A couple of senior citizens take on a foreclosure.

This is a pictorial story, of a couple of senior citizens who take a foreclosure to a successful conclusion.

My wife, Jeanne, and I had done 2 deals before this one. The first was a "flip" which we sold in 19 days using a simultaneous closing and we used Ron's short ad: "Handyman Special, Cheap, Cash, Phone #" We got over 80 calls. The second was a pretty house that only needed minor fixing...we sold it after listing "FSBO" for a month or so after completion. After two great successes, we were mailing our letters to absentee owners and to pre-foreclosures (Lis Pendens). We got a response from an owner was about to go into foreclosure with a private lender.

When we went to visit the fellow, he was hesitant to meet with us. It seemed he didn't want us to see the condition of his house. Small wonder...when we went about one foot into his living room, the odor was unbelievable! It was a mixture of mold and pet waste. We were very careful where we walked. The dust balls were hanging from the ceiling and blinds in large globs.

The owner was very apologetic but it was plain he was not sober. We told him he would have to be sober when we returned and we beat a fast retreat to the door. The next day, after spending a considerable amount of time deciding whether we wanted to get involved with this deal, we returned and the owner appeared to be in better condition. We explained our role in the foreclose...that of trying to take over his note,

A long story short, we finally talked to his lender and he indicated that he was through waiting...he was going to foreclose. He also indicated that he would not discount the note. That left us with the decision of walking away or continuing. We decided to give the owner $5,0000.00 walking money, and to assume his note with the private lender. We figured it would take between $15,000.00 to $20,000.00 to make the house salable.

After several attempts to get the owner to sober up long enough to get him to a notary, we got the job done and he signed the property over. A week or so later we were able to close and assume his note with the lender. He left everything except some clothes from his closet.

Next we had to find someone who could do the work for us since neither of us are now capable of this undertaking. Luckily we had a friend who wanted to do the work for half the net and we shook hands. After a few days of rehab, Jeanne tripped over some debris in the driveway and broke a bone in her foot and another in her wrist...this slowed her a bit! She was fitted with casts and we continued. About 7 weeks later our friend had accomplished a huge task. Jeanne and I had acted as gophers; working the sales at Lowes and Home Depot to get some good savings.

After trying for weeks to sell the place (five open houses and no visitors of importance), Jeanne and I decided we should try to lease or option the property. But, we now had partners and we had to see if we could buy them out. As it turned out, they were willing to part company for a nominal amount.

We finally leased (without an option) to a young couple who promised to take good care of the place...and so far they have done so. We will attempt to sell it again at the end of the lease. If not, we will continue as landlords until the market turns. Oh, and we re-financed to get our payments down. With an Option-ARM our payments were cut by nearly $700.00 per month.

From naive senior citizens to landlords, it's been a trip. Other than Jeanne's falling over some limbs piled in the driveway, breaking a bone in her foot and another in her wrist, our trail hasn't been too rocky. If we can do it, some of you youngsters can surely do so.