Who Buys Ugly Houses Stockton: Case Study Tired Landlord

January 25, 2018

A Case Study Tired Landlord: Who Buys Ugly Houses Stockton

I get asked all of the time… “How does it work, can you really buy my house?” “What is the Process?” “How long does it take?” and I say to all of them the same thing. Each house is very different, “How can I help you? What is going on with your house?” “Tell me what I can do for you.”

It all begins with a phone call, an email or a text. Someone reaches out with a unique problem property and asks me to help them. I know that every house has a story, a unique set of issues that need to be dealt with one by one. Some are very easy and others just need to be sorted out. The good news is that I don’t charge a fee and I am pretty much the best at what I do.

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a real Estate Investor and we buy houses in Stockton, Sacramento, Lodi, Modesto and Manteca, CA, and every day I strive to help people turn an emotional and distressful house issue into a problem solved.

This is the story of Ann, widowed, 89 years old and living alone. She owned 2 Houses owned free and clear, but with very little resources to deal with either. She called me that fall morning and I could hear in her crackling voice that the call was very difficult for her. She needed help.

Here’s Her Story:

This story starts in 1958, Stockton, CA in what was then central east Stockton. Ann and her mother purchased a 1 bedroom 1 bath bungalow with a whopping 600 square feet on a 5000 square foot lot as a rental property. For years things were just fine. The tenants and landlords knew each other and there was a respect for each other and the property they occupied.

As Ann tells the story, “when we bought the house, it was a lot easier. My husband was alive and he handled most of the problems with the house. He made it easy for me. Tenants would move in and out they cleaned and they were concerned about deposits and leaving the house the way that they moved in. She says that when “problems arose, we took care of them together. It was a partnership and people paid their rent. It was a different time, people were respectful and grateful to have a place to live”.

Ann also remembers that things changed about 25 years ago. “People lost their manners. She noted that people shunned personal responsibility and as the years have passed tenants have become more difficult and damage to the house had gotten progressively worse. It also cost a lot more to fix what they broke and renting the house became a lot more difficult as the neighborhood changed.The house was a liability.

Things became increasingly difficult when her husband passed. She was now responsible for everything. She admits that she was intimidated by even the simplest of tasks and admits that she got taken advantage of. Her Daughter encouraged her to sell and called a local real estate agent. She was told that it would be next to impossible for her to sell the house while it was occupied by tenants. Ann admits that she didn’t want the tenants to know and so rather that forgo the rental income she remained a landlord.

Then approximately 10 years ago, the unthinkable happened. The last tenant stopped paying rent. For three months Ann attempted to collect the rent and work with them. She accepted partial payments and then all communication stopped. She would knock on the door and they would ignore her, or they just weren’t there. Finally she had had enough. Ann had never handled an eviction before and as a way to save money she attempted it on her own. The paperwork was confusing and her first attempt had failed miserably giving the tenants another 90 days to live rent free.

In that time, her homeowners insurance policy had termed out and lapsed. She did not have the money to keep it current. She had been borrowing money from her daughter or taking it from savings and she just let the house go. To make matters worse, the tenants finally moved out without notice and left the house unlocked and vulnerable to vandals and squatters. Keep in mind that this was at the peak of the great recession and any vacant house became an instant target.

At age 79, Ann was already retired, widowed and on a fixed income, her story quickly turned into a nightmare. Any gains that she had made by renting the house were quickly drained by trying to secure the house from the vandals and squatters that would become the last straw financially. In a matter of days, they substantially destroyed walls as they stripped the house of wire and metal pipes, removed the exterior doors and stole cabinets and fixtures. The house was for all intents and purposes destroyed.

She couldn’t react fast enough and to make matters worse she didn’t have the money to repair the damage. The house that was once an asset had turned into a financial ongoing liability. The longer the house sat broken the worse it became. She hired a handyman to board up the house and asked neighbors to keep and eye out and call her if there were problems.

Despair and depression had taken hold and Ann truly did not know what to do. In the mean time she continued to pay the property taxes and a handyman to keep the property clear of debris and weeds. The lot over time became a dumping ground for all sorts of debris and refuse. It was a magnet for all of the bad elements in our society. Her efforts were not enough and the neighbors started to complain.

