Some pics of my House

Went up to do a little work. Still up in the air as to whether I'll keep it or demo it. The roof has oak boards run across it and the shingles ontop. It is rotten in about a 2 foot by 5 foot section. Thats all I have can tell so far. Cleaned one room of drywall just to get a better look at the roof and rafters. Enjoy the pics. Sorry didn't get one of the small garage it has. Will try tomorrow.

Sit down and figure out what it will cost you to finish it. See what it will rent for and what the rental market is in your area. I always thought rental property was a good investment. Allows you to have property and let someone else pay for it.

Fuller,

I think that your decision will be determined by what you want to do with the place.

Personally, I think it would be wonderful for you to make enough repairs to enable you to "camp out" in the house, and then, little by little make the repairs that would make the little place into a really neat cottage.

I believe that you said that you are in college and that you are about 21 or 22 years old. This is a great opportunity for you to make a life on your own and embark on a lifetime of adult decision making.

Just one old man's thoughts.

PS - I left home at 17 and have made a life for myself with no parental support for the last 51 years. I'm glad that I did.

Tom in TN

That house dont look bad. Roof, drywall and paint will get you going.

As I said in my other email, get a budget and stick to it. Look at comparables in the area and what they are selling for. Your budget needs to be significantly less, since you are supplying the labor for free.

Rick

There is also a downside to owning rental property. If you don't require references and a deposit equal to at least a month's rent, you can get stuck in a big way. I used to work with a man who had several rental houses and he was constantly complaining about someone who had moved out owing rent or left the place in such a mess that he had to spend several hundred dollars on repairs.

The roof structure is the most troublesome. The 4 inch swale in the roof ridge is very difficult to remove with the upstairs bedroom. Look at the knee walls in that room and put a level (Plumb) on the wall to see if they are vertical. If they leanout, that distance is probably a result of rafter sag pushing outward on the exterior walls. Getting that jacked out of the house is tough to do and might require just plain re roofing it including the roof framing (rafters)
If that is the case, the construction of a community appropriate new house on the lot while living in this (if space is available and zoning allows it to happen) would be my choice. Jim

Well, now that I have seen photos, It don't look too bad. The roof will likely be the biggest problem. Looks like someone had already started on the drywall and gave up. If you are able to do most of the work yourself and don't have a deadline as I did, you could make it into a cozy little bungalow. I realize that you may have other plans,and I am not going to ask, but I will agree with the comment by Tom in TN. I believe if I remodeled it I would make it "my own" to live in even if only part of the time. Of course if the economy should pick up and someone offered me a substantial profit, then that would be another story. Just a few thoughts from another old man. No matter what you decide,good luck on your venture. I only wish I had been able invest in something like that when I was your age.

We all have to start somewhere, and generally, it is not at the top.

If you demo it, all you will to show for it after the cost of carting the scrap off, is the value of the property. I don't know what you paid for it, and don't care really, but ask yourself, would that piece of BARE land in the neighborhood be worth what you paid for it minus the buildings? And, if you didn't pay cash and have a mortgage on it, the bank probably won't let you do that anyway, because it’s their buildings and property, not yours until it’s paid off.

If the foundation and exterior walls are in good shape, reroof it and rebuild the interior. Fix it up and either live in it, or sell it. The economy isn't looking rosy anytime soon, so be conservative at whatever your decision will be, and move on it fast.

Good luck.

Mark

Chuck the satelite dish and patch the roof where it leaks.I think I could have that house livable in a few weeks by myself and P/T helper.

I've seen worse looking houses. if you keep it , you know you can vinyl side it sometime in the future. i have done it several times. not to hard to do. 3/4 inch furrowing strips with 3/4 inch Styrofoam in between . have to use proper length nails to keep from popping furrowing strips off. where abouts are you located.

Thanks for all the comments guys. I live in SW PA. I will be removing all the bad drywall to expose everything then go from there

Congrats on your first house!
That's a project I wouldn't shy away from, but I've been building and remodeling longer than you've been alive.

Replace the roof. Gut the interior. Insulate, hang new drywall. Hang the drywall horizontally and use long sheets to eliminate the butt joints. Consider hiring out the drywall. Install vinyl replacement windows. More on that in a bit...
Use the cheap masonite 6 panel doors and primed pine trim. Use cheap cabinets but go with the dovetail drawer upgrades. Laminate counter tops. If you need a water heater ask a plumbing supply house if they have any scratch and dent specials. Don't skimp on electrical or plumbing.

You'll need a permit for the roof and maybe windows. Probably don't for the drywall, cabinets and trim.
Paint the exterior. Do it right. Do it once.
Live in the house before you rent it. More on that.....

Read up on US EPA RRP program. If you own and live in the house you don't have to follow the EPA RRP rules. If you are going to sell or rent the house you have to follow the RRP rules!
You don't want windows with lead paint anywhere near a rental. Change them now! Do all the work before you move in or while you live there. Otherwise the EPA rules will apply.

