Who’s bought a ‘project’ house before?

JimC said:

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

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Wrong thread. See my '94GT build thread lol.

We should be submitting an offer tonight or tomorrow so we will see how it pans out. We’re going in with a low bid (house has been on market a while) with conditions of an inspection and sale of our current house. Little bit of a long shot but if it’s meant to be it will be!

Forty61 said:

We should be submitting an offer tonight or tomorrow so we will see how it pans out. We’re going in with a low bid (house has been on market a while) with conditions of an inspection and sale of our current house. Little bit of a long shot but if it’s meant to be it will be!

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No risk it, no biscuit ~Bruce Arians, SB LV winner head coach

Great plan, good luck!

Forty61 said:

We should be submitting an offer tonight or tomorrow so we will see how it pans out. We’re going in with a low bid (house has been on market a while) with conditions of an inspection and sale of our current house. Little bit of a long shot but if it’s meant to be it will be!

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If they agree right away take it as a sign to find the best inspector you can and have him look for serious structural issues (think foundation, water damage, plumbing, check framing, floor joists, roof, doors for square, plumbing, heating, air, etc...). Test & evaluate everything! What he finds (if serious) you can use to negotiate a lower price, decide if it's really worth the hassle or walk away.

DieHarder said:

If they agree right away take it as a sign to find the best inspector you can and have him look for serious structural issues (think foundation, water damage, plumbing, check framing, floor joists, roof, doors for square, plumbing, heating, air, etc...). Test & evaluate everything! What he finds (if serious) you can use to negotiate a lower price, decide if it's really worth the hassle or walk away.

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For sure. In our own inspection we saw a new electrical breaker panel that was recently installed, AC service business card taped to the unit, fresh filter in it too, some other little odds and ends that were positives. So someone has been for the most part trying to maintain the home.

The foundation needs some repair, it’s noticeably low on one side of the house but it’s pier and beam so it should be much easier to evaluate and estimate repairs. I guess that’s a big benefit to a project, you can see a lot of the flaws rather than uncovering them later in the process.

Foundation issues are beyond serious often requiring tearing down/rebuilding those areas of the house. Highly recommend you bring in a builder to evaluate. Probably the reason it's been on the market so long and the worst kind of issues to deal with (if they can be dealt with at all). Be very careful! If it was me I'd walk away and look for something without foundation issues!

Buddy of mine bought a house on a crawlspace with foundation issues - uneven floors and cracks in some walls. Two rounds of work with a specialist, has spent a megabuck and still not sure it's permanently fixed. Bought it for the property but house has been a nightmare.

I value everybody’s opinions and experiences in here, just a small update on the off chance anyone was wondering..

We had to pass on the house. Current owners are trying to get out of it what they still owe which is higher than the value for its current condition and more than we would pay. We were offered the chance to pursue a short-sale on it but since we’re still early in our hunt we decided not to box ourselves in and continue looking.

Good move. I agree with others that foundation issues are to be avoided. Sort of like buying a car with a twisted frame.

From my own experience, if it feels wrong, it's wrong. If it's a hassle, there's a reason. Keep looking. It's a big investment. Make it wisely.

When the wife and I were looking for our home we had a big argument on the way to a house because she just wanted to buy a house and was sure the one we were going to see was it. I was being exceedingly practical at that point. I was all done with the excitement of getting a house. We looked at about 15 houses including the one we bought twice. We ended up with a great home. Kooky seller (now neighbor) but a great home we love.

tjm73 said:

From my own experience, if it feels wrong, it's wrong. If it's a hassle, there's a reason.

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Pretty much what I live by too and I told my wife the same, the house we’re meant to buy won’t be a fight to get. If it’s too hard to make it happen it’s not meant to be.