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Old 07-25-2014, 09:24 AM
 
158 posts, read 272,104 times
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I am about to buy an old fixer- upper. IT's a really good deal, I'm getting it for 50k from a gentleman who inherited it from his mother who passed away about 1.5 years ago. He has had trouble selling it due to it being a depressed market here still and it needs some work. So let me lay it out there for ya:

1. IT has all hardwood floors, which are in pretty good shape but could use a refinish
2. Single pane windows throughout
3. No central air, window units only
4. Dated kitchen, although all appliances still work and the fridge is only 2 years old.
5. Screened in porch could use a rescreening
6. All siding is wooden and likely needs to be repaired/replaced.
7. House has a walk-in cellar (like a crawl space but taller, accessible from outside of house) which likely needs more insulation.
8. Attic needs insulation
9. House has old wiring needs updating
10. House has dated bathrooms, one of which has only a bath and no shower. The other has a shower.
11. All heating is baseboard heating.


That's about all I can think of for now. The house has great bones. It's a 1950's home, very charming and I can definitely see the potential. It is about 2000 square feet, 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms.

Anyway, the question is - what is the most important thing to do first? What would you wait until the end to do? I know cosmetics can wait till last, but what is #1 on the list? Wiring? Insulation? Siding? Thanks
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:26 AM
 
158 posts, read 272,104 times
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I forgot to add - there is no washer/dryer hookup. I would like to add that as well.
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:32 AM
 
Location: southwestern PA
22,377 posts, read 47,354,474 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by catlovr8 View Post
What would you wait until the end to do? I know cosmetics can wait till last, but what is #1 on the list? Wiring? Insulation? Siding? Thanks
Are there problems with the wiring and siding? If not, let those slide.

I would paint the entire house and do the floors before moving in.
The rest is up to you and your finances.
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Old 07-25-2014, 09:38 AM
 
Location: Wonderland
67,652 posts, read 60,510,911 times
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I agree with Pitt Chick on the wiring and siding. If the wiring isn't a hazard then you can get to that later. And if the siding is performing well, get to that later as well. I also agree that if you're going to paint inside, and if the hardwood floors need refinishing, then do the paint and then hardwoods in that order.

However, it sounds like you may not need to refinish those hardwood floors. That's a HUGE project, so if you don't have to do it, don't do it - LOL. Remember, you're going to put furniture and area rugs in those rooms.

Adding insulation where needed, and redoing the screen on the porch are inexpensive projects. Probably not PRESSING, but they're not major expenses or time suckers. Plus, you can do those whenever - you don't have to move furniture around or tear up your place. I'd just work those in as I could.

If the bathrooms are functional and working properly, I'd hold off on them as well - and focus on the kitchen.

Here in Texas, central air would be the TOP OF THE PRIORITY LIST.
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:04 AM
 
Location: Salinas, CA
353 posts, read 423,977 times
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What state are you in? That might help in determining what priorities should be. Floors and paint should be done before move-in either way for ease of doing the work. You can do the floors yourself. It's not rocket science; we did it in our house. I don't know what companies charge but it'll cost you the rental of the floor sander/stripper for at least a day (sounds like a big house), the edger (a day), and then the materials cost. Price it out and you can figure out how much the floors would cost to get done. Only word of caution is be careful to not oversand an area...easily to strip away too much material.

Second to that my preference would be to work on the rooms that you spend the most time in and use every day (ie: bathroom / kitchen) unless better insulation is important to you. Again, probably depends geographically.
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:05 AM
 
158 posts, read 272,104 times
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The siding isn't rotting, just the paint peeling off, so not really a problem. Painting and refinishing flooring is probably a good idea. Thanks.

The wiring can wait? There are some updated fixtures so I have to see the extent of the age of the wiring first.
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:06 AM
 
158 posts, read 272,104 times
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TwistedGray, we are in North Carolina, very small town, about an hour from Raleigh
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Old 07-25-2014, 10:45 AM
 
Location: Brentwood, Tennessee
49,932 posts, read 59,719,497 times
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I would do the floors first because you will NEVER want to move all your stuff out again once you move in.

I would then do the wiring because any upgrades you do to the kitchen will require that anyway. You probably will need to upgrade the wiring to install central air, which I definitely would want.

The windows will need to be addressed eventually because of air leaks, but they are VERY expensive.

Screen porch is not that expensive. He probably will find some wood rot and want to fix that too, so count on several hundred to a couple thousand depending on the size.

