Who’s bought a ‘project’ house before?

Wifey and I are looking to move with our new baby out of the city a little bit. My job isn’t tied to an office so we have a little liberty which has lead us to essentially 2 options.. we push our budget a little and get something nice or we pay less and hold onto some cash to do upgrades and repairs.

We both really like a house we found, it was built in ‘67 and it’s kind of rough but it’s on a great lot, quiet neighborhood and walking distance to a local lake. I am planning on digging into it this weekend to see if it’s worth paying for an actual inspector, I know at minimum it needs floors throughout (hopefully subfloor is still good, I can actually see it in a lot of places but there’s one soft spot in a bathroom which concerns me), probably a roof some time soon and every surface inside needs a clean/paint/touch up. So it’s a solid project, needs love throughout but it’s also cheap for what it is. I would plan on doing all our own work with the exception of roofing and maybe the windows.

So who out there has bought a house project before? Was it worth it? We’re torn on it and obviously everybody says we’re crazy to even consider it but neither of us can shake the feeling of doing up a house together and really settling in as a family.

Potential for disaster here is high. I won't say I think you should or shouldn't (only you can really make that call), but I will say have an inspector look at it and look extra close. Particularly the roof, plumbing, heating/cooling system and electrical.

Expect it to be your sole focus in life for the foreseeable future until it is safe enough for the baby. With a new child, do you have time to focus on the house like this will demand?

tjm73 said:

Potential for disaster here is high. I won't say I think you should or shouldn't (only you can really make that call), but I will say have an inspector look at it and look extra close. Particularly the roof, plumbing, heating/cooling system and electrical.

Expect it to be your sole focus in life for the foreseeable future until it is safe enough for the baby. With a new child, do you have time to focus on the house like this will demand?

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All valid points, the plan would be to stay with the wife’s parents briefly while we get it to a place we know is safe and clean. As for the time demands, not too concerned about how long it takes once it’s at a point we can live in it comfortably which doesn’t seem like too far out of reach assuming an inspection passes on it.

So the last house my wife and bought was original to 1964 ... bathrooms, kitchen and windows. The only new stuff was a roof put on about 5 years before we bought it.

Our floors were solid, but rough.

12 years later, we have now redone both bathrooms, the kitchen, added a new 600+ sf (Master Bedroom Suite). Been tough.

But we bought a home (not a house) where we liked the neighborhood for schools, crime, property etc ... We also bought a home we could afford and live in and then remodeled/updated as we could afford.

My son-in-law manages a LOWES. Unless you can do the work yourself, the chances of getting ripped off on house repair is very high.

If you can do the repairs yourself, buy the fixer upper.

Lol, thankfully this is what I do for a living so a fixer upper was the plan for us. Engaged, running a business and no babies was fun and doable. Our place was about 85% done by the time our first was born. I basically built a new house inside and outside. Very custom 100 yr old American 4 square, we did design or build anything thay wasn't period correct which took time a money. Also the fact that we paided cash for everything as we went.
Point is if you have the time and the skills, do it! If you don't it's going to be a expensive and trying on that marriage with a baby.

It's been a very expensive labor of love here, many memories made and still be made. The work around here never seems to end and tbh I could have built two houses for what we have invested here. I only have three major projects left, everything since the kids has been done in stages. It can be fun but definitely get the major dirty stuff out of the way before moving in. My wife has the patience of Jobe, so Good luck!

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Yup, this place took 6 months of weekends to actually move in. Had to redo the bathroom to start. Followed by new kitchen.
The only downside, by the time you "finish" the last room, the first one needs updating and/or repairs. lol

Even though my son-in-law manages a LOWES, I had some Turkish guys do the Granite Counter tops for $3500. LOWES quote was $5000 and a local quote was $8000 and I had to wait in line. The Turkish guys had a selection of 6 types of Granite and the local people had a endless selection. I liked one of the six and they could start right away with a $500 deposit. Yes that floor is Yellow. That was replaced next by me with 24x24 black and white sticky tile. My son in law did the tile back splash. The redo ran about $5000 total.

We bought a 60 year old house, and I've upgraded most things in the house. Plan on everything taking longer and being more expensive than you expect.
A house built in 67 will still have lead paint, and contractors will raise prices for everything, even if there's an inch of latex on top of the original paint. You may well have asbestos on things like furnace ducts.
If you're going to do it, learn how to install a 110v circuit with outlets and switches. Learn how to use power tools safely. Would definitely help to learn how to solder copper pipe.