You're going to have to spend some money, but the return on investment can be very good.

I saw on this topic or the other one where someone said contractors get a 20-30% discount. The amount of discount depends greatly on how much business we do, and which supplier we deal with. I took a material list with an $18K retail value to Lowes (where they tell me I'm one of their best contractor customers) and my discount was less than $200! On the other hand I get a huge discount on windows from a mom and pop store. What I'm saying is don't expect any big discounts. I wouldn't put any high dollar stuff in there but I'd make it nice.

There are a couple types of tax sales which might be why some are cautioning you. One type you pay the back taxes and the owner has a chance to pay you that amount plus interest. The other type is an auction where the buyer gets a clear title. In the states I'm familiar with once a property is sold for back taxes at auction the original owner or lien holders have no recourse. Check the laws in your state.

Good luck! Looks like a fun project.

It was a 100% free and clear tax sale. So I feel pretty confident that
I should be clear. They said the deed will be in my name and I
believe that their would be zero interest in the original owner
buying it back. Thanks again

Well Duh! That's true of any business. It takes a willingness to work and some good management.

The KEY is who you rent to and how much time you spend checking out your renters. If they don't have the money for a deposit and a months rent up front send them down the road. You may get burned once in awhile but that is part of doing business. Kind of like farming and weather. If there was not money in renting there would not be all the rental property that is out there.

i've has a couple rental units that looked like that when the idiots were done with it....LOL

looks good,I think you should fix it up,not demolish my 02 cents

Looks ok to me but like Pops I've been rehabbing for a long time.
Mine was worse than that when I bought it. Was a crack house and really in bad shape. But the basic structure and foundation were good.
I added on to it and gutted the old part - and I mean completely gutted - floors, walls, ceiling, etc.
New roof, porch, siding, doors, windows, firred out the walls to 6", new heat, electrical, bath and a half, kitchen.
Lot of work! Ate up all my dough.
But now I have tight, energy efficient small home on a big lot for a Lot less than a new house. Mortgage payment is less than you'd pay to rent a 1 br apartment around here.
I'd say your house has a lot of potential.
Don't be squeamish. And remember the old addage that "Rome wasn't built in a day."

Put in some nest boxes and a set of roost poles and Old will rent it from you for his chickens.
Seriously it looks like it was a subsidized rental unit.

I did some thinking about this yesterday. Do you really want to sink a bunch of money in a rental? It don't sound like you plan to live there yourself. I'd think if you can clean it up and sell the empty lot at a nice profit that would be the way to go. "A man won't go broke making a dollar"

Point of information, the word adage means old saying, it is not necessary to put the word old before it.

Your lot may be worth than the house. Do you have well water and your own septic system? Hal

Mabye you aughta
tell Websters

What do the rest of the houses look like in the neighborhood? If not any better then sticking a bunch of money in this one will not give you much resale value. I've fixed a lot of those old fixer-uppers in my time. I don't and won't do another one again. You mentioned the water in the basement. Where did that come from? Is it seepage or was the area flooded and it never cleaned after that? Rentals are another whole animal to deal with. Just got done talking to a friend yesterday that has to go in and redue his rental. Holes in every door and walls. Carpet is filthy and has to be replaced. I took care of a friends 24 rental units for a while. Sunday afternoon while your enjoying your free times some clown will call about why the garbage man didn't pick up the garbage last week or his toilet is running over. The list never ends. Hate to burt your bubble but it' the hard facts of life.

Cosmetically it is a relatively easy redo. I would rip off the front porch and build a full length covered deck on the front before doing a new roof.That way it all ties together. Replace windows with vinyl, rip out all drywall, upgrade wiring and insulation. Vinyl side the exterior. Seal the basement walls after checking for mold. Radon test it. Soffit and facia while siding. Are those hardwood floors in parts of it?

I would never tear that house down,as long as the structor is good,you have something to work with,I look at this house as a handi-mans project and lowes or home depot is your best friend.Im going to closing soon on a house that wasnt fit to live in,but with 6-7 thousand in it it has made a desent house for my daughter

jimmy

adage, a saying, often in metaphoric form, that embodies a common observation, such as "If the shoe fits, wear it,’’ "Out of the frying pan, into the fire,’’ or "Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.’’ The scholar Erasmus published a well-known collection of adages as Adagia in 1508. The word is from the Latin adagium, “proverb.”

"Rome wasn't built in a day."

The lot is a corner lot or two side streets in town and has city water, sewage, and gas services.

That's a big plus. You should set down and try to figure what all this repair is going to cost.
You may be better off to install a modular home.
The electric, plumbing, roof and drywall will be the big items. With you being in school it will be hard for you to work on it. Hal