This house has a LOT of expensive projects. Did you have an inspection? How is the foundation?
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Old 07-25-2014, 11:45 AM
 
Location: Myrtle Creek, Oregon
15,293 posts, read 17,612,121 times
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Yeah, floors if they really need it. Wiring before insulation, always. With under-floor access, pull out the baseboard heat and install central heat and AC. Energy efficiency is very important for cash flow. Heating and AC is not cheap any more.

Get rid of the single pane windows ASAP, they do nothing but suck money. I see the comment about windows being expensive to replace. They are not. It is the window contractors that are expensive, and they hire half trained workers at minimum wage. Learn to do it yourself. Buy a Sawzall and a screw gun, which are the only tools you need. Measure up your windows, take the measurements to a window shop and have them fab up new low-E windows to fit. It will cost you an average of $100/window. DO NOT buy dark colored vinyl if they are exposed to the sun. Yes, it will be more expensive if you want to replace the windows with wood. Don't forget the doors, which will be more expensive. A new insulated entry door and a new French door to replace the old slider cost me $2400.

In that vintage, the walls are probably not insulated either. Drill and foam them before painting the exterior.

Wood siding can be restored if you are willing to do a lot of paint prep. Pressure wash, then scrape and wire brush to get all loose paint off, TSP and pressure wash, prime any bare wood, caulk any cracks, then paint.

Your really expensive projects will be the kitchen and bathrooms.
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Old 07-25-2014, 12:16 PM
 
158 posts, read 272,104 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TwistedGray View Post
What state are you in? That might help in determining what priorities should be. Floors and paint should be done before move-in either way for ease of doing the work. You can do the floors yourself. It's not rocket science; we did it in our house. I don't know what companies charge but it'll cost you the rental of the floor sander/stripper for at least a day (sounds like a big house), the edger (a day), and then the materials cost. Price it out and you can figure out how much the floors would cost to get done. Only word of caution is be careful to not oversand an area...easily to strip away too much material.

Second to that my preference would be to work on the rooms that you spend the most time in and use every day (ie: bathroom / kitchen) unless better insulation is important to you. Again, probably depends geographically.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wmsn4Life View Post
I would do the floors first because you will NEVER want to move all your stuff out again once you move in.

I would then do the wiring because any upgrades you do to the kitchen will require that anyway. You probably will need to upgrade the wiring to install central air, which I definitely would want.

The windows will need to be addressed eventually because of air leaks, but they are VERY expensive.

Screen porch is not that expensive. He probably will find some wood rot and want to fix that too, so count on several hundred to a couple thousand depending on the size.

This house has a LOT of expensive projects. Did you have an inspection? How is the foundation?
It does have a lot of projects, but other houses in the area that are completely done are worth more than 100K for this size, so it will be worth it, I think. Probably a good idea to do the floors first.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Larry Caldwell View Post
Yeah, floors if they really need it. Wiring before insulation, always. With under-floor access, pull out the baseboard heat and install central heat and AC. Energy efficiency is very important for cash flow. Heating and AC is not cheap any more.

Get rid of the single pane windows ASAP, they do nothing but suck money. I see the comment about windows being expensive to replace. They are not. It is the window contractors that are expensive, and they hire half trained workers at minimum wage. Learn to do it yourself. Buy a Sawzall and a screw gun, which are the only tools you need. Measure up your windows, take the measurements to a window shop and have them fab up new low-E windows to fit. It will cost you an average of $100/window. DO NOT buy dark colored vinyl if they are exposed to the sun. Yes, it will be more expensive if you want to replace the windows with wood. Don't forget the doors, which will be more expensive. A new insulated entry door and a new French door to replace the old slider cost me $2400.

In that vintage, the walls are probably not insulated either. Drill and foam them before painting the exterior.

Wood siding can be restored if you are willing to do a lot of paint prep. Pressure wash, then scrape and wire brush to get all loose paint off, TSP and pressure wash, prime any bare wood, caulk any cracks, then paint.

Your really expensive projects will be the kitchen and bathrooms.
Yes we will have to make sure to not go over-board on kitchen and bathroom. I really don't need anything that fancy, anyway - just workable, nothing glamorous. What is currently there right now WORKS, but I would really like a dishwasher and a shower instead of just a tub, so those two issues are the first things I'll probably address.

I think we will probably restore the wood siding because we can do that ourselves vs. putting on new siding.

I'll look into the window thing, but you're right - we will need new windows and doors if we are going to do central air as I'm sure it is not a very energy efficient house as is. Luckily our climate is pretty mild here in Northern NC, it could be a lot worse.
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