Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
It looks like a ton of work to me but it also looks lto be a good deal for that part of the country. It’s a pretty neat house too with loads of potential. I would leave the porch enclosed for now. I think part of the reason the house looks weird has to do with the landscaping, or lack of it as well as the chain link. I would want to have a fence out front in that neighborhood but maybe not that one in particular. If you do buy, I’m sure I’m not the only one who’d love to see before and after. Good luck!
I appreciate the additional input so far. Seems like focusing on the interior work (wiring, flooring, kitchen) would be most important, followed by siding and window trim. I don't want to remove the aluminum siding without having an idea how the porch should change, if it should change at all, in case the wood underneath is beyond repair. Although I'm probably just worrying too much because this is the first house I've seen with such awful siding/window condition.
The suggestion to live with the porch for a year before making changes is good. However, I visited the house and noticed that the floor there has a slope to it. I might be forced to fix it sooner rather than later. Or it could just be cosmetic! Looks like I need to get myself an engineering report if I decide to pursue this house.
As for the neighborhood, this house is on the southwestern edge of the gentrifying "North and East" neighborhood. Considering it's walking distance from a BART station, it's only a matter of time before this area and neighboring Belding Woods go the same route. My guess is it'll be the next hot spot five years from now, filled with working professionals like me who have been priced out of SF, Oakland, and Berkeley. Schools aren't a worry of mine for years to come.
I have to admit that I keep going back and looking at the photos and finding it more charming each time. I wish the area was nicer, but on the other hand, the other side of the street is quite nice looking.
I've been looking at Google Maps - looks like those images are 3 years old. Has the area been changing for the better since then? I think I'd be more inclined to think about taking the gamble on the area improving if it was clearly already moving in that direction, esp. with walkability to a BART station.
If porch floor tilts towards the front then indeed enclosed
area used to be an old porch. All porch floors must
slope for water to run off, at least here in the south.
Yes, it tilts towards the front. Makes sense re. runoff.
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
I have to admit that I keep going back and looking at the photos and finding it more charming each time. I wish the area was nicer, but on the other hand, the other side of the street is quite nice looking.
I've been looking at Google Maps - looks like those images are 3 years old. Has the area been changing for the better since then? I think I'd be more inclined to think about taking the gamble on the area improving if it was clearly already moving in that direction, esp. with walkability to a BART station.
Richmond has really been picking up steam over the past couple years. You can drive down streets in many neighborhoods that people would not have wanted to tread through even 5 years ago, and see 2 homes being actively fixed up while another 2 homes sit derelict and so on. But I'm seeing more and more for sale signs, even on the rougher houses. And the good news is that the window bars are being taken down on every home that's getting remodeled. Things are trending up for sure. Just this week I noticed one of the main supermercados on the east side of downtown is re-painting its facade.
I do wish this house were better situated, which is why I keep going back and forth on it. The last home I pursued was on a clearly more inviting block with singe-family homes on all sides. Hopefully the apartment complex and tire shop keep some of the crowds away if I decide to go for this one. Looks like the apartment complex has received some recent updates, which is a good sign. Seems like the tire shop might be there for the foreseeable future, though.
My daughter bought her first home in Salinas, CA, just on the edge of a good neighborhood. Just about 2 blocks from a very upscale neighborhood. But, on her block, there were apartment buildings and some businesses, like a storage unit place and half a block up there was a convenience store. The house she bought was built in the 1920's. Really cute little bungalow.
A few years later, she sold it for a seriously nice profit, and bought a home in Oakland with a view.
She didn't do much to it before she sold it. She sold it to someone who loved the retro tiny kitchen and large yard and detached garage -- all of the things that a modern home would never have. Point being, owning a starter home is never a bad thing, if it's close to a great neighborhood.
As far as the siding goes - painting siding is an iffy proposition. It's better to just clean it and refurbish it with something like this:
As long as the building inspection report doesn't have a problem with sloping floors, etc., then it's something that can wait - maybe forever. My daughter's place in Oakland was on a sloping hill and had some foundation issues, but it still passed inspection, and the bank gave her a loan on it. So, no need to borrow trouble. It can wait, or just leave it alone.
I owned a house that was off-kilter in WA, and I did pay someone to jack it up and fix the foundation to level it. It wasn't required by the lender or building inspector, but was something I discovered I could afford to do and wanted to do. Sometimes these things are cheaper than you think. But, you will find out during the buying/inspection process whether or not it's required and then you can decide if it's worth it, or if you ever want to deal with it, etc.
Yes, it tilts towards the front. Makes sense re. runoff.
