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.
My wife and I have been looking in South Jersey for awhile now for a house. (hopefully LONG term living situation) Possible a lifetime buy. (buy and then maybe rent if we ever move versus sell)
So the only 2 houses we have LIKED a lot were two rehabbed houses that were basically gutted head to toe. The KICKER is those houses are about $50k more than I want to spend today.
I would like to max my purchase price today at $300k or slightly over. ($325k) I can afford more but with economy the way it is I would prefer to buy cheaper and slowly overtime put money into the house and also I can do a lot of the work in regards to a rehab. (minus MAJOR construction, etc..)
So the houses we have really liked are listed at $399 & $389. I think bottom line on the $389k is $379k.
My problem is how do you go about finding a house that you can ENVISION that after $100-$150k of WORK will look and be a great deisgned house?
Not sure how to start. How to plan it. Envision it. etc...
I consider myself a fairly smart guy so my guess to this is find a house in a location we like now that is PRICED right and has the potential to make into a great house. But that is much easier said than done.
not a bad idea at all. in fact it is a smart idea!! I try to get some of my clients to see the beauty of an ugly duckling in the right location... and they want the shiney new penny : )
Are you working with an agent? Sit down with an experienced agent in the area you want to be in. Tell him or her that you up for those cosmetically ugly ducklings. you won't take on structural or major issues, but can deal with ugly carpet, flooring, kitchen needs updating etc. If she/he can start looking in your targeted areas, you would appreciate it. You would like to look at the ugly duckling AND see a couple of rehabbed in the same area.... so you can get an idea of what a rehabbed property will go for in price.
Remember, you are going to be living through the rehab, and you will need to take into consideration those things you will need to do ASAP (just to live) and those that you are going to have to live with for awhile.
I can't help with your location but maybe I can help with the vision.
I've rehabbed numerous houses over the years, the biggest problem most people have is not being able to envision the end-product. The biggest problem is that the typical purchaser of property won't have the construction / architectural expertise to see outside the box, nor have the estimating experience to acturately price a remodel.
The first thing you want to is to identify what you want in a final product. By this I mean on a macro level, style of home, elements of traffic flow in the interior, weight of rooms (relative size to other rooms).
Next begin to visit construction sites and learn about the structural elements of construction. Most people are familiar with the cosmetic components, but understanding the structure or bones of the building will give you insight to what is behind the wall board or plaster wall. Being able to "see" the vent pipes,water pipes, HVAC ducts and wiring will let you know know the relative difficulty in moving a wall.
Next identify an architect/construction engineer that you can consult with, and would feel comfortable working with to develop the plans that you will work from while rehabbing a house.
Plans are essential for getting estimates from subs or GC's.
Lastly look at getting a construction estimating package like Marshal & Swift. Use this as a guide for building costs. Practice with a spreadsheet and the numbers you get form the estimator data.
Follow Shelly's advice and look at property to get ideas.
Being prepared will cost both time and money up front, and save you tons of money and aggravation on the back-end.
Any suggestions on where to visit such said construction sites?
I think the problem here is in my area we are dealing with 50 year old homes at best and probably closer to 80-90 year old homes. So though the layouts tend to be similair (Dutch Colonial for example) They don't see to be comparable to brand new construction.
You're correct construction techniques have changed over the years but most of the principles are similar.
I would still look at new construction, (I assume some construction is going on is South Jersey).
In established areas look for dumpsters or dockboxes on older homes. This indicates a remodel, stop by and ask to see what is going on. Most owners are proud to show off what they are doing.
In my area I can look up building permits on line, maybe you can check with your county building department to learn of homes being remodeled.
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.
