Bad Buy 401 4th Ave West Mobridge SD 57401 Shopper Beware

REDUCED 401 4TH Avenue W. Mobridge South Dakota 57401 Too Expensive at ANY Price

2011-08-29T06:35:00.001-07:00

Once again we find ourselves talking about the property located at 401 4th Avenue West in Mobridge, South Dakota. This masterpiece has been on the block for over 6 months. In the beginning the dwelling was offered for $76,500. When nobody shwoed interest at that laughable price, the house was discounted to $74,600. Due to an overall lack of interest in homes that are over 100 years old that price has been further reduced to $69,000. On the surface that might seem like a great bargain for a three bedroom, two bath house on a corner lot and boasting over 2000 square feet, but in reality this home is still overpriced by nearly $20,000.

In previous articles concerning this property we have pointed out the fact that over the past 10 years no updates have been done. No improvements have been done beyond cosmetic things like painting and floor covering. Ironically the floor covering was installed largely to hide the facts like water damage. The heating system is an old in efficient fuel oil furnace that heats water and pumps get to even older cast iron radiators. Keep in mind that not all of the radiators work and more importantly not all of the bedrooms have radiators. The electrical system is on reliable at best. The wiring eat in the upstairs portion of the house is extremely old and could possibly be the original wiring. In the wintertime if you are running an electric space heater in the upstairs bedroom, which you will need to do because it will be the only heat source for the room, you can't run a hair dryer or a curling iron in the bathroom because it will blow a fuse. Notice I said below a fuse and not trip a breaker. That is the cause the upstairs portion of the house is on a separate antiquated bus fuse panel.

The exterior of the house is really in no better shape than the inside. The front part of the house was painted about 10 years ago but that back was never painted because it was too high and the owner, Amanda Collins, has an irrational fear of Heights. She also has an irrational fear of hiring qualified contractors, and she insists on doing most of the work herself to save money. In reality you end up with poorly executed projects which had no real value to the property and mask many of the real underlying problems.

When searching for a home for sale in Mobridge South Dakota buyers have to make their own decisions, but be sure that you ask all the right questions or you might find yourself purchasing any bigger problem than you had ever anticipated. Even in today's uncertain housing market some really good deals can be found if you take your time and do your research. The 401 fourth avenue west property is one that should be avoided at all costs. Unless you have really deep pockets, enjoy adventure, hard work, and disappointment. In which case you may just love this house.

Allen Berens is a life-long resident of Walworth County South Dakota and enjoys hunting and fishing in the rich Lake Oahe area. He regularly comments on areas of interest to residents of Mobridge, Selby and Glenham, SD. You can read more of his writing by following this link: Allen Berens DUI, of by a Google search for "Allen Berens DUI".

A review of 401 4th AvenueWest Mobridge South Dakota 57601 Home for Sale

2011-05-23T14:33:00.001-07:00

Walkthrough of the Property for Sale: 401 4th Ave. W., Mobridge, SD 57401

We have toured this home and I would describe it as an oil painting. It is attractive from across the street, but when the details come into view the beauty is lost.

This house honestly needs a lot of updates and I found next to nothing that convinced me that it is worth the asking price. Every word that I have found on the internet relative to this home is amazingly on the money true. One thing that has yet to be mentioned, that shoppers will want to understand is that there is a small garden shed in the back yard. This building is about 10x11 and is made from wood. The shack appears to be one of those “pre-made” yard sheds. This shack is very old and certain areas have rotted. What is interesting about this shack is that it is positioned on the far corner of the yard, extremely far from the home and it is so close to the fence that mowing between the shed and the fence would be challenging. The structure also obstructs access to the back gate.

Second, the back yard is bordered by various types of fencing. Along the west of the lot is a neglected six foot wooden privacy fence that is in dire need of repair or replacement. Along another side, separating the 401 4th Ave West lot from the adjoining property is a rickety wooden fence of maybe 4 feet high. On the east side the owner has repurposed a dog enclosure to act as a fence across the driveway. Finally, another old wooden fence connects the corner of the house to a overgrown hedge that extends the total length of the backyard. The hedge is really the only slightly attractive element in this back yard and on the day of my visit it was in significant need of cutting and trimming. All of the fencing should be removed and replaced with all new wood.