Richmond has really been picking up steam over the past couple years. You can drive down streets in many neighborhoods that people would not have wanted to tread through even 5 years ago, and see 2 homes being actively fixed up while another 2 homes sit derelict and so on. But I'm seeing more and more for sale signs, even on the rougher houses. And the good news is that the window bars are being taken down on every home that's getting remodeled. Things are trending up for sure. Just this week I noticed one of the main supermercados on the east side of downtown is re-painting its facade.
I do wish this house were better situated, which is why I keep going back and forth on it. The last home I pursued was on a clearly more inviting block with singe-family homes on all sides. Hopefully the apartment complex and tire shop keep some of the crowds away if I decide to go for this one. Looks like the apartment complex has received some recent updates, which is a good sign. Seems like the tire shop might be there for the foreseeable future, though.
I'm pretty sure that you'll find that the original front wall was straight across the entire front of the house and the porch was about 4 - 5 feet deep. While the porch floor may have pitched slightly for water runoff the slope that is obvious in one of the pictures was probably exaggerated by the attempt to slope that new "room" from the front door back to the double French doors.
Removing the porch walls and that extra slope and restoring the original front wall and doorway would leave a regular door sill height floor difference between the inside and outside. That would also leave a small interior entrance foyer that would access both the single and double French doors.
If you don't fix up that house somebody else will. Eliminating the chain link fence and bad porch enclosure will net them 25 grand alone.
The nice thing about the chain link fence out front, is it keeps people's dogs from being able to use the front yard as their potty spot. It would be really easy to just plant some kind of hedge, like jasmine for instance, that would cover the chain link but still do the trick as far as helping to keep critters out of the yard. It also deters people from easily getting to the front door without being obvious. Someone selling stuff door to door, or pretending to do so, is going to think twice if they have to jump a fence to get to your door.
You may have a rude awakening of what the city will require you to do once you are changing things and pulling permits. Many things that were allowed even 20-30 years ago, may no longer be allowed. The chainlink fence for example out front may need to be totally removed. Many cities no longer allow this type of fence in front yards for residential homes.
I'm pretty sure that you'll find that the original front wall was straight across the entire front of the house and the porch was about 4 - 5 feet deep. While the porch floor may have pitched slightly for water runoff the slope that is obvious in one of the pictures was probably exaggerated by the attempt to slope that new "room" from the front door back to the double French doors.
Removing the porch walls and that extra slope and restoring the original front wall and doorway would leave a regular door sill height floor difference between the inside and outside. That would also leave a small interior entrance foyer that would access both the single and double French doors.
If you don't fix up that house somebody else will. Eliminating the chain link fence and bad porch enclosure will net them 25 grand alone.
I'm right on point with you here. After studying it some more, I suspect this is exactly how it was laid out. It looks like the owner added the two shorter brick stacks in an attempt to make the new room more cohesive. I used to live next to a 1903 house in San Jose, and it had a similarly sized porch and foyer (but without the additional interior doors).
Quote:
Originally Posted by marino760
You may have a rude awakening of what the city will require you to do once you are changing things and pulling permits. Many things that were allowed even 20-30 years ago, may no longer be allowed. The chainlink fence for example out front may need to be totally removed. Many cities no longer allow this type of fence in front yards for residential homes.
I've read the city's fence ordinance, and I know the chain link is no longer permitted. All existing chain link is grandfathered in, but any new fencing has to be wood, masonry, etc. There's some barbed wire on a part of the back fence, which is also no longer permitted. I'd definitely replace both over time. Other improvements would be brought up to code when modernized, such as wiring, plumbing, and the chimney.
I'm right on point with you here. After studying it some more, I suspect this is exactly how it was laid out. It looks like the owner added the two shorter brick stacks in an attempt to make the new room more cohesive. I used to live next to a 1903 house in San Jose, and it had a similarly sized porch and foyer (but without the additional interior doors).
I've read the city's fence ordinance, and I know the chain link is no longer permitted. All existing chain link is grandfathered in, but any new fencing has to be wood, masonry, etc. There's some barbed wire on a part of the back fence, which is also no longer permitted. I'd definitely replace both over time. Other improvements would be brought up to code when modernized, such as wiring, plumbing, and the chimney.
That sounds like a good plan. So many people don't do any research about permitting work when buying a house and then get their panties in a bunch when they can't do what they want to or are forced to make changes for something they don't wish to change.
One of the selling points for me is the detached garage. It's something you just don't find with newer construction.
My experience might be similar to your daughter's. The trust had a good quality inspection report prepared, which I perused yesterday afternoon. Seems like the house isn't in as bad of shape as I first expected! Leaning towards a yes on this one now.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
