Another Condo We Viewed Yesterday
This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase through links on my site, I may earn a commission at no cost to you. For more information, please see my disclosure policy.
We went to view another condo at Shadow Mountain yesterday. It is the same complex where we looked at one of two condos last weekend.
Kasi was going along with us this time. She and Kendra met here at my apartment and we went to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant. Then Kasi drove us to the condo.
This one popped up on the real estate site on Friday and Kendra and I was anxious to view it.
It is in a condominium complex Kendra and I favor in a place that I could afford. This condo was listed at $109,900, a good price for this one. It has 795 square feet. One bedroom and one bathroom.
The Listing For The Condo We Viewed Yesterday:
Check out this completely remodeled beauty! Great location and easy access! This single story, one bedroom condo in Shadow Mountain Condominiums features an open living room with a cozy sit round fireplace and a galley kitchen opening up to the dining area. The galley kitchen has stainless appliances, washer/dryer and updated soft-close cabinets and hardware.
Check out this completely remodeled beauty! New carpet, tile, and flooring throughout. New paint, new light fixtures, completely updated bathroom with new tile and fixtures, don’t miss the lighted mirror that defogs itself. The primary bedroom has a large walk in closet as well as access to the patio!
The covered patio area is low maintenance and spacious for your outdoor enjoyment. Brand new AC unit 2023. This gated community offers a clubhouse, two pools and a picnic area. Don’t miss your opportunity to see this one!
Sounded perfect. The photos looked very appealing and I was anxious to go view this condo.
Whoever purchased this condo to flip bought it July 15 for $78,000 and put it up for sale on September 13 for $109,900. That’s an increase of $31,900 or 41.90%.
The Living Room:
Upon first glance we excited about this condo. Aside from the gray fireplace, which I would paint white so the color would recede into the wall color, I loved it.
Kendra said: “See how the dining space floor slopes.” No, I didn’t notice that. She said: “Well, it definitely slopes.”
We had my walker/rollator so we could see if it would fit in the galley kitchen. I let go of it and it rolled down to the wall. Well, maybe I could live with that, I thought.
Then she had me walk to the opening (what do you call these things?) from the living room looking into the kitchen.
“See how the fireplace wall looks off.” I leaned down to look. Well, yes. It definitely wasn’t straight. But is any older structure straight after 40+ years, I wondered?
Actually, I have no idea about such things.
The Dining Space/Kitchen:
It had shelves built into the living room, as you can see above. I adored the light vinyl flooring. There was space for my dining table and chairs.
The kitchen had newer appliances and granite counter tops. A nice large refrigerator. I’ve never had a refrigerator that is that modern.
The configuration was different on this condo we were viewing from the one we’d seen the previous weekend. Instead of the stacked washer/dryer being across from the refrigerator, it was located in the hallway. This left more room than in the other one.
Across from the refrigerator was a pantry. I don’t believe the other one last weekend had a pantry because they had the stacked washer/dryer in its place.
The Kitchen:
The counter tops were pretty. I liked the stainless steel sink and the updated fixtures. And I especially liked that all the doors didn’t have knobs, but instead they had levers. That would be easier for me to open in terms of the arthritis in my hands. (As you get older, these things become more important.)
The Bedroom:
The bedroom just off the bathroom had nice carpeting. The patio door led to the pretty patio with the addition of a stoned area for garden pots. There was a small garden space at each end enclosed with stone.
The Bathroom:
Here is another view of the bedroom. The two ceiling fans had been updated as well.
As you can see, it has a beautiful bathroom. Aside from the gray tiled floor, I really liked the bathroom with the lighted mirror that defogs itself . (Which I’d never even heard of before reading this listing.)
I was in love and eager to possibly make an offer.
Then Kendra told everyone to be quiet. She got down on the floor next to the vent in the bedroom near the patio door. She listened for a minute or so. Then she said: “There’s a water leak.”
I was surprised. Why would she hear a water leak in the vent in the bedroom?
A Problem Detected:
Kendra went outside to look at the area with the AC unit, which was just a year old. She came back in and said: “I don’t see any issue out there.”
She wanted to look in the outdoor closet that shared a wall with bedroom that vent, but they had not given her any keys, just a key code for the front door. (Was that on purpose, I wondered?)
Then she pointed to a portion of the ceiling that I would have completely missed had she not been there. It was bowed downward. Water had gathered in that area at some point.
Then Kendra walked around and showed me where someone had patched long areas of wall in various corners. She said: “Those are cracks due to structural issues, and they patched them and painted over it.”
“But why wouldn’t they have fixed these problems instead of doing all the cosmetic changes in this condo?” I asked her.
Kendra said her friend Dan, another realtor and house flipper, had purchased and flipped several condos in this complex. He said there were structural problems in some of the units. And before he bought another one, he was going to ask for some type of review that sounded to me like having an engineer come in and investigate. I can’t remember what Kendra called it.
