Looking to Rehab Bungalow in ATL, Need Advice (Atlanta, Gordon: wood floors, real estate)

[GT500 Girl]

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to do my first rehab to an old bungalow. I found a very cute little 'fixer upper' located in Westwood Park, built in 1920, 3/2 in need of TLC for under $60k. I was thinking about putting about $30k into a complete restoration. It seems like a great deal and a good opportunity to get my feet wet in the 'home flipping' market. I might even keep it and rent it out or possibly even keep it as my urban getaway. Can anyone tell me if this is a good area? I am familiar with some parts of Atlanta but I live in South Georgia and I definitely don't want to purchase in the wrong area. Any advice or suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Elisa

[BobKovacs]

I don't know the area specifically, but any 3/2 that's selling for $60k either needs way more than $30k in repairs and you're underestimating the costs, or it's in a very bad area and it's only worth the $60k they're asking for it. Something doesn't sound right here.

[plessthanpointohfive]

I would find out how much renovated homes in the area are selling for, also.

I don't know where Westwood Park is - give us a hint?

[Atlantasfinest]

Looks Like Westview was originally supposed to be called Westwood Park!

Taken from Wiki...

History
Westview was originally planned as a suburban subdivision in the late 1800s by The Westwood Park Company and was to be called Westwood Park. Some of Westwood Park’s original street boundaries were New Green’s Ferry Avenue (now I-20) to the north, Inman Street and Green’s Ferry Street (now Ralph David Abernathy Blvd) to the east, and Sandtown Road (now Cascade Road) to the south east. Westwood Park eventually became known as West End Park (and is usually still listed as such through real estate agencies) and is now known as Westview due to neighboring Westview Cemetery.


More from Westview Atlanta Website...Very Interesting with The Survey of the Original Subarb!

Westview History - Atlanta Bungalows in the Westview

[musicguru]

Originally Posted by GT500 Girl

Hi Everyone,

I am looking to do my first rehab to an old bungalow. I found a very cute little 'fixer upper' located in Westwood Park, built in 1920, 3/2 in need of TLC for under $60k. I was thinking about putting about $30k into a complete restoration. It seems like a great deal and a good opportunity to get my feet wet in the 'home flipping' market. I might even keep it and rent it out or possibly even keep it as my urban getaway. Can anyone tell me if this is a good area? I am familiar with some parts of Atlanta but I live in South Georgia and I definitely don't want to purchase in the wrong area. Any advice or suggestions would be very helpful.

Thanks in advance.

Elisa

I think you may want to think twice about doing this. I mean it sounds great but how much work are you really talking about first and as you were once told what are the renovated homes selling for in that area. What does the foundation look like, are there any infestation, rot, mold, or anything else that might raise the amount you plan to spend on the renovation? I would tell you to look at something that is a little more safe for your flip.

[plessthanpointohfive]

If the home is actually in Westview I would consider doing this if you think you could hold onto it and live there or rent it out.

First, the area of Westview is in the early stages of gentrification so any propoerty will be worth a lot - but not for another decade or a little longer.

Second, make sure that the home is on a street or by parts of the neighborhood where you can see a lot of renovations going on.

Third, make sure the house doesn't need house-health renovations like:

A new roof is about 7K.
New gutters is about 3.5K.
One new HVAC system is about 7K.
Re-wiring a whole house is 7-12K (depending on if it needs to upgraded to modern ampage, or to handler HVAC, or to have dedicated outlets, etc).
New plumbing is 2-5K.
Brick re-pointing and repair is very expensive depending on how much brick there is and what shape it's in - up to 20K (but for small repair jobs moe likely 5K)

And you can't skimp on these things. I've seen people dump all their renovation money into the sexy things and then have their house sit on the market forever because they didn't take care of the important things.

After that is refinishing wood floors, repairing plaster, replacing damaged molding, new kitchen and new bathrooms, paint, light fixtures.

So, see if this house needs THAT extensive of renovation, and remember, don't skimp on the healthy house stuff.