Code Enforcement:

Next came the code enforcement officers with notices pinned to the front door. She had one week to address the problem or the city would hire a contractor to take care of it and bill her. If she didn’t pay they would place a lien on the property.

Ann could not pay and so the house had accumulated $3,500 in code enforcement levies and liens

Health Department:

Where Code Enforcement in Stockton travels the health department is usually close behind. That was the case with this house. Evictions, vandals and squatters are all a recipe for the Health Department to tag a property as uninhabitable until their conditions are met. It is the counties way to place additional pressure on an owner and not allow the property to generate any revenue. For owners with the financial resources to fix things that works, but for Ann, it was just another reason to board up the house and sell it.

Homeowner Concerns:

Ann just wanted out. The financial nightmare had spiraled out of control. A neighbor had offered her a low ball price for the land and she was almost ready to take it when she called me. She was distraught and she needed help. She suspected her neighbor was part of her nightmare and she resisted at every turn.

The City Code Enforcement Officers were relentless and the neighbor that had made the offer was the one who called them to begin with. That very same neighbor had been remodeling his own house and rather than going to the dump, he disposed of his debris in her yard and then called code enforcement. Ann was so distraught that her fight was done. She had just given up. The fines and levies kept her up at night and as she tells the story she had no where to turn.

She just wanted to sell and I knew that if I offered her anything more than that neighbor had I could buy the house. I offered $10,000 more and offered to pay the closing cost and the code enforcement fines and fees through escrow. She cried. Ann was relieved.

The Evaluation:

There was no house to evaluate. It was truly destroyed. Even the roof had given way and by the time the house was sold. I could only do a land evaluation with the possibility of keeping one corner of the existing structure to perform what is called an addition and remodel. The value was in all of the utility services already on the property and the credits that I would receive when I pulled the building permits.

Comparative Market Analysis:

There were no comparable sales for her property. We were talking land value at this point. At the time that it was probably worth $22,000 for that part of Stockton. I also knew that if I built a 1500 square foot house I could get top dollar for that neighborhood. So I made the offer knowing that I was over paying by about $8,000. Its was fine with me, I got to help Ann and feel good about what I do.

Title Issues:

When it was all said and done there were $3,500 of fines and liens from the City of Stockton Code Enforcement and Health Department. When I bought the property I was forced to take the property and Title Subject to the Code Violations remaining in place until I corrected them and and they were signed off. It’s much like a fix it ticket. I was given 6 months.

Our Solution:

I made Ann an all cash offer to buy the property and take over all of the code enforcement and health department issues. We were able to close on that transaction within 10 days. Keep in mind that when there are liens on a property a demand for payoff is issued from the Title Company to the County and it took 5 days for them to respond with a dollar amount.

Some Real Estate Problems Are Resolved with the Sale of the House:

We Buy Houses that are Ugly — If You’re a Tired Landlord, let me buy that house in Stockton

In real estate there are very few real estate transactions that go exactly as planned. There are always issues that present a challenge. The question is who is in your corner to make sure that those issues are taken care of and that they get done in a timely manner.

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local cash home buyer in Stockton, Manteca, Modesto and Sacramento CA. We Buy Houses in any condition and if you have a house to sell, call me at (209)481-7780. I know that I can help you. With nearly 35 years of business experience, nearly 10 years of real estate investing and 100’s of real estate transactions, I can present solutions that most others have never even heard of. I understand that not every situation is the same and sometimes we need to tailor make our solutions to best fit your needs.

At those moments its important to line up the resources necessary to protect your assets while at the same time maximize whatever equity your house has accumulated. I do not want to list your house for sale, I want to buy it as We Buy Houses in Stockton CA in any Condition, we pay cash and we can probably help you too.

Whether you call me or not visit my website at http://www.IBuyHousesStockton.com and see how I have helped 100’s of local families just like yours.

We Buy Houses Stockton, The Man Behind the Sign

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Stockton and Westbrook Real Estate Investments in Stockton, California. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

Get Your Fair Cash Offer: Start Below!

We WILL BUY YOUR HOUSE in ANY CONDITION! We pay CASH and you will NOT pay any commissions or fees. Fill in your information below and get an all CASH offer for your House Fast!

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What Customers Say

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.