Moving inside, standing in the dining area you can clearly see evidence of significant water leaking through the ceiling. The ceiling is covered with old fibrous tiles and once wet they become warped and brittle. These have been wet more than once. To correct this, the entire ceiling should be removed and dry wall installed and a modern texture applied. Of course, you will need to address the cause of the water leaking through the ceiling or you will have new problems.

Every window in this house needs to be replaced. It would appear that the home has the original windows and they are in poor condition. Most either do not have a way to put external storm windows in or the storm windows are missing. As far as I can recall there are approximately 11 to 14 windows in this structure. Replacement costs will be quite high because these are not standard window sizes so you can expect to pay upwards of $800 or more for each window. You do not have to worry about replacing the kitchen windows (or maybe you should worry) because the kitchen cabinets have been built over the windows. Replacement would require removal of almost the entire kitchen wood work.

The kitchen looks like an extremely low-budget version of HGTV. Instead of installing a copper backsplash, someone actually glued cheap, tacky vinyl ceiling tiles to the walls. They did not bother to cut out spaces for things like light switches and outlets either. It looks like a very bad amateur kitchen facelift. Interestingly, they used vinyl ceiling tiles on the walls, and then decided to use faux painted wall paper on the ceiling. Maybe this kitchen was built for Willy Wonka and the walls are the ceiling and the ceiling is the walls. The appliances are totally unremarkable. Nothing in this kitchen says, “wow” except the bad things. The floor covering is “ok” except for the unprofessional transition from the kitchen into the pantry/out house. Not that having a commode in your pantry is not strange enough, but they opted to glue the mismatched seams of the linoleum instead of installing a proper transition strip. No doubt another money-saving idea.

Earlier I referred to this house as an oil painting. Every room in this house has paint that is meant to cover up some imperfection. This house is filled with outdated, cheap, thin, wood paneling and every square inch of it has been painted. The person who lived here obviously thought that you could faux paint your way to happiness. After seeing the water damage in the dining room, I wondered what the painted wallpaper on the kitchen ceiling was meant to hide.

The floors in the living room/dining room are some of the worst I have ever seen (that was until I went upstairs, but more on that later.) They have obviously been refinished, again by an amateur with a limited budget. There are several holes drilled through the living room floor to the basement. I assume these are to pass wires from one floor to another. After all, it is much cheaper and a lot easier to drill a hole the size of your thumb in the floor then to actually have wires and outlets installed in the walls, right? Speaking of holes, there is a hole that goes totally through the outside wall of the house in the middle of the longest wall in the living room. This hole is about 2.5 inches in diameter and houses some kind of metal pipe. The hole and pipe, I assume to save money, have been filled with expanding foam, presumably to block air and rodents. The foam has begun to disintegrate and will needs to be replaced with new expanding foam or, the better solution would be to have the pipe removed and the hole professionally repaired. This is simply another in the long list of costs that a new owner can expect to face.

Moving downstairs to the basement, you will see that this basement is for the most part unfinished. It is quite obvious that this basement has been the host of more than one flood. The closet doors are made from cheap (I seem to be using that word a lot) particle board, which like the ceiling tiles in the dining room turn to crumbly dust when wet. You can clearly tell that there has been water damage, but once again, it has been artfully camouflaged with paint. The darker and more disturbing issue in this basement is that of raw, untreated sewage flooding. Insurance companies call this “black water” flooding and it is meant to be treated like biohazard, because is a BIOHAZARD! This was taken from an information resource on plumbing problems, “Once they happen, sewer backups can be the most expensive and difficult to overcome. Typically they happen as a result of heavy rains that overwhelm the city sewer system such that the water pressure in the system forces the sewage back up into home basements.” The emotional damage of having inches of human excrement bubbling into your home si bad enough, but to consider the health consequences is worse. One article warns, “If a sewer backup occurs, proper cleanup procedures must be followed for safety reasons.” Raw sewage contamination, if not properly treated by a professional cleaning service, can cause the growth of several molds and bacteria that can cause serious health concerns. Wikipedia reports the following about the most common bacteria associated with human excrement, “diseases that may coincide with fecal coliform contamination include ear infections, dysentery, typhoid fever, viral and bacterial gastroenteritis, and hepatitis A.”