This is the friend who called to tell her that the condo we looked at last week there had gone down $10,000. And he also told her she would smell smoke when she unlocked the front door. And he was right.
Structural Issues:
Now I knew why this “gem” was such a good price.
A realtor had been there when we arrived and she was taking videos of the condo.
Kendra said she was “newish” and probably had out of town buyers and was sending the video to them. Had she noticed what Kendra pointed out, I wonder, since she’s fairly new at this?
Well anyway, we didn’t put in an offer on the condo we viewed, as I’m sure you’ve already guessed. Kendra said the one we’d seen the week before there, the one with the smoke smell, was better structurally. But she had said when we viewed it, though the price had come down to $100,000, she would not offer more than $80,000.
Kendra told me not to worry. In about a month she said she would be finished dealing with a financial tax matter and would be able to borrow money again. She said: “I will find you something. A small house, a condo, or we’ll get a duplex.”
Kendra said she’d feel better if we could find property where she’d know of the underlying issues that needed to be taken of. She said she’d feel better if she had these things figured out and fixed.
There are not that many duplexes for sale. I wondered if she’d be looking for a needle in a haystack. And if she had to tear into walls and ceilings, how long would that take?
I will leave it to my daughter. This is not my bailiwick. I wouldn’t have noticed these things if I’d viewed this condo by myself. Thank goodness I have her to look at property with me.
What a blessing our grown children can be as we age! I’m so glad Kendra was able willing to go with you and help make this big decision. I know when “problems” come up in our life we often give a call to our son who knows exactly who to contact and who will give the best deal/service for us.
555j2aijDCz’ OR 771=(SELECT 771 FROM PG_SLEEP(15))–
555-1 OR 485=(SELECT 485 FROM PG_SLEEP(15))–
5559RHvhmLC’) OR 961=(SELECT 961 FROM PG_SLEEP(15))–
555-1)) OR 802=(SELECT 802 FROM PG_SLEEP(15))–
555-1 OR 251=(SELECT 251 FROM PG_SLEEP(15))–
555-1 waitfor delay ‘0:0:15’ —
555
555
555
555
555
555
555
555
555
So glad you have your daughter looking out for you. You have to be so careful today. So many flips that only take care of the cosmetic things. You will find something Brenda.
I thought it was beautiful too. Glad your daughter is going with you. She’ll make sure you get a good deal and a good home. I love seeing all the places you’ve looked at. It feels like we’re on this journey with you!
Lipstick on a pig is still just lipstick, and the pig is still there underneath. That condo looks like it has some mighty expensive lipstick.
My question is – how do you take care of structure issues in a condominium that has a floor or more above you with other units and units all around you? I would assume that the entire building has structure issues and anything you spent money on to try and fix would be only temporary because the structural issues are in the entire building. You could see that the concrete on the patio right outside the slider doors was cracked. To me, that is not a good sign. I’m no expert, but it speaks of unstable land underneath, not properly prepared before the building was erected, or an ongoing underground water issue that was covered over and ignored by the original developer, it could be many things. Geez. What a blessing to have such a knowledgeable daughter with you to point out the issues! But what a conundrum, and so frustrating. Limited places for sale, limitations on what you can do physically yourself to care for your residence and a limited budget.
It’s an iffy situation, she said. Most all of the patios I’ve seen there and in the other condo place we’ve looked at has cracked sidewalks. And issues that seem to be structural. Floors slope, etc.
Spot on Jan. soon as I saw the photo with cracked concrete I thought that’s a leak. I’m in Australia and the state I live in before purchasing a home there a companies you can contact to fully inspect the property and they prepare a report for you advising of any issues. Of course this can become expensive, you want to make sure you really want the home.
Thank GOD your daughter is smart!! What a lot of problems to fix. Too bad…it looked very cute!! Well, so glad she is willing to help you get into something…hopefully much better and maybe even at a lower price!! Don’t you think prices might drop after the election??
I don’t know. The demand for housing here right now dictates the prices. So many people moving to this city and not nearly enough places for them to live.
That has been the issue here too but at least in this complex we are in…a LOT of empty ones since the 13% increase last year.
Oh that’s a bummer. But a $31,000+profit – no way did those changes reflect that cost for roughly 800 sq feet since July and a heck no with structural issues! For that they could have fixed the structural issues. Makes you wonder what else they hide, right? You know it’s really sad that people do this, don’t you think? I’m so thankful your daughters went with you. You have an agent and inspector all in one!!! I agree – a tiny house or duplex. Then there are no surprises from a complex! Besides then you can invest the money in landscape care rather than an HOA too! The right one will come along. How unfortunate.
