One of the interesting things to note about Galveston real estate after Hurricane Ike is the listing of homes on an “as-is” basis.  These homes have been gutted, usually to four feet or higher, mold mitigation performed, and the home swept clean.

Because these homes are gutted, buyers cannot get a regular mortgage on them.  Three Galveston bankers have told me that they would look at financing the purchase and renovation of the homes much like they do construction loans (first draw of the loan to purchase the property, subsequent draws for the renovation, and then rolling into some type of mortgage product after the work is complete), but only if the buyer is purchasing the home to be their own homestead,

Buyers purchasing to renovate and then sell will most likely have to pay cash.  And this is exactly what we are seeing happening.  Most of the homes being sold “as-is” are the smaller ranch-style homes in Gulf Village, Driftwood, Golfcrest, and Lindale (popularly known as Fish Village), but there have been a few large homes sold on an “as-is” basis.

If you have an interest in buying these types of homes, then please give me a call at 409/256-1274.

You can see all Galveston listings at my website, www.GalvestonTexasRealEstate.com.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.