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POTTSTOWN — Two borough properties taken for non-payment of water bills, fees, fines and taxes are to be purchased by a company which won praise for its restoration last year of a grand King Street home which quickly despite a depressed housing market.
Lointerhome LLC, run by Cristian and Amanda DeSeta, was the only bidder for the two properties — 426 King St. and 467 Farmington Ave. — sold at a recent "free and clear" sale in Norristown, Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. informed borough council Wednesday.
Lointerhome LLC will meet the conditions set by the borough, which include only selling to a new owner who will live in the property, putting a $10,000 down-payment down with the borough to ensure the repairs and upgrades are done in a timely fashion.
The homes are part of a growing number of properties that wind up in borough hands as a result of tougher policies enacted by the borough and the school district to take properties that are delinquent on property taxes, water bills or other fees or fines.
Christian and Amanda Deseta, along with daughter Pierson, stand in the living room of one of the homes they recently purchased from the borough, which they are renovating before putting them up for sale
Noting that "the borough does not want to be in the real estate business," Garner helped craft a policy that requires the homes purchased to meet a minimum price at the free and clear sale and that they be refurbished as homes and not as investment properties with multiple rental units.
The two homes sold March 31 were the first to change hands under this arrangement.
"These properties, we believe, have real potential," Garner told council.
The company that purchased the homes already has a track record in the borough, albeit a short one.
In November, the couple hosted an open house at 116 King St., half an Edwardian-era brick double with 2,200 square-feet of space and its stained glass windows still intact.
They bought the property at foreclosure and resold it in just a few weeks after they finished rehabilitating it.
The company has built and rehabilitated homes from Florida, to California, to New York.
Amanda, who grew up in Chester Springs and graduated from Owen J.
Roberts High School, said she brought her husband to the area in part so their children could live near her parents.
"They sold that beautiful home in the dead of winter to someone who wasn't even looking in the borough," Mayor Bonnie Heath said of the company's first project in Pottstown.
Amanda DeSeta confirmed that their first project was sold before the end of 2010 and both Amanda and Cristian said they have been scouting other properties for sale in Pottstown to find their next project.
Cristian DeSeta said although the Farmington Avenue property "was really used and abused," and it will take some effort to get the twin back up to shape for sale, it is nevertheless "an incredibly good project and when we're done, it's going to be a fantastic property."
He was equally enthusiastic about the King Street property, which he said has five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and was used as a residential rental with office space on the first floor.
"We're going to turn it back to being completely residential and it is just massive," he said of the brick home.
Because the company bought both properties for just over $25,000 through a sealed bid process, they are able to invest significant capital into the homes, sell them at or below current market rates and still make a tidy profit.
"Usually, when you're a buyer looking at the $80,000 to $90,000 price range, there are some worries," Amanda DeSeta said. "But with these projects, you have all the new systems intact, a good roof, a good furnace and where else can you get five bedrooms for that price?" she said. "It's a great buy for a first-time homebuyer."
Cristian DeSeta also praised the conditions the borough placed on the sale, saying that the restrictions to residential buyers will help ensure the properties are not flipped right back to being rentals.
"The borough really seems to have put the pieces together to a positive end, and it really ensured you got the right kind of investor," DeSeta said. "We're trying to do the right thing for the neighborhood and be good capitalists as well," he said.
Councilman Dan Weand said "we're just trying to re-stabilize these neighborhoods," adding that as a result of the tax sale at one of the properties, "there was some interest in the neighboring property as well."
"I think we're definitely moving in the right direction," Weand concluded.
http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/0...mode=fullstory
Lointerhome LLC, run by Cristian and Amanda DeSeta, was the only bidder for the two properties — 426 King St. and 467 Farmington Ave. — sold at a recent "free and clear" sale in Norristown, Borough Solicitor Charles D. Garner Jr. informed borough council Wednesday.
Lointerhome LLC will meet the conditions set by the borough, which include only selling to a new owner who will live in the property, putting a $10,000 down-payment down with the borough to ensure the repairs and upgrades are done in a timely fashion.
The homes are part of a growing number of properties that wind up in borough hands as a result of tougher policies enacted by the borough and the school district to take properties that are delinquent on property taxes, water bills or other fees or fines.
Christian and Amanda Deseta, along with daughter Pierson, stand in the living room of one of the homes they recently purchased from the borough, which they are renovating before putting them up for sale
Noting that "the borough does not want to be in the real estate business," Garner helped craft a policy that requires the homes purchased to meet a minimum price at the free and clear sale and that they be refurbished as homes and not as investment properties with multiple rental units.
The two homes sold March 31 were the first to change hands under this arrangement.
"These properties, we believe, have real potential," Garner told council.
The company that purchased the homes already has a track record in the borough, albeit a short one.
In November, the couple hosted an open house at 116 King St., half an Edwardian-era brick double with 2,200 square-feet of space and its stained glass windows still intact.
They bought the property at foreclosure and resold it in just a few weeks after they finished rehabilitating it.
The company has built and rehabilitated homes from Florida, to California, to New York.
Amanda, who grew up in Chester Springs and graduated from Owen J.
Roberts High School, said she brought her husband to the area in part so their children could live near her parents.
"They sold that beautiful home in the dead of winter to someone who wasn't even looking in the borough," Mayor Bonnie Heath said of the company's first project in Pottstown.
Amanda DeSeta confirmed that their first project was sold before the end of 2010 and both Amanda and Cristian said they have been scouting other properties for sale in Pottstown to find their next project.
Cristian DeSeta said although the Farmington Avenue property "was really used and abused," and it will take some effort to get the twin back up to shape for sale, it is nevertheless "an incredibly good project and when we're done, it's going to be a fantastic property."
He was equally enthusiastic about the King Street property, which he said has five bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms and was used as a residential rental with office space on the first floor.
"We're going to turn it back to being completely residential and it is just massive," he said of the brick home.
Because the company bought both properties for just over $25,000 through a sealed bid process, they are able to invest significant capital into the homes, sell them at or below current market rates and still make a tidy profit.
"Usually, when you're a buyer looking at the $80,000 to $90,000 price range, there are some worries," Amanda DeSeta said. "But with these projects, you have all the new systems intact, a good roof, a good furnace and where else can you get five bedrooms for that price?" she said. "It's a great buy for a first-time homebuyer."
Cristian DeSeta also praised the conditions the borough placed on the sale, saying that the restrictions to residential buyers will help ensure the properties are not flipped right back to being rentals.
"The borough really seems to have put the pieces together to a positive end, and it really ensured you got the right kind of investor," DeSeta said. "We're trying to do the right thing for the neighborhood and be good capitalists as well," he said.
Councilman Dan Weand said "we're just trying to re-stabilize these neighborhoods," adding that as a result of the tax sale at one of the properties, "there was some interest in the neighboring property as well."
"I think we're definitely moving in the right direction," Weand concluded.
http://pottsmerc.com/articles/2011/0...mode=fullstory
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