Paint and floor coverings are almost a given for any house you buy. If you consider that a 'fixer upper' then maybe you might be better off buying a new house.

Our first real house was built in 1650. That's not a typo. I already had some skill at home repairs, a little cabinet building, and a little framing knowledge. The house had no kitchen. As in none. No cabinets, electric, plumbing. Just a floor and walls. No working heat. No working bathroom. The only thing I hired a contractor for was the new engineered septic, and a friend that came over to charge the new central ac I installed. My wife weighs in at 120 lbs but has amazing strength and endurance. We had two kids at the time. After four years of exhausting work, we were very close to being finished. Probably would have finished sooner if I would have updated the heating and insulation sooner. Four fireplaces take a lot of work to keep stoked. The first winter we went thru 12 cords of wood and 1200 gallons of oil.

If you have the funds, the talent, the cooperation of a good helper (wife), a strong will, and an even stronger back, go for it. We look back on it as one of the best times in our lives.

As an RE appraiser. It's location, location, location. Condition is also important. For example, the estimated age may be close to its actual age in which some of the short-lived building components need replacement but may still function adequately. I've purchased mid-century homes and newer homes. My preference is for the design characteristics and charm of the older ones. Building components like roof, windows, appliances, bathroom updates etcetera, can be done over time as most home loans are 15-30 years. Since a home is considered most people's best investment over time, I would not hesitate to find and buy a well maintained home with a good functional floor plan, in a good neighborhood close to amenities like you mentioned. Repair, replace and renovate it over time. I also would not hesitate to find a good home inspector and as a suggestion, please never use the RE Agent's referral to avoid bias. Good luck.

If you have the skills or able to learn online (YouTube) and can spend a little money for tools go for it. I've done a shed, replaced entire exterior doors/frames; remodeled 2 kitchens, a laundry room and a sunroom. Takes some fortitude and willingness to get dirty but can be done if you really want to. Truth be known; I've always done whatever I can around the house because I just can't see paying someone else 3 - 10 times more when I can do the work myself. Same philosophy when it comes to cars. The only difference between you and them is a little bit of knowledge and the right tools for the job.

Lots of good points and experiences in here! Our plan is this weekend to go and look at the house again and see what we can establish through our own inspection before we invest the money in having someone else come out to verify. The move, on paper, makes sense as it would lower our mortgage even after holding back a good chunk of change for the repairs and the estimated value of the house would exceed what we put into it assuming we don’t hit any crazy problems or hang ups on it.

It’s definitely more than just slapping paint and floors in but I can handle doing most of the work myself. We did the basic cosmetic stuff in our current house and while it’s a solid house, it’s not a home. We don’t love it, it’s just functional. We’re happy to take on more work and get in a little deeper for something we’re going to cherish and raise our new son in.

My opinion having moved in to a house that needed a lot of work (long story short, in-laws at the time owned it and we would do the "work" for a cut on rent). Anyway, it was ZERO fun living in a house that needed lots of work. Any time I felt like I wanted to relax, I couldn't because there was something that needed to be done. That was one experience.

Now, you said you could live with the in-laws while the work was done. That brings on it's own set of challenges, but everyone's situation is different.

Location Location Location can work for you. A 1/2 million dollar house with a 1000 sg ft garage in the John Denver area of West Virginia will cost more then a million just 20 miles east into Virginia. Just hum the song Country Roads.

Boats and houses, no matter how 'good' you are with either, get an inspection if you're spending over 10k.

It's either a baseline peace of mind/cheap insurance policy on your perspective, or, a list of negotiable items toward lowering your purchase price.

Btw, windows are as easy as flooring or paint, maybe easier if you're a big picture versus detail kind of person.

Really do your homework when it comes to who you pick for an inspection and be willing to pay for someone good. You want a detail SOB who is going to go over every inch of the house vice a "drive-by" inspector.

If there are major structural failures/water damage/pest/termite issues you might want to pass unless you have someone in mind who can do/help you with that kind of work.

Echo other's recommendations much easier to work on a house you don't live in yet; especially if you have to replace/install flooring; redo kitchens/bathrooms/drywall/etc... thought my wife was going to divorce me when I had to redo a kitchen and most recently a sunroom because of water damage to the roof.

Looking at this thread all I can think of is the movie "Money Pit" with Tom Hanks.

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