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So why are you not looking at all three houses? The most important thing in houses is location and if they're all on the same street, then they're all very similar in location. If you're not looking at one house because it's listed as 'needs work', for all you know that could be just paint or something. Each real estate listing is written by a different person so they don't conform to the same criteria at all.
$75K will buy a lot of paint and granite counters, if it were me, I'd look at all three.
When I say it needs work, I mean that it still looks like 1985, filled with wall paper, etc. I wouldn't call it a gut job but I'd say it would take a lot of work to spruce it up. I forget which house it is, the listing basically says not to go on the deck in the back yard because it's not safe, lol.
I'd have to look at it in person but it looks nice in the pics. Only thing I couldn't figure out if there was a fridge.
So I did a bit more research and looked up the crime reports from the last 6 months. There's a registered sex offender like 2 or 3 blocks from this street, theft literally down the street from this location and a couple of domestic violence incidents around the area. Most of those incidents had happened 3-4 months ago but still...it's something to look at it since we're trying to have kids a couple of years from now.
THERE it is! Personally I wouldn't want to be that close to a registered sex offender if you plan on having kids! I would look elsewhere or you will be watching your kids every second when they play outside, go for walks, ride bikes, etc! It will always be stuck in your head that there is a nearby offender!
THERE it is! Personally I wouldn't want to be that close to a registered sex offender if you plan on having kids! I would look elsewhere or you will be watching your kids every second when they play outside, go for walks, ride bikes, etc! It will always be stuck in your head that there is a nearby offender!
I'm not sticking up for sex offenders at all.. but OP should really check the sex offender out on the registry and see what his crime was and what level they are. I'm in NY.. here guys can end up on the sex offender list if they urinate in public near a school. Sometimes it's just a dumb drunken teen that pisses the cops off so they'll arrest him for that.. I guess what I'm saying is not all sex offenders are equal.
and not all sex offenders are pedophiles.. some are rapists of adult women. You wouldn't want to live near that either so check them out please.
1: #3 has half a bathroom more, than the other two, and that has to added to the analysis.
2 #1 is a short sale, and not really something that you can consider. #2, needing a lot of work, is actually priced higher than #3 on a per square foot basis, without even taking condition and the lack of the half bath into consideration, so is actually considerably cheaper than the other 2 houses if you are considering the asking price of the 3 homes. If it has been updated and is nice, and the other two are both needing a lot of work to get them in shape, #3 asking price is far cheaper than the other 2.
A true market analysis to set the value of the property, would be done using sold homes, not asking price. And you start with all houses sitting side by side on your form. You then make adjustments up or down between the homes. There are many adjustments to be made. Square footage, does one have a fireplace, and the others do not, you put this as a price adjustment. Bathrooms, bedrooms, and many other factors. You would add or subtract for condition when 3 homes need considerable work, and the one you are considering does not or vice versa. When you get done, you use those adjustments against the sold houses to determine the true value of the home you are considering.
My university professor that taught my appraisal class, told us. If you do it right, it should be very near the same price that an appraiser would set on it.
Two years ago, I needed a true market value for our free and clear home for estate planning purposes. I did my own, but hired a certified appraiser as that is what we needed. It is a 3,700 sq. ft. 4 level home without a basement. A garden level, a main entry level, and two upper levels. It is the only stucco home in the area. It has a 25 foot soaring window wall in the living room area. It sits on 5 acres across the street from the best part of the city with a nice pole barn and 2 stables. Rail fence around the pasture. Very contemporary and upper quality all the way. My valuation and the appraisers were within $100, as we rounded the numbers slightly differently. I was the lowest.
The information you have given us, is not what one needs to put a true value on the property. But what little you have provided #3, is by far the best buy of the 3.
It was completely tongue in cheek on how people want to price by sqft and don't really vary on anything else. For cookie cutter new builds, maybe - for an 80's neighborhood there are far too many variables.
For example, hypothetically...who's to stop someone from getting the 399K property and not doing a reno job of their own (through the years of course) and total $ is still less than the 485K?
Nothing would stop them. The issue is that MANY buyers do not want to move in and immediately do a renovation. They are willing to pay more for a house that needs no work and is completely move-in ready. The $399 properties might be great values, depending on what, exactly, needs to be done to them.
When I say it needs work, I mean that it still looks like 1985, filled with wall paper, etc. I wouldn't call it a gut job but I'd say it would take a lot of work to spruce it up. I forget which house it is, the listing basically says not to go on the deck in the back yard because it's not safe, lol.
The mid eighties weren't my favorite look, but new wall paper (do they still make wallpaper?) or paint could fix that right up. The deck, that's a different problem and might eat up the remainder of the 'savings' of getting a fixer-upper. But, if it were me, I'd look at all three and one would for some reason stand out as a better choice than the others. Maybe nicer landscaping, maybe better view, maybe nicer neighbors, could be anything.
We usually choose our houses by location then by price since we can fix just about everything other than location. We had to sign a waiver before we could even go inside the last house we bought since they thought maybe we'd fall through the floor. There'd been termites, but they'd eaten the thin plywood ceiling and left the floor alone.
Do you like any one of the three better than the other two?
I am figuring a cost of $200 a square feet to add on the extra 256 square feet. ...........................$51,200.
For the bathroom replacement your looking at between $10,000 and $20,000 Call it $15,000 X 3= $45,000.
Did they get a new kitchen? That can bring the cost up from $20,000 and up ..............................$20,000.
The remainder of the home also get a redo? Minimum of $10,000 for that.....................................$10,000.
Landscaping?
Total .................................................. .................................................. ...........................$126,200
The other two homes will more than likely set you back an additional $126,200 to get them close to the higher priced home. Others have stated the homes are within dollars per square foot of each other as it is. For someone that is willing to do the work themselves you can put sweat equity into the job, that is if you have the tools and know how to complete the project.
To compare with our area: Homes here are selling at a bit over $300 a square foot.
The mid eighties weren't my favorite look, but new wall paper (do they still make wallpaper?) or paint could fix that right up. The deck, that's a different problem and might eat up the remainder of the 'savings' of getting a fixer-upper. But, if it were me, I'd look at all three and one would for some reason stand out as a better choice than the others. Maybe nicer landscaping, maybe better view, maybe nicer neighbors, could be anything.
We usually choose our houses by location then by price since we can fix just about everything other than location. We had to sign a waiver before we could even go inside the last house we bought since they thought maybe we'd fall through the floor. There'd been termites, but they'd eaten the thin plywood ceiling and left the floor alone.
Do you like any one of the three better than the other two?
I like House #3 because it's move in ready and it's been updated but the price stuck with me, it's too high. We're going to see all 3 Saturday. I must note though that when looking at the crime data, I went down the rabbit hole and found more info about the sex offender that leaves a couple of blocks away. Not all neighborhoods are perfect obviously, this is a good zip code with a great elementary school (if and when we have kids) but the info I found definitely stuck with me and will have an affect on our decision.
I like House #3 because it's move in ready and it's been updated but the price stuck with me, it's too high. We're going to see all 3 Saturday. I must note though that when looking at the crime data, I went down the rabbit hole and found more info about the sex offender that leaves a couple of blocks away. Not all neighborhoods are perfect obviously, this is a good zip code with a great elementary school (if and when we have kids) but the info I found definitely stuck with me and will have an affect on our decision.
Did you search your current address? More likely than not, you are already living near to a sex offender.
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