It was a disappointment. I said I don’t like someone living above me. But that was such a great price for such a pretty condo that I wanted to see it. I should have known. If it’s too good to be true, it probably is.
You dodge a bullet,Brenda. I probably would’ve thought to make an offer,too, at first sight. Leaking water is no joke. If floors and ceilings are warped and water STILL leaking, where you can actually hear it. then you would’ve probably had to knock into all sort of walls to find the leak ruining all the pretty finishes anyway. It happened to a neighbor of mine where they had to dig into both the ceilings and drill in the concrete foundation. What a kean eye/ear your daughter has! She’s right…you can make anything just as pretty without all that hassle. Your home is out there…and you’ll find soon!
She keeps telling me, mom, don’t worry about the inside because I can take care of that. But she’s so busy I hate to bother her when she won’t be making any money off of it. And I don’t know how much time it takes to do these things when she has other jobs and a child to pick up at school in another town (where the father lives) and take to sports, etc. However, she will inherit it when I’m gone and it will add to her properties.
A good realtor makes all the difference. My realtors, and husband and wife, are so conscientious, would rather really help you to make a good decision rather than make a quick dime. So glad you had Kendra there! I know you’re concerned about getting out of your apartment before your lease is up, but just keep the faith. It will work out. I saw that one the other day and I thought you’d like it, but you don’t need me and Kendra both helping you and she has lots more knowledge than I do.
I don’t know how she heard that water in the vent. I’m not knowledgeable about such things. I didn’t notice it certainly, but she must have even better ears than I do. When she got down on the floor to listen to the wall vent I thought she’d lost it until she explained it to me.
I’m glad the problems were spotted Brenda. When I saw the patio I was concerned with the stones that could make you fall. Your perfect home is out there you’ll find it.
Wow – you’re right about those stones. I didn’t even think about those!
I thought about that, but just told myself I could be really careful on those stones. Kendra is looking for something that is as flat as possibly with wide enough doors that I could get a walker/rollator through. For instance, I can’t get it through the bathrooms here. But she also mostly looks at and purchases older properties. I guess they were made better back then. However, the older the home, I figure I’m probably looking at more narrow doorways. I don’t use it all that much now, but there are times when I have to walk with it.
You are fortunate that your daugher knows just what to look for when looking at housing. That one sounded really good until she knew of things that a regular person wouldn’t know about but she knows! It looks really nice otherwise and I thought it was set up nicely.
May you find ther perfect place for you soon!
We are enjoying “going along with you” on your journey to find a new home. Thank you for including us!
I like all the input in the comments!
Thank goodness for Kendra and her knowledge. You definitely avoided or missed a mess. I would not have noticed those things either.
The right one will come along when it’s meant to.
Relax and enjoy your Sunday.
Kasi said as we were leaving: “Well, wouldn’t that show up in the inspection?” Kendra didn’t answer. So I guess you can’t count on that.
Thank goodness for your daughters. Especially Kendra, who can spot issues that most of us would miss. The right place will come along, this is a major investment both in terms of money and your peace of mind.
She won’t “pull the trigger” as she calls it unless she feels it’s structurally sound. She said if we had to buy a house that I wouldn’t have enough money to put down and she’d probably have to help me. I would hate to do that, but she said we could work something out.
I too thought it was perfect for you. I would have made an offer on it myself if I were looking. Thank goodness for Kendra and her experience. I’m sure she will find you the right place. We don’t have duplexes out here either. It’s a shame. And there are very few small just condos.
What surprises me is that it’s very rare to find a bedroom on the first floor of a townhouse/condo. So many seniors want to scale down and live in a condo, but don’t like or can’t go up stairs. Don’t builders take that into consideration?
Are there any condos where you’d have an elevator?
When I saw the outside first, I thought right away, oh, wow, lots of room for flowers, plants and patio furniture, for Brenda, but then when Kendra heard the water leak, I knew not a good idea at all. So disappointed for you. Thank goodness, because I, like you, would have been ready to make an offer.
And thank goodness again for Kendra, because you know she will be able to find the right home for you. Wishing you Good Luck in your hunt. I enjoyed seeing your home searches.
It’s costly, but she will not take a house down to the studs and fix things. Not everyone does that. Like the person that bought this condo in July and is selling it in September, they merely made cosmetic changes.
Wow! It seemed too good to be true, and it was. You will find the right place for you.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. Either that or I worried someone would beat me to it. And then I find out what she told me and that changed the whole outlook of things.
Thank goodness you have Kendra’s expertise. She knows what to look for that the average person would never think to look for.
And to think she learned all this stuff from selling houses and watching YouTube!
I love watching YouTube. I’ve learned a lot from it, and watching shows like “Bargain Block,” and going back way further, the guys on PBS 30 years ago who rehabbed buildings or went in and helped new home owners with issues.