Renovating a potential purchase on a tight budget. (percent, price, rent)

[cully]

I'm not quite understanding. At first it sounded like the house was uninhabitable...perhaps barebones 1800s. But, as someone said, 1926 should allow an occupancy permit with not a lot of money spent. And the rest would be restoration, rehab, personal taste.

If there's truly nothing in the house, I don't know your community, but as long as zoning or whoever doesn't think the roof will cave in affecting the first floor, a second floor can sometimes be blocked off, sometimes categorized as an unfinished walk in attic, and an occupancy permit issued.

That fallen in love part. That can be dangerous. You want to give it everything right away.

[Austin023]

Originally Posted by cully

I'm not quite understanding. At first it sounded like the house was uninhabitable...perhaps barebones 1800s. But, as someone said, 1926 should allow an occupancy permit with not a lot of money spent. And the rest would be restoration, rehab, personal taste.

If there's truly nothing in the house, I don't know your community, but as long as zoning or whoever doesn't think the roof will cave in affecting the first floor, a second floor can sometimes be blocked off, sometimes categorized as an unfinished walk in attic, and an occupancy permit issued.

That fallen in love part. That can be dangerous. You want to give it everything right away.

Obviously older homes are going to tend to need more upkeep and repairs but age itself really is a poor predictor as to how much that is going to cost.

Generally speaking a house is not habitable if there is no usable running water or sewerage (that is, a waste disposal system which meets standards, like a septic tank), serious structural problems, no kitchen or bathroom that is functional (like not having a refrigerator/icebox), fire hazards, windows that are missing so inside is expose to outside environment, serious mold or insect infestation, etc.

I have seen houses which were 10 years old that had been declared uninhabitable due to serious damage like mold infestation, had very serous problems due to water damage and such...And I have also seen houses 100 years old which were in need of updates and a general cosmetic freshening up but still had very strong bones and the essentials (roof, foundation, sills, plumbing, etc) were still in pretty good shape...looks can be deceiving and if you're going to buy a place that is in need of much work, always best to do a thorough inspection and be informed enough to really know what you could be getting into. There is always going to be at least some unforseen issues when you start to take things apart and you should prioritize and plan accordingly.

[Electrician4you]

I've been inthe construction field for a long time. When doing a remodel throw everything you see on the surface out the window. Once you start digging into the house you'll find all kinds of issues. And this kind of remodel you plan don't even think of doing it without permits. I guarantee you that you'll add 20% to whatever budget you come up with. And if you need drywall work get a pro to do it. I'm doing a remodel on a rental and I budgeted 40k but will be more like 50-55k once you start tearing into stuff you will be upgrading. Your electrical panel is probably a 100 amp and will need a upgrade to 200 amp. Code requirements for electrical alone will leave you reeling not to go into the plumbing and others. You'll find wonderful things like rotted rafters, joists and plywood.
The rental I am redoing I am makin it so it's gonna lasts so I am putti a little higher grade stuff. Word of advice cheap ain't good and good ain't cheap. Spend the money and get better materials. You will enjoy it more. Builder grade stuff belongs in flips not houses you plan on living in. Get good kitchen cabinet brand and good counters. That will give you a ROI believe me a buyer can tell the difference between crap and good cabinets.

[Galaxie Girl]

Fyi, this thread is 7 months old. I wonder if the OP ended up buying the house...? Maybe he'll come back and let us all know.

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by Galaxie Girl

Fyi, this thread is 7 months old. I wonder if the OP ended up buying the house...? Maybe he'll come back and let us all know.

Lol why oh why can't zombie threads be red. Radioactive red title lettering. Then I won't resurrect them.

[jamies]

^^ No, shouldn't zombie threads be green?

But actually I'm glad it came up because I was having some temporary insanity now that it's cooler in the southwest, and I was thinking of a new roof and stuccoing my wood sided house and upgrading the electric, along with pushing part of the living room out for a new foyer and adding a garage and a shed.

We ought to be able to get that done in a weekend for ten grand, right?

[sanderss1]

I am replying to a fairly old thread but thought someone out there in blog land might be interested in my reply. I buy, sell and rent houses. I renovate regularly. I buy crack houses, vandalized houses, and ordinary houses. All of them pretty much make me money. Some are small projects, others large. Mostly it is about money. An ease on the money part is to do a Heloc for around $80000 if you have equity. Other than that, you can run out of money. The money plan is to hire a main contractor + 2 helpers for around $2000 per week. You can do this in most places. A complete strip down to studs, a new roof, redoing of all windows, new siding, new sheet rock and new insulation + all new wiring including a weather head can be done in about 8 weeks. This does not include tubs, kitchen sink, cabinets, central air etc. It is a brand new shell, including doors and windows. Usually at this point an individual can finish the interior. It can easily cost $30,000 for a turn key. $16000 for labor, $14000 for materials. You can use this rule of thumb for a 1000 square foot house. Jim the schoolteacher.

