Currently, we have seen a lot of homes on the market that are short sales or foreclosures here in Brevard County Florida. And, often times our buyers are looking at pool homes. Well, often times foreclosures or vacant short sales and pools just don't mix. The lender's are often out of town, with no one to look after the pools. They go unkept and untreated. The screened enclosures are torn, if there is one. Sometimes the fences around these unsafe pools are broken down, or the gates are open. It can be a hazard. The pools breed mosquitoes, small snakes, alligators (should I say that? not usually) and all kinds of other creepy crawlie critters. It is a health hazard.
And, the biggest concern maybe the thought of the neighborhood kids sneaking into the backyard and playing in, around and near the pool. It's a scary prospect.
I have recently been working with an FHA buyer. The pool and backyard of a particular home being offered for short sale that we were looking at was pretty bad. The pool was half full with a green algae where we couldn't see down to the bottom. The mosquitoes were thick. The yard was a mess. We questioned the lender on the pool, being that the buyer was going FHA with 3.5%. Would it or could it be an FHA problem? The lender responded that if there was brown algae in the pool, it could be a qualifying problem for the borrower. FHA would not approve the property, as it was a health hazard.
Hmmm, interesting, as the buyer's friend who works for a pool company said, "no problem, that pool has green algae in it, not brown."
Brown algae? Green algae? Algae is algae.
The buyers have since ruled this property out for various reasons.
If the algae were gone, would it still be considered a health hazard and an FHA problem?
This article is authored by
Sandy Shores Realtor, Melbourne FL Real Estate
Brevard County Real Estate & Investing
Palm Bay Florida Real Estate News
that for you
That is the great thing about clorox, it's an equal opportunity, algae killer....it will kill brown, green..yellow..... any kind of algae.. :)
Hi Sandy, I don't know anything about algae, but I continue to be shocked by the Banks that "own" these properties and their apparent lack of any responsibility -- especially for children in the area or yikes creating a neighborhood petting zoo of alligators and snakes... I guess that's off topic :-) sorry.
Hi Sandy, We don't have Alligators here in Washington, but we do have and West Nile Virus. Now that homes with hot tubs and pools are not being maintained, mosquitoes are taking over. The worst advise I've heard was to pour a cup of motor oil in the pool or hot tub. This would keep the mosquitoes from breeding however it is an ecological mess along with ruining the elements. Be careful not to do more harm than good...
I agree with the other commenters that it is appalling how long the banks are taking and then letting the properties just run even further into ruin. But it was the banks that got us here, so why should I be surprised?
Pools are heaven in the summer, but they can be hell if they are not maintained properly.
Here in Arizona we have green pools and the worry is West Nile Virus.
Once we came across a forcelosed property with a pool that was infested with hundreds of frogs. Just thinking about it makes me shiver. You would think that there would be better regulations for dealing with pools on foreclosed properties.
Sandy - That's quite a sign. It surpases the one that says "Notice". . .My 5 year old grand-daughter pronounced that as "Not Ice."
But any sign that says don't feed the aligators, I would want to pay special attention to.
Hi Sandy
I have not had that problem as of yet, Thanks for the heads up.
Good Luck and success
Lou Ludwig
Sandy there are still some abandoned properties from the hurricane with inground swimming pools. Many of the past owners haven't done anything to make them safer. We have had one instance where a young child drowned after falling into one. I know if I was the owner I would have filled in the pool with sand.
Konnie, I have heard about the clorox. Thanks for the pointer.
Mary, It is a big problem.
Paul, I had also heard about the motor oil. Like you indicated it just turns one problem into another one.
Lisa, I think that the banks are so backlogged, they can't keep up with the inventory of homes. Some of these are short sales, so the question becomes whose responsibility are the pools then?
Betina, We love our pools and they can be wonderful. Like you said, this can be a bad situation.
Bob and Carolin, That is a very valid concern.
Justin, I agree, the restrictions should be more stringent, but they aren't. I agree.
Myrl, That sign actually came from a lake that is close to our home. We did tend to see an alligator in one of our lakes or ponds once every several years. Not very often though.
Lou, Hopefully you won't see too much of it there.
Hi John, Oh I bet that could be a real problem where you are after the hurricanes.
EEEEEEEWWWWW! Since we live in the mountains, pools are rare and too frozen to turn green (or brown!) I did recently have the pleasure of selling a home to a buyer who had a PET alligator...he's an inside pet, thought, he'd be an alligator popsicle outside!
Sandy:
Are you finding success in selling your FHA buyers short/sale or REO properties?. The agents I speak with have trouble finding short/sale Reo properties that meet the inspection/ appraisal guidelines. Banks seem reluctant to do repairs.
Part of our business is buying the worst REO/ shorts and renovating so they can sell FHA
Charles
Hi Lisa, You crack me up, because I've never seen an alligator popsicle, but let me do if you see one sometime. They love to bask in the sun here in Florida.
Charles, Very good questions. Many of the properties will not fly FHA and 203K financing take tougher ratios. So We are have difficulty on helping them buy some of these properties that require alot of work. We had had some bank do minor repairs, one brought us a stove and the other fixed a broken ac unit. It can be a difficult combination.