Another common basement contamination follow raw sewage contamination is black mold. Here is what one might expect while living n the home where black mold has been allowed to grow: Depending on the length of exposure and volume of spores inhaled or ingested, symptoms can manifest as chronic fatigue or headaches, fever, irritation to the eyes, mucous membranes of the mouth, nose and throat, sneezing, rashes, and chronic coughing. In severe cases of exposure or cases exacerbated by allergic reaction, symptoms can be extreme including nausea, vomiting, and bleeding in the lungs and nose. That does not sound nice at all! Another site warns, “Then you'll need to remove all porous items that are wet and cannot be cleaned or dried. Porous items may include wallpaper, carpeting, drywall, insulation, paper, wood and fabrics.” You can clearly see that none of the wood or wall material in this basement has been replaced.

If you tour the house located at 401 4th Ave West, Mobridge, SD, be sure to look at the underside of the kitchen floor. This is located directly over the furnace in the basement. The new floor covering in the kitchen hides the fact that the kitchen floor has been subjected to long term moisture damage. This is clearly visible from the basement.

Another concern is the furnace. This furnace is one of the oldest I have ever seen and it runs on fuel oil (diesel fuel) which is stored in a big dirty tank right beside the washer and dryer. The smell is almost overwhelming and I would not enjoy doing my laundry and smelling diesel fumes all the time. The heating system is an old, outdated hot water system. This causes me to have concerns about air flow in the home. With a forced air system you at least have air circulating from one floor to the next. With a hot water system you do not. This makes maintaining a consistent temperature from one floor to the next almost impossible. One room of the house, the smallest bedroom, does not even have a radiator installed so I can only imagine how cold it must be in that room in the winter. Couple the lack of a heat source with the old leaky windows and this room might double as a refrigerator, if not a freezer.

The upstairs is another example of cutting corners and saving money. The floors are a total joke. They are pine tongue and groove and have been refinished, perhaps by the same amateur do-it-yourselfer that has left his or her fingerprints on every other room of this house. Walking around on the 2nd floor is like a trip to a Fun House. With each step, you never know exactly which direction the floor will cant or lean. Every inch of flooring in the upstairs rooms will have to be replaced. In fact, the entire 2nd story needs a major facelift. The wood paneling needs to be replaced with dry wall. The bedroom doors are old and worn. Outdated wood cabinets in one bedroom are a poor substitute for a closet. The “master bedroom” is built under the slope of the roof which makes half of the room useless unless you are under 5 feet 3 inches tall. The master has only one small closet that is set back in the wall to the point of being mostly useless. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give the bedrooms a 3 for function. The closet space in the two larger rooms is unacceptable. The smaller room has a medium sized closet, but I do not want to spend a South Dakota winter in a bedroom with no heat. The odd slope of the ceiling makes a large portion of the master unusable. The walls, doors, flooring, and windows all need replacing. There is absolutely no cooling system in this house. I can only imagine how one might go about cooling all 3 levels with window unit air conditioners and I shudder to think of how expensive that might be. Not to mention, who wants tacky air conditioners hanging out of every window of their home?

In closing, the previous owners of the property located at 401 4th Ave West, Mobridge, SD 57601, should have spent a little more time “improving” their home and a little less time painting over the imperfections. This “paint it and forget it” strategy makes me fearful of the dirty secrets that are likely hiding behind the faux finishes and band-aid repairs. Obviously I cannot recommend this property, but if you are masochistic or you love a challenging project, be sure to get a highly qualified home inspector to go over this property from top to bottom. The investment of a little extra time before you buy will very likely save you tens of thousands of dollars and years of heartache after you buy. Allen Berens is a life-long resident of Walworth County South Dakota and enjoys hunting and fishing in the rich Lake Oahe area. He regularly comments on areas of interest to residents of Mobridge, Selby and Glenham, SD. You can read more of his writing by following this link: Allen Berens DUI, of by a Google search for "Allen Berens DUI".

Ladies Don't Enrage Your Ex-Husband if You Need to Sell Your Home

2011-04-15T14:40:00.001-07:00

"... Hell a fury like a woman scorned," Everyone has heard that quote, right? It is meant to strike fear into the hearts of men so to dissuade them from actions that would find them on the wrong side of a woman. Perhaps the lesson would be better learned if the lines preceding this famous quote were aimed toward women.

