several weeks of hard negotiation seller reluctantly agreed to sell 

I proposed to them that we offer you the same price that they has agreed to in 2008 and they agreed. In that agreement seller was to pay $3,500 in purchaser's closing costs.

If you are moving towards making an offer please let me know. It will be very hard to find apples to apples comparative sales but I need to do my best to find at least some sales for you to use as a benchmark. Any offer should be made subject to home inspections, radon testing and termite inspections.

You will or course need to see the property first hand.

There is a tenant that Christina pays to pick up litter and branches. I don't know if the tenant has the ability to be a limited services on-site manager or not. Christina can better answer that question.

The current owner's pay a 10% management fee. It might be that an on-site manager could be substantially less. If we do get that far we can assist you in marketing the units and provide you the leases we use.

Thank you for the report. How many days does it usually take to fill a vacancy? It looks like there are a lot of repairs. How are the conditions of the apartments now? How much is garbage, lawn care and taxes?

Can you please ask the seller to come down on the price. They only collected I did get some additional information and have attached the income and expense information. The owner has had the property since 1995. She can't recall the purchase price but thinks that it was in the mid $300,000 range. She said she would check her records and let me know.

I will ask the owner's what they have to clear in order to sell and let you know. We will also need to send you and income and expense record. We have been getting the property in good shape from several years of mismanagement. My wife Christina is more closely involved with the day to day operations than I. I will asked her about how many units have been upgraded and if there are any remaining that need work.

Will you self manage or will you need a property manager or on site manager?

The Monte Sano Apartments seem like a good investment. Can you tell me how much the owner paid for the apartments, and can the price be lowered?

At the current asking price, it is giving a 7% return.

The two emails below are for the Hampton Cove property and for multi-family property.

The link below is to four active listings of multifamily properties that may be worth a closer look.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112223542

6206 FRIAR TUCK CIRCLE is near the bridge street shopping and entertainment center, Redstone Arsenal and Research Park. The schools that serve the property are not the best and it is located in an area with a high concentration of multi-family properties. It has been on and off the market since 07/30/09. The link below is to where the current owner bought it in 2006 for $196,000. It is currently listed at $179,000. Counting the 6% broker's fee seller is willing to take a $28,000 loss to get out of the property. The listing indicates an 100% occupancy but does not include full financial information.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112223543

For some reason this owner is willing to take a substantial loss to get out of the property. It is not uncommon to see owners of multi-family units in this position and is one of the reasons I urge extreme caution with MF units.

We had to look back to the peak of Huntsville's housing boon in 2007 to find any sales. The link below is to a summary of those sales. Note the number of withdrawn listings that didn't sell and how prices have crashed since 2007.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112223544


276 GATE STREET In Gurley holds some interest long term because Huntsville is slowly growing in that direction. As I mentioned before, I researched and previewed this property in 2007. The overall condition was decent but I think I did recall some deferred maintenance. There are a few smaller, older houses surrounding the property and I think I recall a mobile home or two nearby. There are railroad tracks a about 100 yards south of the property. I was there when a train went by. While you can definitely hear the train, it didn't shake the buildings.

I have emailed the listing agent asking for actual expense records. I think there is a resident manager.

The link below is to a satellite image of the property.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=276+GATE+STREET,+GURLEY,+AL+35748&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=33.352165,86.396484&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=276+Gate+St,+Gurley,+Madison,+Alabama+35748&t=h&z=16


12000 SUGAR MILL CIRCLE , #ABCD is located in a decent southeast Huntsville neighborhood. The schools are good and commutes to Redstone Arsenal modest. There is a high concentration of multi-family units in the area and some of the units may back up to busy streets. If the mapped location on the listing is correct the unit backs up to Hobbs Road, a pretty busy four lane street. It is a little hard to commute from south Huntsville to other areas of the city including Research Park.

This property has been on market since 04/01/10. The current owner paid $117,000 for the property in 2005. The listing shows two vacant units and twos leases as month to month. I have asked the listing agent for the missing expenses information.


12007 SUGAR MILL CIRCLE is in the same area and is listed as a short sale. The seller is about to loose the property in foreclosure and is asking the lender to let him sell for less than the loan balance to avoid foreclosure. The lender may pursue the seller for any unpaid balance on the loan. Wile the financials show a net income of $6,700 per year one has to wonder why the seller is having to sell for less than the loan amount. If the map placement is correct, this unit does not back up to a busy street.

The current owner paid $232,000 for the unit in 2007. Again a $77,000 loss is not a very good investment.


The link below is to a summary of MLS activity in the development since 01/01/07. It isn't pretty. Prices have dropped remarkably since 2007.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112223550


The link below is to a multi-family unit that we still manage. We had it sold in 2008 but the purchaser's funding fell through. It is in a great area with good schools just east of Huntsville's downtown and medical districts. Monte Sano is a very desirable area. The property is old and we have consistent maintanance. When we picked up management in 2007 they have been mismanaged. We have been getting the units in good condition and raising rents since we began management. wile the financials were accurate at the time of the listing we have increased rents and it will take a few days to update the expenses. I think rents are approaching $500 now. I don't know waht the current owners paid for the property nor their purchase date.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112223551

If you are interested in any of the above properties please let me know and I can provide additional information.
I am pointing out this house to investor clients. I think it can be purchased well under market value.

The house at the link below was listed at $205,000 / $100 psf. The average sold price in the neighborhood is $103 psf. She is thinking of listing at $199,000 or $97 psf. With a discounted brokers fee she may be willing to go lower. Her goal is to sell without bringing money to closing. She paid 189,000 in 2006. At a 3% broker fee and no paid costs for purchaser her breakeven on a sale will be in the $190,000 $92 psf range. Compared to the average sold price of $103 psf there is about $22,000 in equity at that price.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112215985

We have the house rented at $1,195 to a very stable tenant who is going to try and buy the house. I'm not sure if he will be able to however.
After having worked with dozens of investors and having many more come to us after having made poor purchase decisions, my advice to investors is to use caution. During the housing boon in Huntsville from 2005 to 2007, many our of state and out of country investors made horrible, financially devastating purchase decisions based on unsubstantiated claims of appreciation and rental values.

