Purchasing a rehab home? (investment, landlord, price, property)

[Braunwyn]

Hello all,

Today I went to see a home. The listing price is what caught my eye ($184,900). The home has 0.34 acre and is the last home on a dead end street in a pretty nice neighborhood. I love the lot and the outside of the home (1164 sq ft). I walk in and notice that the place needs to be entirely gutted. I think some electric work was being done at one point due to the various holes in some ceilings and walls. The flooring looks like it needs to be pulled up as there is only crappy looking board. Since every room (inlcuding all bath and kitchen), plus a new heating system, and who knows what else, needs to be done, I'm wondering about possible costs. Would 50k be enough to get some bare bones in this place?

I know it's hard to say without seeing the place but I don't know where to start in the way of researching a rehab...electrical, plumbing, and heating, providing the structure is ok. And some decent sub-flooring. Meh.

[middle-aged mom]

Fnd a reputable general contractor willing to look at the property and give you an idea of costs. Than add 20% for the unknown.

[Braunwyn]

Thanks. I had a landlord years ago that was a contractor and a great guy. I'm going to try and find him in the coming weeks to see if he'll go over there with me and take a look.

[misplaced1]

I just bought a total rehad project myself. It needs just about everything. Wiring, roof replaced, plumbing redone, walls put back in, new kitchen, bathrooms redone. It's in a medium sized town with 4 lots that equal a little over half an acre. We are doing much of the work ourselves except the wiring we will be using an electrician. It's got about 2880 sq feet plus an attic and basement and we picked it up for next to nothing though so it's a good deal.

Definitely get someone you trust to give you estimates. A lot of times remodeling can get pretty spendy.

[Bazzwell]

Originally Posted by Braunwyn

The listing price is what caught my eye ($184,900).

Take the price you think you can get it for, add in the expected repair costs and then get a figure on finished value. If the finished value is higher than your purchase price + repairs, you've found a bargain. If the value is fairly near neighborhood comps at least you haven't overpaid. If the value is lower you've done yourself no favor unless you just had to have this particular house.

I'm working with a couple now who are going to be starting such a project. Once done, their home will be worth twice what the investment was. They got lucky, timing. But too many times I've seen places like this turn out to be a bad deal when all the work is done.

[Braunwyn]

Originally Posted by Bazzwell

Take the price you think you can get it for, add in the expected repair costs and then get a figure on finished value. If the finished value is higher than your purchase price + repairs, you've found a bargain. If the value is fairly near neighborhood comps at least you haven't overpaid. If the value is lower you've done yourself no favor unless you just had to have this particular house.

I'm working with a couple now who are going to be starting such a project. Once done, their home will be worth twice what the investment was. They got lucky, timing. But too many times I've seen places like this turn out to be a bad deal when all the work is done.

I would offer 140-150,000. If I could the bare bones done for 50-60 and do most of the finishing work myself with the resulting costs around 220-230, it would be a fair deal if not a good deal.

I wonder how long the contractors would take. Is it possible to have most of the rehab done in a month?

[Braunwyn]

Originally Posted by misplaced1

I just bought a total rehad project myself. It needs just about everything. Wiring, roof replaced, plumbing redone, walls put back in, new kitchen, bathrooms redone. It's in a medium sized town with 4 lots that equal a little over half an acre. We are doing much of the work ourselves except the wiring we will be using an electrician. It's got about 2880 sq feet plus an attic and basement and we picked it up for next to nothing though so it's a good deal.

Definitely get someone you trust to give you estimates. A lot of times remodeling can get pretty spendy.

Do you mind me asking how much it's running you? Also, since your place has great sq footage, would less sq ft mean less expense?

[misplaced1]

We haven't started the work yet. We are out of state still. We have an advantage that we have done drywall and finish work and my hubby currently works for a mill so we can get any discount lumber we might need. The sellers have most of the downstairs stripped down to framing so that helps with a clean slate for the walls. The upstairs is mostly lathe and plaster which we will be probably patching unless we change our minds in the mean time. It's going to be a lot of work but I adore the house. I suspect it will cost us considerably less though because we can do so much ourselves. Our house is in Missouri and the purchase price is quite low but it's an old house, just what I was looking for.