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Ok, first post here- it's huge, long, sorry - I need some free advice...
Wife found a fixer-upper. (Happy wife/life, etc., need I say more?) All the people I know with "fixer-uppers" succeeded. I suspect that's because the "failures" don't still live in a fixer upper.
We can paint and tile and other light work, but for most of this we'll use professionals. No moving of walls or structural changes. Just bathroom updates
(by that I mean gut it and replace, it's filthy and hideous, but technically usable), kitchen update, and lots of paint and carpet.
Here's the thing: It's a 40 year old Mansion on a Hill. Seriously. 10 bathrooms, 8000 sq feet. Completely senseless - but: the price is right and She Wants It.
When it's complete, I will still have an old (albeit huge) house. It will never have modern insulation or vaulted ceilings or be truly level again.
Neighborhood comps aren't helpful for guessing at a future worth. It's a good neighborhood and community, but this house is "special."
The local assessor (thanks, google) has valued it from 400K to 1.1M and back again - just in the last decade. It's 40 years old.
Online blogs/advice from "experts" say this:
Don't buy it, you'll be sorry / Don't be a wimp, buy it.
Do not insult him with a lowball offer / Make a lowball offer, it needs lots of work.
You'll never get your money back / You'll always get your money back
Life is too short - take the plunge / Life is too short - why risk everything on this money pit?
There are no guarantees in life / There are no guarantees in life.
WOW. Everyone has an "angle." No one can make this decision but me, but here are some fun facts:
I would need to sell my current (perfectly good modern 2000sq ft) house to buy this one.
We could commit some monthly money to the fix-ups, but I prefer not to finance the work.
I estimate about 200K total to renovate
We both have careers, the mortgage+tax+bills isn't really the question.
We are not flippers, but I do hope someday to get my money back out of it. I'm 50 years old.
We are not strangers to old homes. We both grew up in fixer-uppers, dirt floor basements, leaky roofs, creaky floors. We love being spoiled, but a musty basement doesn't really deter us.
I will pay for a pre-offer inspection - foundation / roof / plumbing / electric. If it's too crazy, we're out. She Has Agreed.
My questions are:
How big of a mistake is this?
Am I too old for this $htuff?
Approximately what is the value of any house after it's (partially) updated? Any rules of thumb?
What should I offer? (% of asking, I mean...keeping specifics out of it for now)
What are my chances of eternal happiness?
How can I know if this is the Right Thing?
My husband bought a large house (a bit under 5000 sq ft) when the house was about 40 years old and he was 50. Some updates had been made to get it sold by the previous owners. Five years after he bought it we married; and I moved in knowing this was going to be a major project to get the place sold. We spent the next 10 years with one project after another always under way, some DIY but most using contractors. We probably spent $150K on that house and sold it for exactly $38K more than what he paid 15 years earlier. It cost a fortune to heat/cool. We really only used 4 rooms in the entire house. It was a gorgeous house and neighborhood and we still congratulate ourselves for getting that place sold. We next moved into a condo. Loved the freedom!
Ok, first post here- it's huge, long, sorry - I need some free advice...
Wife found a fixer-upper.
1) When you have the experience/competence to ANSWER these sorts of questions...
2) Most are far better off to limit their "extra time" to earning the money needed to hire competent people.
3) Don't move into any property that isn't ready to be lived in.
I’m 50 and am in no way interested in fixing anything to be honest let alone 10 bedrooms!!
Sounds like a nightmare.
If you are handy and enjoy doing the repairs yourself then yes I would encourage it. If you are subcontracting the work then it’s not like you are going to net a profit.
That’s a giant house! How you going to afford to heat/cool that thing?
I owned an old house and back in the day they didn’t insulate the walls. The had that black board. Crazy cold. I’m not sure if house wrap existed so the wind will blow right through.
Do the inspection to make your wife happy. Make it appear you are leaning her way then run!
Do you want to live there? If yes, do what you want.
If no, then it's an investment. As an investment, unique property like you describe go one of two ways. Good or very bad.
Let's put it this way, anyone looking at 8k sqft homes aren't going to be turned off by dated. The place is big enough that you can fix it and live there without major issue. Fix up one bathroom, you still have 6 more. This doesn't sound like a fresh coat of paint and cabinets let's resell type place. If it's sat for a long time it's probably not a good fit for the area so that deal better be a good one before you sink a lot if money into something that looks nice but you can't sell . This isn't the kind of place most people want to live in.
One other thing, you talk about using professionals. They are expensive. Many fix it up for resale flippers have a background in construction or handy man but they do the work themselves because professional contractors are expensive and simply add a profit over the sub anyways. Regardless, most of the work is grunt work and if the migrant with zero education can do it, well so can you with a little practice. Measure, level and cut straight or use trim.
So if you're in this to flip, you're doing it wrong if you need a bunch of contractors doing work for you.
Since you're asking, I think that you already know your answer...but let me relate a quick story.
Years ago, after I had rehabbed a dozen or so fixer-uppers, I found this absolutely gorgeous limestone mansion that was about 100 years old. It looked like an old castle and it was as solid as a rock--they don't build 'em like that anymore. It really deserved to be restored and it would have looked beautiful fixed up (and the outside still was), but at around 10,000 square feet I knew that it was simply more than I could handle. It would have taken way too much time to completely restore the house myself, and it would have cost way too much to hire contractors to do all of the work. It sounds like you may be in a very similar situation (although if it's only 40 years old it may not need to be completely gutted).
A red flag to me was that you said that the house may never be truly level again. If it's not level after only 40 years it may not have been constructed well in the first place, or maybe there were soil issues which weren't properly dealt with. Also, don't take the challenges lightly. If you estimate that it will take $200K to fix up, you may need to double that. It seems that it always costs more than is anticipated.
While you may be able to afford the purchase price, you can afford to not buy it, too. And remember, the purchase price is the least of your worries. With the restoration costs, maintenance costs and holding costs--especially heating and cooling--you may be well over your head. If you're looking at this as a potential flip, it's generally better to start off smaller. If you primarily plan to live there, do you really need or want the added expense and trouble of such a large house? It may appear to be a great deal, but there are likely other opportunities which would be less stressful upon you and upon your marriage.
But...if you buy it, please let us know how it turns out.
And remember, the purchase price is the least of your worries. With the restoration costs, maintenance costs and holding costs, you may be well over your head.
This is what I was thinking too.
Just because you can afford to acquire it doesn't mean that you can afford to maintain it. Just imagine when your contractor has finished up bathroom #6 and there are 4 more to go. I had a tile guy quote a shower stall redo recently, and he came back with $3K just to break out the header and redo the tile.
I certainly understand your wife's desire, but I do think this is too much. I honestly would go with your wife to view other "dream homes," just to look, and see if another project catches her eye. If you can find something still awesome but not as troublesome, it might get her mind off this house. (Don't say that's why you're going. Just say you want to get ideas or something.)
And for the record, as a woman, I really detest the phrase, "Happy wife, happy life." It's not true, and it's just so patronizing. You are a partner, and you can speak up about what makes you uncomfortable.
You'll NEVER get your money back on a place like that. The market for a huge house is extremely limited. Hardly anyone has a big enough family to need a 10 bathroom house (which assumes at least 6-8 bedrooms?).
That place sounds like a lot of fun - IF you're capable of doing most of the work yourself and have a Loooooooong timeline and tons of time on your hands.
Otherwise, it sounds like a complete disaster waiting to happen.
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I had a tile guy quote a shower stall redo recently, and he came back with $3K just to break out the header and redo the tile. 