There were three less than honest local realtors who partnered with investment groups, builders and lenders to make fortunes at the expense of investors. They sold properties that were much too far from Huntsville to be attractive to tenants. The Realtors were the listing agents for the properties so the buyers relied entirely on the information provided by the realtors. The realtors also did property management and had in-house loan originators to fund purchases.

They promised annual appreciation of $10,000 in neighborhoods that weren't selling at all. They promised rents at levels that were $300 - $400 higher than market value. The investors told me the actual rental amounts or that the property didn't rent at all. In researching MLS data I saw that the realtors were entering inflated data in the the MLS for rental amounts in order to falsely inflate rental values to attract more investors. They were also involved in filing homestead paperwork with the state showing that the investment properties were owner occupied to cut property taxes in half. I know this is unbelievable but the tax records are public record and I researched it myself.

You probaby ask; How could they get away with this? I asked this myself. Local boards of realtors are member funded. My experience with filing complaints with the local board is that the goal is to get everyone to play nice and not to self regulate ethics. I filed a grievance with the local board against one of the same realtors mentioned when they attempted to rob me of a commission. I received about 30% what I was due and no action was taken against the other realtor. The State Real Estate Commission does have enforcement power but by the time the investors came to me they were so downtrodden and embarrassed the did not want to take further action. I did see that one of the realtors mentioned was closing their office.

That being said, Huntsville is a great area with steady job growth and a bright long-term future. With good research and knowledge of the area I don't have any doubt that we can find properties to meet your goals.

As mentioned, my preference is single family homes. They appreciate better, are much easier to manage and are much more liquid than multi-family properties. Also one must use extreme caution in researching data on multi-family properties. In general the information provided on the listing is optimistic at best.

I mentioned one property in particular that I had my eye on. The text below is from an email I sent a local investor that we have worked with for several years. They both work, have children and haven't been able to schedule a time to see the house at 102 TIMBERWOOD LANE yet. If you do have an interest in the property let me know. I can preview the house, take additional photos and do some in depth research.



In considering the purchase of a new property a couple of neighborhoods come to mind. The first in Madison has been a consistent performer in terms of appreciation and rentability.

The link below is to active listings in the neighborhood. The two larger two story houses are in a small cul-de-sac that consists of homes that are much larger and more expensive than surrounding properties. When the houses were under construction in 2006 and 2007 I was puzzled as to why the builder would have houses that were so dissimilar from the neighborhood. The surrounding area will hold the values of the more upscale houses down.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112101178

At $85 per square foot the house at 102 TIMBERWOOD LANE really caught my eye. The link below is to a summary of sales in the neighborhood since 05/01/09. I did filter out the two story homes that tend to sell at a lower per square foot price.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112101185

The average sold price was $99 psf with a highest sale at $103 psf. The average days on market were remarkably low in our current market at 24 days, The range was 9 to 41 days on market.

The subject property was originally listed 02/17/10 for $182,900. At that time seller was JAE OK KIM. On 04/20/10 the price was reduced to the current $169,900 with PRUDENTIAL, INC. RELO as seller.

The link below is to rentals in the neighborhood. My best estimate is that the house will rent in the $1,200 - $1,295 range.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112101194

I think this property would be an excellent long term investment. We manage several of the rentals in the neighborhood. I do annual market estimates on three of the properties and found that even over the past two years we have seen modest appreciation when most neighborhoods are loosing value.

The other area I like is just west of Redstone Arsenal. There is a huge amount of growth in the area including active construction and upscale homes. The two current negative is the roads and the school only has an average ranking. There is a new school under construction. With a large number of moneyed, educated taxpayers with school age children moving into the area, I cant help believe that the school will continue to improve. There is planned road construction and improvement in the area that will help solve the roads problem.

The link below is to active listings in two established neighborhoods in the area.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112101276

384 RIVER BEND DRIVE and 203 TURNBROOK DRIVE are in an older neighborhood that has seen recent improvement. There are few houses in this price range available in safe areas At $85,000 / $66 per square foot and $114,000 / $67 per square foot they seem well priced. The condition is a question however.

At $139,900 / $94 psf 116 BREMERTON DRIVE seems aggressively priced. We have several rentals in the neighborhood that always perform well. Appreciation has been flat in the neighborhood for the past two years but in a normal market we see 3% to 5% annual appreciation.

234 SHADOW COURT SW is well priced at $72 psf. but when renting and an eventual resale two story homes will also not be suitable for elderly or families with toddlers.

The link below is to listings in a newer subdivision a little further south. At $73 psf / $243,600 the new construction at 701 HARBOR FERRY DRIVE caught my eye. While Breland is a production builder, I have been pleased in my experiences with them.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112101290



The link below is to a handful of multi-family properties that MIGHT be worth a closer look. The sugar hill properties are in a good area but I think they have been on market a long time. We actually manage the Hick Davis property. It is not our listing however. It is difficult to manage and has relatively high maintenance costs. It has been on market a long time. I like the area of Gurley for long term growth. The city is slowly growing in that direction . The property was on the market a few years ago and I previewed / researched it for a client. I cant recall the details of waht we found but we opted not to purchase the property.

http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=7112145471


I am a little pressed for time this morning but did want to get an initial response to you.

Again my advice is to move slowly. If you want me to provide more information on the Timberwood house please let me know. I expect it won't stay on market long if it is in decent condition.