{"id":384371,"date":"2026-08-29T08:40:39","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T08:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384371\/"},"modified":"2026-08-29T08:40:39","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T08:40:39","slug":"our-florida-foreclosure-discount-was-still-worth-it-after-170k-in-renovations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/384371\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Florida Foreclosure Discount Was Still Worth It After $170K in Renovations"},"content":{"rendered":"

If perusing real estate listings<\/a> was akin to scrolling in a dating app, Benjamin Bodenschatz, 41, would have swiped left immediately on this 1981-built fixer-upper in Titusville, FL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His wife, Cosette, a broker at Blue Palms Realty<\/a> where Benjamin also works as a real estate agent<\/a>, had found the house.<\/p>\n

The couple had spent years searching to buy their first home<\/a>, and for 2.5 years, she had been following the listing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To Benjamin, the listing photos<\/a> \u201cweren’t all that great.\u201d<\/p>\n

But his wife was insistent.<\/p>\n

The back of the house, facing the waterCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe front door, facing the streetCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe living room, before the renovationCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe house<\/p>\n

The four-bedroom, 2.5-bath home first hit the multiple listing service in August 2023, listed at $700,000.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Two months later, the price dropped to $649,000. A year later, the listing agent<\/a> lowered the price again\u2014to $529,000. Another drop took the amount to $499,000.<\/p>\n

Then in January 2026, the price was decreased to $479,000\u2014a discount of $221,000 from the initial list price.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, the entire time the home had been listed, it was a foreclosure<\/a>. When the couple started their homebuying journey, they weren\u2019t hunting specifically for foreclosures<\/a>. Their biggest ask was \u201csomething unique.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the time, the couple were living in Viera, a master-planned community of 40,000 residents where every home is \u201ccookie cutter.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe didn\u2019t want to settle for the standard Florida<\/a>-style home,\u201d Benjamin says.<\/p>\n

This foreclosure property was 3,052 square feet on 1.6 acres. It\u2019s midcentury modern<\/a>, with wood ceilings \u201cthat give that vibe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most intriguing to the couple: This property was waterfront.<\/p>\n

They made a full-price offer, which was accepted immediately.<\/p>\n

The reality of buying a foreclosure<\/p>\n

During the inspection period, the only issue that arose was the water heater. A new one, plus install, cost $1,000, satisfying the insurance to secure the mortgage.<\/p>\n

But the inspection was far from the last hurdle to close.<\/p>\n

As the couple walked through the house, making a list of what renovations needed to be done, they realized they weren\u2019t alone.<\/p>\n

Living room, after the renovation, with brand-new flooring and the mirrors removedCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe kitchen was entirely redone.Courtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyKitchen with new cabinets, counters, and fixturesCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms Realty<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were shocked when we first saw the rat snake, but then we were grateful to him\u2014there wasn\u2019t a single rat in the house.\u201d<\/p>\n

No small feat considering the home had sat vacant for three years.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Communication throughout the whole transaction was an issue as well. The other side had a listing agent, but the seller wasn\u2019t a person\u2014it was a department.<\/p>\n

\u201cGetting responses and addenda signed took forever\u2014so much more work than with a normal transaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then there was the issue of a certain loophole specific to foreclosures.<\/p>\n

Meeting the competition<\/p>\n

Unlike a traditional sale where the decision-making power stays in the hands of the buyer during the inspection period and, to a certain extent, throughout the entire deal\u2014a foreclosure sale can still be canceled by the seller up until the completion of the sale.<\/p>\n

\u201cUp to the day of closing, the seller could still take another offer,\u201d says Benjamin. \u201cIt was nerve-wracking.\u201d<\/p>\n

The day of closing, Benjamin drove to the home to complete the final walk-through.<\/p>\n

\u201cA buyer was parked outside. As I was inside the home, I heard him say, \u2018I have been eyeing the house for months and am going to make an offer today.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Hearing this, Benjamin says, \u201cMy heart dropped.\u201d<\/p>\n

He shared with this man that he was closing on the home that day\u2014and luckily, the other buyer never put in an offer or, if he did, it wasn\u2019t high enough. Benjamin and his wife were able to close that day\u2013within the typical 30-day window.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ideal, because the contract included a stipulation that any additional days past the scheduled closing would incur a $150-per-day penalty.<\/p>\n

The sale left the couple ecstatic. They bought a home for $479,000 that had appraised for $610,000. When they signed the deed, they immediately gained $131,000 in equity for the home in the state it was in.<\/p>\n

The refurbished exteriorCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe driveway up to the houseCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtySide door out to the back porchCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyThe refurbished porch on the waterCourtesy of\u00a0Benjamin Bodenschatz and Blue Palms RealtyGetting to work<\/p>\n

Keys in hand, the pair got to work assessing what renovation work needed to be done. The list was long.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe carpets were nasty and had to go, the AC wasn’t working right, and there were some electrical issues,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

The home\u2019s two AC units were functional at the time of inspection.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got lucky,\u201d says Benjamin. \u201cThe week after we purchased the home, they failed.\u201d The new AC unit along with installation cost $7,100.<\/p>\n

Next came the discovery that the two electrical panels were failing. An electrician found \u201cthey were on the edge of catching fire.\u201d They shelled out an additional $14,865.<\/p>\n

Then there was the kitchen: \u201cAll the kitchen cabinets were all stuck\u2014you couldn’t open them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Add $18,700 more. The renovation expenses piled up quickly. Rather than taking out a loan, the couple paid cash\u2014and they had some help along the way. His wife\u2019s family had renovated and sold several homes, and supported the renovation costs.<\/p>\n

The grand total came to $170,000.<\/p>\n

Benjamin and Cosette have slowly been completing projects over time. The house still isn\u2019t quite finished exactly how they want it to be, but it has come a long way.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe got a great house at a great price and the chance to completely make it our own,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When asked if he would ever consider selling, he\u2019s adamant the answer is no.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could even see this being our forever home\u2014I could see myself living there for the rest of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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Sign up now<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"If perusing real estate listings was akin to scrolling in a dating app, Benjamin Bodenschatz, 41, would have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384372,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29,32611,10157,16021,143901,153997,1045,103647],"class_list":["post-384371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news","tag-foreclosure","tag-remodeling","tag-renovations","tag-slot-06","tag-titusville-fl","tag-video","tag-weekly-nl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}