Narrowing the field

We saw two more houses Thursday, but neither was spectacular enough to unseat the leading candidates.

One house did have a gas stove--a curiosity in this area. I never thought that amenity would be hard to come by, but everything is electric here. The homeowner told us he'd wired the connection himself from a 5 gallon tank outside to the stove inside. (I'm glad to know this is an option, but eeek!)

We talked with Diane about the merits of the two properties we're leaning toward: the repo on Norma Lane and the turnkey house on Upas.

Diane said the repo costs more than other fix-and-flip properties in the area, which may be why no one has snapped it up after 145 days on the market. IF all it needs is cosmetic changes, it might be the better investment. It's newer, closer to the university and is in a nice neighborhood. We could fix it up, live in it a few years, then sell with more of a profit.

We made an appointment with a home inspector Saturday to go through the repo with us. Figured $150 was a reasonable investment to find out whether the work needed is merely cosmetic or more involved. Mike said he's waiting for the repo to make a compelling argument to stay in the running. We'll see.

We went to a movie last night at the dollar theater. The theater smelled of urine, so it's unlikely we'll go back anytime soon. We had a heck of a time finding the place. They aren't really great with signage, plus most of the major roads through town have been renamed several times (Pecan/Farm Road 495), adding to the confusion.

Afterward, we drove through the neighborhood around the Upas house. We got lost and drove through a mobile home park. Don't know what that does to the property values; it seemed quiet and well-maintained. We found Upas and parked near the house and just sat there soaking in the surroundings.

The other houses on the block are nicely kept up. We saw another property for sale a block or so away. It's smaller--and so is the asking price by $17K. Makes me wonder how much comps in the area are going for and how much the homeowner is willing to negotiate down. The price is already reduced, but was it artificially high to begin with?

Given the age and location of the Upas property, Diane thinks it would be harder to sell later on. Most development is happening farther north of Upas and most people moving into the area are more interested in newer, cookie-cutter subdivision homes.

Another (minor) consideration: the repo is in the Edinburg Ward--given its proximity to UTPA, it's likely to have university faculty in the ward. The Upas house is within walking distance of one of the McAllen ward buildings--one with an English and a Spanish-speaking ward using it. Mike hasn't visited there yet, but he said 20 minutes of Sunday School in the Mission Ward was enough to make him want to gouge his eyes out. Uptight transplanted Mormons are also something we'd like to avoid.

We'll have to wait another day to get the scoop on the repo. We'll look at a few more houses Saturday morning, but we're both leaning a lot closer toward Upas.