How do you know if a house is worth fixing up?

Question

My husband and I are going to buy a house. He wants to buy the house we are in (his grandmother's old house) and fix it up. I think the house is more trouble than it's worth.

What are some ways to know if we should put our time into it, or not?

Some things that are wrong with the house:

- All window frames are rotting, about half of the windows have broken glass.

- Atleast 3 outlets need rewired.

- Bathroom doesn't have any sort of ventalition, causing mold to grow on the ceiling and walls.

- Bathroom walls are drywall only, no paint or tiles.

- Hardwood floors need either refinished, or carpeted.

- Kitchen is too small, hasn't been remodled or change in anyway since the 50s or 60s.

- Needs to be reroofed. Garage roof is caving in.

- Washer/Dryer hook-ups are in basement, and the water from the washer drains onto the floor. (2 different plumbers said there is no way to solve that)

- Front and back porch are rotting and need redone.

Answer 1

He must have some reason why he wants to buy what sounds like an old wreck with some expensive to fix faults. What is the reason? There's probably more wrong than you can see. I'd suggest hiring a home inspector and an appraiser. The home inspector can give objective opinions on what needs fixing and why, the appraiser can tell you what the house might reasonably sell for. Then you might want to get a contractor to give you a rough estimate of what it would cost to fix all that is wrong, and get him to break it down so you know how much materials will be if you are willing and able to do the work yourselves.

Keep in mind that with the sort of things you're describing here, it's very likely that no one can really tell what will need fixing until you start tearing things apart. I once went to replace my front steps, and found I couldn't. There was nowhere to fasten them to the house. There was no solid wood left on the entire bottom half of the front of the house. I don't know why the old steps stayed up as long as they did.

Explain to your husband that a house is the largest purchase you are ever likely to make, and it's smart to know as much as you can about what you're getting into. This is the same process you should follow when buying any house, and you should both try your best to keep emotions out of the decision. Not easy, but try. And never ever pay more than market value for any house, even if you are buying it from relatives, unless you really have extra money and are sort of 'donating' it to them by buying their house.

Answer 2

If the price is right most houses can be worth fixing up, but it sounds as if the price is too high. I would get a surveyor to look at it, get a professional valuation done and some estimates for new windows, roofing, rewiring etc. so you have some facts to negotiate with.  

You probably won't be able to get a loan for much more than the bank thinks it's worth. Also people don't usually expect to get their first asking price.

Answer 3

I can understand him wanting to keep it because it was his grandmother's house and he has fond memories of things that happened in that house.

First off I would tell the mother to GET REAL. Then I would call a house inspector. (Any Realtor can give you a number for the one they use.)

Find out what it should sell for (if at all) in it's current condition and offer her that.

If similar houses are selling for 50K then you're probably looking at 10K...and that's probably high.

Answer 4

It all depends how bad the rottig has occured some things are acutally a easy fix if he doesnt know a thing about carpentry or is not a handyman I would look for another place to live

Answer 5

If the property is cheep and the plot is large.....Yes  If I have to I will and have torn parts of the house down and stated from my own fairytale designs

Answer 6

I think his grandmother is asking to much for the condition it is in. I don't think it would cost you no $59.000 to make repairs but it would cost a lot. If your hubby does all the repairs it would definitely be cheaper.

You would probably have to rewire the whole house,put in all new windows,put in roof vents and use Kilz on the bathroom walls or tile it. With the floors you could do either,and the W&D problem you would probably have to hook into the city sewer. That's if you have a sump pump now for the water to go into from the washer. You would have to totally redo both porches for them to be safe and possibly replace the garage roof or tear it down and build a new one. I think you'd be further ahead to buy another house. Even if you have to spend alittle more than the price his grandmother wants for hers. If you hire someone to fix it up it would be much more costly. Good luck.

You may want to call a place who specializes in fixing up houses and have them come out and look the place over and have them give you an estimate of what it would cost to repair it. Have the person tell you what they charge for labor then deduct that off the cost of the supplies you need to do the labor yourself. Sometimes places will give you a free estimate. Look in the yellow pages of your phone book.

Answer 7

I would say it's not worth it. All that  work is a pain in the butt. I know from experience and we didn't have nearly the problems that house has. From what you've said the mother is asking to much for it. If the less expensive house has less work and you'd rather have it then thats the best choice.

Sit down with your husband and make a list of the pros and cons with each house. I'm sure with the grandma's house the only pros will be that it's been in the family a while and that sounds about it. maybe that will make him see

Answer 8

MY moms a realtor. Since its truly a buyer's market adn not a lot of hoses are moving i suggest you offer about 60k (with agents, realtors, inspections, etc that will decut about 2k) So even if it is a fixer upper you should calqulate all the costs ov removal, painting, revamping, etc. Go to someplace like home depo adn tlel them what you want. They can give you an estimate :)

Answer 9

Sounds like my kinda house!

I like projects like this, they make you come up with creative solutions.

Drain the washer into a stationary tub with a float controlled electric water pump in it. Plumb the water pump to go outside just above above ground level and water some grass or a flower bed. I set mine up this way 11 years ago (the pump was 90 dollars at home depot) after some "professional" plumbers told me there was no way to resolve this issue.

The rest of the stuff is pretty straight forward carpentry & electric work. If you google the things you are not sure about you can find some pretty good advice.

It can seem a bit overwhelming but the finished product is quite rewarding when you do it yourself, also cheaper. We have been improving our house for 18 years now and can't imagine calling any other place home, the original list is long since done and we just dream up cool stuff for fun now!

Just some food for thought, good luck!