[sanderss1]

I forgot to mention that I teach school and do this as my summer job. Jim the school teacher

[Electrician4you]

Originally Posted by 540_804

So here are some assumptions: There are no structural defects: the roof and foundation are solid. The floors and shell are solid.

But here's the work that needs to be done:
-New wiring.
-New plumbing.
(Walls stripped to studs and new drywall).
-New windows.
-Refinished flooring (all hardwood and in OK condition but need to be refinished).
-Builder grade finishes in kitchen and bathrooms.

I'm capable of doing some of the work myself. For instance, I can do the bathrooms myself as long as all of the plumbing and wiring to the bathroom is done professionally.

I've considered running wiring and plumbing to the 2nd bathroom but leaving it unfinished (finished off as a storage room instead of bathroom for now) for the time being if necessary to save money.

I'd even be willing to do the kitchen myself as well to save money (I know how to do tile-work and can hang cabinetry, etc -- skills gained from living with my DIY-crazy parents [who would be willing to assist in this as well]).

So is this possible on a $100k budget? This is a first home; I don't need luxury finished. I don't need a custom kitchen. I can do builder grade. Just want to know if I'm out of my mind or not. I'm getting really emotionally attached to this idea and don't want to be too disappointed.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[PS: Apologies for the poor grammar that I'm sure you'll catch; I'm typing this in a rush!]

Its possible on a 100k budget in fact you can go a lot better than builder grade.
Electrical ( with new panel added) will run about 8k. You are gonna add more lighting, fans, undercounter lighting, extra outlets.
Plumbing you can use PEX its . Cheaper and faster than copper pipe but really depends.
Drywall can get expensive. Especially if you plan on doing a whole house.
Refinishing probably should get a pro.
Builder grade meh not for me in my personal residence.

Here is how I see remodels.

If I'm doing a remodel for a house I am going to live in I want higher end materials maybe not completely custom but not builder grade. Because I do some of my own work I'm saving a lot on labor.

On a rental I use mid grade builder stuff. I do some of my own work so I still save on labor.

Ok demo for your size of project get a demo company . I paid 3200 bucks but trust me you'll be aches and time ahead by hiring a demo co. Just tell them what you want and it will get done. My rental was about 1700 sq ft and it took those guys from 7 am to 8 pm to do it. But when it was done it was done. I was ready to start. If I DIY it would of taken me at least a week if not more.

To give you a idea of prices I did a recent remodel. Tore kitchen and master bathroom to studs, a guest bath shower redo and some drywall repairs in living room. Added fans in every room and patched. Complete retexture the whole house
Drywall was $5500

Builder grade Home Depot US made mid grade cabinets (kitchen and three bathroom cabinets) which included granite countertops for the kitchen (and installation of granite) and sink 8,000. The granite for the bathrooms was the premade type granite top and sink those were $250 each.

I did a complete rewire of the kitchen, installed undercounter lights ( you will want to install these theire a great upgrade) pendant lighting and can lights and fans. The materials ran me about 2500 bucks which was everything. Inside and outside lighting switches, outlets, wire,
To have this done by a electrician would run about 5-6k on the low end

Plumbing was moving the tub and sink drain and water supply lines to new locations in master bed bath and shower in guest room and kitchen one bay over add water line for fridge , reinstall WH, redo the drain and lines at WD extend drain and lines in the wall at bonus room and trim finish all drains water lines hooked up and set sinks and toilets. That ran $3500 which was cheap. But this guy has been my pumber for years and I know his work, most plumbers would be at about 6-7k

Paint and primer new drywall paint all walls and baseboarspds, casings, doors caulk all seams and one last touch up after every trade is done $3500.again most orienteers would be at about 4500-5k.

Tile included paper lath and mortar on both master bath and shower, mortar bed the shower floor, tile both shower and bath walls all the way up to ceiling, tile the shower and bath floors and completely tile downstairs and backsplash on the kitchen with bull nose trim on the tile edges was 10k. Expensive but everything is completely flat and the grout lines are laser sharp.

Permits etc was 1800. There were a lot of things I had to install new. Closet doors, all doors interior and exterior doors, casings baseboards. Bought new table saw and miter saw and finish nail guns 1100 bucks.

The whole remodel was 62000 bucks turn key. It was for the most part a total redo. Btw there is no way to tell what is and isn't solid until you tear into it. I'll gladly show you a pic of my shower floor torn out and looking down into the first floor. Lots of stuff will nickel and dime you to death. New fences, had a 1800 dollar stucco and framing/stair landing repair I was not expecting. But I rather get it done now than try to do it later with tenants there.
Whatever you budget add 10%. 100k is a good number but you better plan on living in it for a long long time. I was hoping for 40k, realistically thought 50k would be the top but I blew through that to 62k.

[cully]

Have you looked into an FHA203k rehab loan? They send out an inspector who can give you some ideas on this.