And then there are your windows. From everything I've read if you have old double hung wood windows it is NOT worth your money to change them out. You will NOT see a significant savings in heat/cooling. The only large impact on heat/cooling is insulation in the roof, and roof only. I did extensive research on this because we have old windows and old plaster walls with no insulation in them. I found out that the cost to update these old features is high and I will never get the money back in heating and cooling savings. I was advised to simply make sure my attic was adequately insulated.

So, you're looking at more than 30K. Probably closer to 100K. However, then you have a house you spent 160K on. Could you sell it for 200K? or even 180K?

could you rent it out to cover the mortgage + a bit more?

Could you just live in it until the area gentrifies and sell it for big bucks?


I understand your excitement. I really do. My husband and I bought a house to rehab because it would mean we could live in the city in a house that would eventually be our dream home. But we expect to live there long-term.

Think carefully before proceeding.

[ebs964]

..and then there could be termites, too. What about asbestos removal? Even if you think of everything that could possibly go wrong, there will be even more. Proceed with caution.

[patrickbatl]

We haven’t been called Westwood Park for nearly 100 years, so it is funny that a real estate agent listed it that way...

I live in Westview, and yes there are a lot of beautiful houses right now that can be purchased around that price. This area was hit very hard by mortgage fraud in the early to mid 2000's, and just in past year or so the banks have really been selling off these houses. Many of them sat empty forever, but I guess with the current mortgage crisis they are desperate to get any money they can. Many of the houses that have dropped so low started off in the mid or low $100's, but since there is such a large inventory and the market is so slow the banks have been cutting prices like crazy. These prices are far below the fair market value under normal circumstances.

As was pointed out many of the houses on the bottom end of the price range need a lot of work. My wife and I bought our house in Westview and we did exactly what was described. We did a full rehab - new systems (plumbing, electrical, HVAC), new kitchen, new bathroom, refinished the floors, etc. We really enjoyed it because we got to customize our house to our liking, but the renovation work it is not for everybody.

Was it worth it? You bet! We love our house (a bungalow from 1917), our neighborhood, and our neighbors. We have a VERY motivated group of people working hard over here to really improve the area, and there are new people moving in all the time. With the prices so low it is a first time home owner's dream. In our house we have all the original Arts and Crafts features still in tact - butler's pantry, coffered ceilings, plate molding, built-in bookshelves, double-hung windows with water glass, a large front porch, heart pine floors, etc. We also have ten foot ceilings and a 1/4 acre (which is big for intown lots), and in my opinion, one of the best parts is on the weekends we can walk to neighbors' houses for dinner, drinks, and parties. It is already turning into a wonderful place to live.

To be honest we really need homeowners that live in their homes - not investors. I’m not trying to be negative, but for the most part the people that move here want an intown home they can buy for cheap and really fix up. There isn't a huge demand quite yet for homes that have already been renovated. You would need to commit to having the house for at least five years, if not longer.

For more information on the neighborhood you can check out our website at Westview Atlanta Website. You can also ask Scott Smith, the Westview Community Organization VP, for a tour of the neighborhood.

[westviewbungalow]

Like Atlantasfinest pointed out, Westwood Park is the Westview neighborhood. To give a quick history, Westview was originally called Westwood Park when the plans were laid out by the Westwood Park Company in the 1880s. The neighborhood and its plans never materialized until William J. Davis bought the land in 1910 and turned it into the West End Park neighborhood. That name turned into Westview, as we are known now, but many real estate listings will still call it "West End Park". In some cases properties located in Westview will even be listed as "West End" or "Historic West End" because many real estate agents aren't well informed about the neighborhood boundaries. Basically anything inside the borders of I-20, Langhorn, Cascade, Beecher, South Gordon, Westmeath, Derry, and the Westview Cemetery are within the Westview neighborhood boundaries.

Even though we love to see that people are interested in our neighborhood we are really looking for homeowners. We need loving, caring people to help fill the empty houses. Is living here fulltime not an option?