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, ..."

What on Earth could turn love to hatred? I can think of a few things off the top of my head, like watching the woman that you love destroy her life with alcohol and be so deep into denial that she refuses any and all help. That will turn love to hate. How about having that same alcoholic wife involved in matters of sexual indiscretion? For most people adultery would quickly turn love to hate, right? What about having an alcoholic, adulterous wife who constantly threatens you with forcing the sale of your home? Would that turn love to hate?

"What comes around goes around." I firmly believe that when someone takes a giant crap on you, the universe will give you the opportunity to crap right back on them. I like to think this is the universal balance of power in play. Let me give you a prime example.

My ex-wife decided that she loved Bud Light more than she loved me. This was really no big shocker for me and honestly, it was a welcomed end to what had been a less-than-thrilling relationship. In her exit plan, she convinced me that we only needed one attorney and that would could work through the details like mature adults. Well, I learned that what she really meant was, "We can use one attorney and do this like mature adults as long as everything is done her way." As soon as the negotiation began and she observed that I was not going to do it just like she wanted, she (and HER attorney) devised a plan to do an end run and get her exactly what she wanted in court. Now, this was as much my fault as anything. I believed that we were working out the details and neglected to file my answer to her divorce petition in time. She conveniently neglected to tell me that her attorney had scheduled a court date and BAM... suddenly I was divorced and she had exactly what she wanted. The problem is that she, and her attorney, forgot to factor in REALITY into their plan.

She is selling her house so she can move in with her new boyfriend who is 15 years older and also an alcoholic! The important thing here is that she is selling her house! This is where the universe opens the opportunity to return the favor.

Here is what we have:

Location: 401 4th Ave West Mobridge, SD

Description: 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath house, 2 story house, hardwood floors, open stairway, inviting entrance foyer, newer floor covering in kitchen and entrance. Kitchen has Oak cabinetry, stove and refrigerator too stay.

Price: $74,500 (was $76,500)

This house has so many problems that it is difficult to find a place to start. So let’s just begin with the description.

3 bedroom: True, but the smallest bedroom does not have any heat. The cast iron radiator was removed many years ago and that room is extremely cold in the winter. Your only source of heat is from electric space heaters which often blow fuses because the 2nd story has the original 100 year old wiring. Combine the fact that the room has no hear source with the fact that the windows are old and very leaky and you will spend some memorable chilly nights in this room.

2 1/2 bath: False, the "1/2 bath" is actually nothing more than a toilet inside the kitchen pantry. That's right, in this house you get to poop where you eat and this "interesting" bathroom is the ONLY facility on the main floor. If you have guests they will either have to use the bathroom in the unfinished basement or use your personal bath on the 2nd floor.

2 story house: True, and it has a basement that has been flooded with raw sewage on numerous occasions. After these unsanitary events, none of the wall material was replaced and none of the cleanup was done professionally, even though insurance claims were filed. I am not a scientist, but I think this would be a great place for black mold to grow.

hardwood floors: True and False, the floors on the main level are hardwood and have been abused, used and reused over the years, but the floors on the 2nd level are pine and they are warped, heaved and uneven in every room. These floors have been examined by professionals and they only way to correct the problem is to totally replace all of the flooring in the 2nd story.

open stairway: True, it used to have a nice wooden banister but that was ripped out years ago. It now has a very wobbly 1970's black iron hand rail. Certainly not an ascetic focal point.

inviting entrance foyer: True, if you think that painted over wood paneling is "inviting". If, however, you think that is disgusting then you will find the entry way less than inviting.

newer floor covering in kitchen and entrance: True, the "newer floor covering" is loose laid linoleum that was put in because the refrigerator leaks water for some unknown reason and that destroyed the floor covering that was there previously.

Kitchen has Oak cabinetry: True, nothing special. The kitchen could use new counter tops.

stove and refrigerator too stay: True... "too stay"... LOL! Here is the story with the appliances. The stove is the newest and it is only a couple of years old. In fact, the stove was replaced at the same time the floor covering was put in the kitchen. The dishwasher was taken from a house that was damaged by fire and patched up enough to work again. The refrigerator is old and leaks water for some completely unknown reason. Bottom line is that it will need to be replaced very soon. There are other hidden treasures in this house that any serious buyer will want to know before making an offer. You can learn more about 401 4th Ave West Mobridge SD by searching the internet.

