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There is a house we are interested, but it needs some work. It's livable and we are willing to do the work as we go, some of it ourselves and some with a contractor, but we really don't know how much would it be. We don't want to get it over our heads.
It was built in the 60's. The windows and the main bathroom are original. Windows are single pane wood with aluminum storms. Bathtub and sinks are old and cracked, still functional tough. Exterior window sills are rotting and need replacement. Exterior paint is peeling, both in siding and windows. AC was installed in 2003, but I don't know how efficient it is. Oil boiler with attached hot water tank is old, but I wasn't able to find any date. Seller says it was there when they bought the house 9 years ago so they think is about 15 years old.
Wood floors are also original and need refinishing. Laminate in finished basement is buckling in one spot.
You are not going to be getting a truly accurate answer but at least give us an idea of how many windows, how large is the house, one story or two, all wood floors interior or not, what part of the country, city or rural, etc...? - as a starting point.
Get the house inspector to give you that information when and if you do a walk through. No one here can give you a figure, especially without pictures!
There is a house we are interested, but it needs some work. It's livable and we are willing to do the work as we go, some of it ourselves and some with a contractor, but we really don't know how much would it be. We don't want to get it over our heads.
It was built in the 60's. The windows and the main bathroom are original. Windows are single pane wood with aluminum storms. Bathtub and sinks are old and cracked, still functional tough. Exterior window sills are rotting and need replacement. Exterior paint is peeling, both in siding and windows. AC was installed in 2003, but I don't know how efficient it is. Oil boiler with attached hot water tank is old, but I wasn't able to find any date. Seller says it was there when they bought the house 9 years ago so they think is about 15 years old.
Wood floors are also original and need refinishing. Laminate in finished basement is buckling in one spot.
Thank you in advance.
Wow...that house sounds like a money pit, no offense. Sounds like it needs to be gutted to the studs.
Around here it's about $8k-$10k on average to gut and remodel a bathroom.
AC systems run anywhere from $4k to $12k depending on what kind of system you get and the tonnage you need.
It cost me about $600 in materials and labor to have a gas hot water heater replaced. No idea what it would cost to replace an oil boiler, I don't even know what one of those is.
I had my windows replaced in 2010 and it cost a little under $8k for 15 windows, installed. No lead was found, so that kept costs down. (If your exterior sills are painted, there's a decent chance they'll test positive for lead given the age of the house.)
Refinishing wood floors will run into the thousands depending on square footage. My house is less than 2k square feet and about half of that is hardwoods. I've been quoted up to $4k to have them stripped, sanded, and finished.
Do you know if the house has aluminum wiring? If it does, you'll want to rewire it. That will run into the thousands, possibly even 5 figures.
The house is 1300 sqft first floor and 300 in finished basement (family room w/ fireplace). It's split level, so the basement is not completely underground. All wood floors in first floor and laminate and vinyl in basement (the rest of the basement is garage, laundry and storage, unfinished). There are at least 20 windows.
No idea about the aluminum wiring. The house is suburban, in a neighborhood.
The house is 1300 sqft first floor and 300 in finished basement (family room w/ fireplace). It's split level, so the basement is not completely underground. All wood floors in first floor and laminate and vinyl in basement (the rest of the basement is garage, laundry and storage, unfinished). There are at least 20 windows.
No idea about the aluminum wiring. The house is suburban, in a neighborhood.
The pictures don't really give me any new info apart from what you've told us; that wood floor looks really bad though. What's the deal with that weird shape?
Whether it's worth it to fix the house really depends on how badly you want the house, what kind of deal you can get for it (I'd lowball the hell out of it) and how much money you have in your budget for the repairs you need to do. Don't assume you can finance it.
Having windows replaced isn't really disruptive; mine were done in a day. But some of the other stuff like bathroom remodels and refinishing wood floors can be disruptive and ideally you want to do that before you even move in. If you're thinking about rewiring, don't move in before it's done. Also factor in the cost of fixing and painting the walls when you're done.
It was built in the 60's. The windows and the main bathroom are original. Windows are single pane wood with aluminum storms. Bathtub and sinks are old and cracked, still functional tough. Exterior window sills are rotting and need replacement. Exterior paint is peeling, both in siding and windows. AC was installed in 2003, but I don't know how efficient it is. Oil boiler with attached hot water tank is old, but I wasn't able to find any date. Seller says it was there when they bought the house 9 years ago so they think is about 15 years old.
Wood floors are also original and need refinishing. Laminate in finished basement is buckling in one spot.
Thank you in advance.
No idea where "somewhere out there" (OP's listed location) might be, but in Seattle metro there are numerous businesses that make a pretty penny renovating falling-down garbage homes and selling at-profit. That is peculiar to this and other red-hot markets however: definitely a seller's market in some parts of Seattle metro at the moment.
Whether it is "worth it" or not keys directly to nature of the particular market. There are few to no renovation businesses in part of the country with depressed markets: "good money after bad" sums it up.
I've talked to one such firm. They send in one or more estimators to thoroughly examine the structural details on (for example) the Post WWII Boom single-levels in my neighborhood. Homes held by people for forty or more years, about the point people no longer realize they're living in squalor literally adjacent to million-dollar renovations and new construction. They do a title search and test soil, materials, and water too. And much more.
Results vary widely. There is obviously no immediate answer to your particular question without a thorough examination and testing.
Sometimes, the answer is "bulldoze it," the dirt is worth more than anything (based on location).
Usually, in my neighborhood, a $100-200K renovation on an otherwise-worthless property with $250K lot can result in a later sale for $500-600K. Thus, profitable for the remodeler.
The house I bought was one such renovation, thus this subject was of keen interest to me as-well. Original owner spent roughly $100K fixing the place up (correctly) then sold it to me at-profit.
People who do this for a living can provide an accurate answer. Guessing you cannot. Being a bit risk-averse, I'd pass on that since asking the question suggests you have little idea the level of effort necessary to bring it to (some arbitrary level of quality).
Complete bathroom remodel done correctly runs 7-10k dehorning on materials. I guarantee that if you don't do it right within a year or so you will be redoing it. Water and moisture will tear it start quickly.
Kitchen remodels run 30k. You may get away with less but you'll skimp on quality. MDF cabinets are the worse you can get. I call them fallaparts. A decent set of cabinets will run you 7-8k for mid grade stuff.
Windows that you have can be scraped sanded primered and repainted. Scrape out the old caulking and recaulk the seams
My windows on a rental were 5500. 11 retrofit and two new install ( had to do new install because of egress code which required busting stucco)
Water heater. You can DIY.
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