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That's the key right there. But I don't think many people who have never owned a home have the basic tools you'd need to make this work, and tools can be/are expensive.
I Nth the condo thing. That's what my mentor at the time told me but I bought a house. I should have bought a condo.
Remodeling is MESSY. I hate those stupid shows on TV, they make it look easy and romantic. I remodeled our bathroom one day a week for about 6-8 weeks. It SUCKED having to get all the tools in there to start and clean it all up when done. Rinse and repeat. And that's a small bathroom. If you work you will have to do it after work where most people really don't want to deal with that stuff after work, they want to relax. You will make mistakes and have to start over. You will get tired of going to the hardware store (I score my projects by Lowes/Tru-Value trips).
Thanks for the post. This is the sort of information I have to seriously weigh before I commit/semi-commit to purchasing any property(s).
I would split the difference. Not a condo, but not a total gut job either. Learn how to renovate a house in baby steps, not all at once. Find something that is is in decent shape but needs cosmetic updates and learn from doing that. Then the next time, you can tackle something bigger, if you are still interesting in trying, because you'll have better skills to do it.
ETA: and forget paying 100% cash. You are going to need the cash to do the work!
What are the potential pitfalls or challenges (if this is even possible)?
Let's say...you find a house for $20,000-$40,000 range - and you just want to put money into it as you live in it.
I guess most of you are going to say there are too many variables (what is the neighborhood like? How much is the house missing? What is the property tax? stuff like that...)
But let's assume the foundation is good. Let's assume you have the basics with the house (water heater, furnace, running water) and it's in an older suburb.
How much would it cost to just keep the house going with running water and heat in the Winter?
You can't live in it until you have a Certificate of Occupancy from the city or township, and they won't issue one until everything is up to code.
We still have to finish putting drywall in the bathroom, a floor and tiles on shower walls, install a new tub and toilet and stove. We just had pipes replaced that we discovered were cracked when we turned the water on. After we finish all that, we can apply for inspection to get a C.O. All told it will have been more than 5 months from closing to getting C.O. Issued.
Luckily we are ok for now on roof and septic, but if we were not, we might have had to replace that prior to getting a C.O. Too. So I will say it depends what is wrong. But in general you can't just move into a home that's not up to code.
You can look on your cities website to see the requirements for a C.O. The power company's website will have info on requirements for getting power turned on.
um..... i think it depends on the zoning laws in your area.... if there is no viable running water, i doubt you can legally live in a residence, but this could vary from one town to another. Check your ZONING LAWS. that's where i'd start
Yeah. I remodeled my house while living in it. It’s not easy. My stove was a Coleman stove on a set of saw horses. It sucks.
Same here. Did it twice, because I was too stubborn to learn from the 1st experience. Depends on what you're doing... ceilings, walls, floors, pluming, electrical work, minor decorative work? Everything? All sorts of issues can appear, such as I had a severe foot injury in the middle of renovations & couldn't continue 'til I'd recovered from surgery. Had to live an entire winter in Boston with no heat in my gutted apt. Being in pain while freezing in a bare house isn't any quality of life to endure for many months. Sure, I had electric heaters to take the chill out of the air... but, I still remember my quadrupled electric bills. I had no stove/fridge & only a hotplate, so ate a lot of peanut butter toast instead, cuz it was easier. Gained 10-lbs in 6-mos eating that way... then another 10 the following 6-mos. I had to hobble down to the 2nd floor to use the bathroom, cuz I'd ripped out the toilet & shower.
I'd never do it again for major renovations. Painting, fine. Refinishing 1 floor, fine. It's a lot more annoying than you think & if you're doing the work alone, as I did, it took double the time for all kinds of glitches, delays & varying reasons. Living with fumes & sawdust gets really old, really fast & the 1st time, I was also working FT... having to come home to work many nights from 7-midnight & all weekend, when you need some downtime is mentally grueling, trust me.
If you do it, good luck. I was in my 20s 1st time & 30s the 2nd. Now that I'm 40s... Valhalla, no!
There is always a reason cheap houses are cheap...
True - though, foreclosed homes are sold often at much cheaper prices, but are not necessarily in that awful of a shape. OP, check out HUD listings: https://www.hudhomestore.com/Home/Index.aspx
Then there are those with "cash only" prices, due to not being financeable - their problems vary, but could still be fairly livable from the get-go, then can maybe get a personal loan to fix the most major issue...
But I agree with those who say it's probably best to use the cash for down payment and get a better quality house to begin with - at least, as a first experience.
Last edited by Dreams2Plans; 05-03-2018 at 04:19 AM..
What are the potential pitfalls or challenges (if this is even possible)?
Let's say...you find a house for $20,000-$40,000 range - and you just want to put money into it as you live in it.
I guess most of you are going to say there are too many variables (what is the neighborhood like? How much is the house missing? What is the property tax? stuff like that...)
But let's assume the foundation is good. Let's assume you have the basics with the house (water heater, furnace, running water) and it's in an older suburb.
How much would it cost to just keep the house going with running water and heat in the Winter?
Yes, you can. But don't expect to invite your date over for dinner!
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