Buy fixer upper in Peoplestown? (Reynolds, Pitts: first time home buyer, crawl space, water heater)

[atlwy]

Hi,

I am a first time home buyer. Should I buy a 1920s fixer upper in Peoplestown? The house I'm looking at is about 30K less than a comparable home.

Note the comparable home is not in peoplestown, but has the same home structure; the comparable is also much newer and much more move-in ready. Comparable is also in southeast atlanta but not in as good of a school district (so it seems).

The house i'm looking at is livable. It's not condemned, but it needs some work. Things that I could live with.

Unfortunately, there are some other MORE costly things that I'm more apprehensive about. They are:
- Roof is old (shingles seem okay but a few visible open gaps between roof and house)
- HVAC system is old
- 1 room is sloping (possible structural issues or settlement?)

Since I'm expecting major work on the roof (complete replacement; gaps between roof and house seem like a big no-no) and I'm expecting replacing the HVAC system, I'm seeing the costs creep up; I'm seeing the difference in price grow smaller and smaller. And these are just the big ticket items.

So I'm already expecting to put 10K into this house (roof and HVAC). That puts the difference at 20K. Again, this difference is going to get smaller and smaller.

I'm not a home flipper. I just want a home that has good bones and has good resale value. Is this house worth it? Please help!

[jsvh]

Location is more important when buying. And I am excited about the potential of Peoplestown.

That said, get the professionally inspected if you haven't already. Structural issues are often a red flag and can be very difficult / expensive to fix. Roof & HVAC could also end up over the $10K fairly easily depending on how big your place is and all.

[netdragon]

Judging by the number of investors calling me about my investment property in PITTSBURGH (across the highway from Peoplestown) almost daily lately (yes, Pittsburgh) I'd consider the much more attractive and nicer Peoplestown a pretty safe bet at this point, bounded by umm Grant Park ;-) and bounded by other neighborhoods going up in price. You snooze, you lose and Peoplestown isn't gonna be affordable that much longer. Homes are hard to find in the ATL right now.

Also, even though the need may be waning in Peoplestown I'd still cage your A/C if you aren't there daily and your crawl space door if the water heater, copper or anything else is down there. Just decorate them and put a pretty wood fence around the caged A/C so no one can see that it's caged Oh, and still get an alarm system and large steel strike plate. Hell, I'd tell you that even in Reynoldstown, but definately Peoplestown.

Originally Posted by jsvh

That said, get the professionally inspected if you haven't already. Structural issues are often a red flag and can be very difficult / expensive to fix. Roof & HVAC could also end up over the $10K fairly easily depending on how big your place is and all.

I would like to add that I wouldn't let the inspection results scare you a ton. There's gonna be a bunch of issues unless you're really lucky. Electrical may be outdated, plumbing, yada yada. And yes probably minor structural issues and maybe even big ones. Just get a few licensed, bonded, insured contractors over and get competing bids before you make a final decision.

for any plumbing pipe replacements, I'd go with pex pipe for any long run replacements.

Also, you should insulate the crawl space and under the floor a little to reduce heating costs (make sure it's done professionally - e.g. done wrong and you can have serious mold problems)

[cqholt]

Watershed Management is about to start work on a Historic Fourth Ward-like park with a storm retention pond at it's center. DWM has pledged to invest $66M in the Turner Field, Summerhill, Peoplestown area to mitigate flooding.

[Spottednikes]

Hvac sys alone can eat up 10k especially if it doesn't have upgraded electrical to handlet it. Roof can be 7-20k depending upon part of country and type of roof. Also if it just needs shingles and underlayment or if it needs new decking.