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The preceding is a work of fiction and does not represent any real people or real events. This story has been published as an experiment in social media marketing and should not be used as the basis for any personal, financial, or business decisions.

- - -Allen Berens is a life-long resident of Walworth County South Dakota and enjoys hunting and fishing in the rich Lake Oahe area. He regularly comments on areas of interest to residents of Mobridge, Selby and Glenham, SD. You can read more of his writing by following this link: Allen Berens DUI, or by a Google search for "Allen Berens DUI". Buyer Beware of: 401 4th Ave West Mobridge SD

Mobridge, SD Real Estate in Today's Challenging Market

2011-04-14T07:28:00.001-07:00

Media reports that in the fall of 2008 the American housing market took a great tumble. Markets all over the globe were negatively affected and home values nose-dived. Literally millions of families found themselves homeless and many more became aware of the anguished meaning of foreclosure. There is no doubt that this was the beginning of one of the worst periods that the American housing market has ever seen and things have yet to recover.

People are used to hearing about the collapsing markets in California, Nevada, Florida and North Carolina. These areas are in the headlines daily and on CNN and MSN on an hourly basis. People are less aware of the unseen housing crisis affecting small rural communities across the nation. These are places that are too small to make the headlines and for good reason. Many small cities and towns were slightly insulated from the major crash, partly because it takes longer for the ripples to reach rural America and partly because these areas never experienced the over inflation of home values that precipitated the bubble bursting. Nevertheless, many areas are feeling the pinch of the global economic collapse and the decline in the American housing market today, over 3 years later.

In this article we will explore the housing market in a small mid-western town of Mobridge, South Dakota. We will also look at a property for sale at 401 4th Avenue West in that town.

Mobridge has a population of just under 3,500 and it is located in extreme rural northern South Dakota. The town is bordered in the west by the Missouri River and the Cheyenne River and Standing Rock tribal lands. Mobridge has no industry and the economy is dependent on farming, ranching and tourism. The population declined approximately 6.5% from 2000 to 2010 and the per capita income is $14,921 with 21.6% of the population living below the poverty line. As if things were not bad enough, Mobridge, SD is facing its version of the housing crisis. People who have owned homes for years are learning that they cannot sell them for what they think they are worth and many are finding that they cannot sell them at all.

Another problem comes in when homeowners refuse to price their homes according to true market value. It is understandable that owners want to get the most from the sale of their homes, but when they price their property for what they want and not the true market value they cause the property to sit on the market for an extended period of time which further discourages buyers. This over pricing is the main problem with the home featured in this article. The owner purchased the property approximately 10 years ago. The purchase price was approximately $50,000. Absolutely no improvements have been done to the property other than paint and cosmetics. In fact, the house is in worse condition now than it was when originally purchased. The appliances, with the exception of the stove, are all 10 years older. The furnace, which was old and out dated already, is 10 years older and much less efficient. Some areas of the house do not even have heat. The wiring is a Hodge podge of new and old and some parts of the house will not support more than a moderate current draw without blowing fuses. The shingles are 10 years older and will need replacing very soon. The outside of the house needs to be repainted. In short, the owner has really done nothing to improve the property yet she thinks that on the heels of the worst global housing crisis in history, her home at 401 4th Avenue West, Mobridge, SD 57601, is somehow worth 50% more than she originally paid. It must be nice to expect a 50% return on investment when everyone else is experiencing a loss.

Mobridge, South Dakota is a dying town and the housing market there is dying faster than the town. If you are looking for a place to invest you will be best served to avoid this and many other rural towns. Without a growing industrial sector and with emotionally inflated housing prices, these areas are worth avoiding.

####Allen Berens is a life-long resident of Walworth County South Dakota and enjoys hunting and fishing in the rich Lake Oahe area. He regularly comments on areas of interest to residents of Mobridge, Selby and Glenham, SD. You can read more of his writing by following this link: Allen Berens DUI, of by a Google search for "Allen Berens DUI".