Has anyone ever bought a super old house with intent to restore/fix up?

[kaorder1999]

Im am looking at a house that was built in 1910. It is in good enough shape to qualify for FHA financing so its not in that bad of shape. Has anyone here ever bought a super old house to renovate/restore or whatever word you would use? What are some probs you had? Any tips?

[Txbroadcaster]

foundation is always one of the big concerns..make sure it is either still solid, or if there are problems they are not to much costly

[sinton66]

Location is very important too if you plan to rent it out or vend it. Property values in the immediate area could give you a good idea how much renovation money to spend.

[kaorder1999]

foundation is good...only noticible work needed is exterior paint, interioir paint, wood needing replaced around windows, wood flooring needing refinished, kitchen floor needing replacing

[kaorder1999]

this would be a house i would live in. In an area with 200 and 400k houses within a mile....give me a sec and ill post some pics...

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
foundation is good...only noticible work needed is exterior paint, interioir paint, wood needing replaced around windows, wood flooring needing refinished, kitchen floor needing replacing

next would be wiring and plumbing..all up to code? All still in good shape?

Where is the house at?

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by Txbroadcaster
next would be wiring and plumbing..all up to code? All still in good shape?

Where is the house at?

yes...everything is up to code per inspection....

[sinton66]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
this would be a house i would live in. In an area with 200 and 400k houses within a mile....give me a sec and ill post some pics...

Immediate neighborhood is what determines property value. You might be able to check the county tax rolls for the area.

[kaorder1999]

yeah...ive already checked the tax stuff....would be able to get the house for less then half of the tax appraisal value

[LH Panther Mom]

My parents have bought 2 that they moved from one location to another, then remodeled & added on. The first one had shipboard interior walls. When they pulled up the linoleum in the living room, there were newspapers underneath - from WWII. :eek:

[sinton66]

Originally posted by kaorder1999
yeah...ive already checked the tax stuff....would be able to get the house for less then half of the tax appraisal value

Hmmmm, that's kinda unusual, I'd approach carefully and do my homework on it.

[Txbroadcaster]

Originally posted by sinton66
Hmmmm, that's kinda unusual, I'd approach carefully and do my homework on it.

that is the housing market in this area..alot of houses are selling WELL below their value

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by sinton66
Hmmmm, that's kinda unusual, I'd approach carefully and do my homework on it.

forclosure

[kaorder1999]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/fronthouse.jpg

FRONT PORCH

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/porch.jpg

HALLWAY UPSTAIRS

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/hallway.jpg

OFFICE

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/office.jpg

DETACHED GARAGE

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/garage.jpg

BACKYARD

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/backyard.jpg

[kaorder1999]

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/living1.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/livingtodining.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/stairs.jpg

http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c399/kaorder1999/Johnson%20house/fence.jpg

[sinton66]

Looks like it might not take a whole lot of restoration money, hard to tell from pics though. Looks like wooden lap siding. Definitely want to check thouroughly for termite damage, rot, mold, etc. Terry's right, foundation is fundamental, then plumbing, electrical, and roof. Those are the higher costs items.

[kaorder1999]

the house is def liveable right now.

[sinton66]

Heat/AC system is key too. Definitely looks pretty good.

[Green Bling]

Looks like a fun house to live in. You will love the wide porches. I used to have a house very similar to tjis and still miss it, but Mr. Bling said I had to move in with him when we got married. :D :D There is constant upkeep on these old houses, but if you are handy with that kind of thing there are definite perks.

[bobcat4life]

doesnt seem like it will take quite as much work as the one me and my sister's boyfriend repaired for them to move into. And that only took about a month and a few thousand to fix up

[kaorder1999]

it looks as if the people who lost the house tied to fix it up and either just ran out of money or lost a job or something. All the bathrooms have new tubs/showers, sinks, etc....

[crabman]

They are right about the roof, plumbing, and electrical. Unless it was previously upgraded the wire will be two wire Romex with no ground wire. If it has a ground wire you are in pretty good shape. A house that old was built without plumbing so the fact that it has it now tells you that it was put in later. Just check your water lines. If they are galvanized screw pipe, expect it to be bad. If it is all copper, you are probably okay.

Hire a good painter if you can afford it. It will really make things look sharp. Do not try to refinish the wood floors yourself. Expect to pay $2.50 per square foot for sanding and refinishing. If you do that right the house will look like a million bucks.

[ASUFrisbeeStud]

Doing it right now, keeping a blog about it

www.richkaterenovate.blogspot.com

[kaorder1999]

Originally posted by crabman
They are right about the roof, plumbing, and electrical. Unless it was previously upgraded the wire will be two wire Romex with no ground wire. If it has a ground wire you are in pretty good shape. A house that old was built without plumbing so the fact that it has it now tells you that it was put in later. Just check your water lines. If they are galvanized screw pipe, expect it to be bad. If it is all copper, you are probably okay.

Hire a good painter if you can afford it. It will really make things look sharp. Do not try to refinish the wood floors yourself. Expect to pay $2.50 per square foot for sanding and refinishing. If you do that right the house will look like a million bucks.

plumbing is all copper....not sure about the electrical...have to check on it

[raider red 2000]

its fun and hard work if you are doing it yourself.

we bought a house built in 1915.

we have redone the kitchen and a bathroom.

refinished some floors.

you need to decide why you want this house though?
- good deal? (home or try to sell later)
- fun projects?
- if you can get an fha loan on it, you should be safe as far as it being in the right price range or you are getting a deal.

good luck

[STANG RED]

I've remodeled 3 old homes like this. My biggest piece of advice is, DO NOT try to live in it, and remodel it at the same time. That’s a huge pain in the butt. Also, if the electrical is original, this age house will have knob and tube wiring. Hopefully that has all been replaced with modern romex by now. Rewiring two story houses are very tough, and very expensive. You can easily spend $20K or more, rewiring a two story home. And even then, holes will have to be cut in walls, ceilings, and floors, to get the job done right. Then all those holes have to be fixed.
On the plus side, it looks like a beautiful old home, on a very nice piece of property. Based on what you've said and the pictures, I wouldn’t be afraid to make the investment to make all needed repairs, as long as the house is structurally sound.

[raider red 2000]

Originally posted by STANG RED
Also, if the electrical is original, this age house will have knob and tube wiring. Hopefully that has all been replaced with modern romex by now. .

i think for an fha loan the wiring has to be updated.

should be in good shape there.

we live in ours and we are taking our time doing stuff.

not too much time when both me and my wife are teachers and coaches.....but summers we get some stuff done.

[Ranger Mom]

How fun!!!!!!!

I would love to "flip" houses for a living.

Looks like a good deal to me Josh!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!!

[WILDGOBBLERCAT]

We love our 1922 model Craftsman home. It just felt like home the day we moved in. The house does require constant attention though, and I've got a list of projects to complete as we can afford them.

From the pics the house looks to be in really good shape.

One thing you will need to prepare for is the heating/cooling costs. If you have the original single pane windows, there will be a considerable amount of loss there. We have 56 windows on our old house and we're hoping to go with storm windows as an alternative to replacing them all ($15K). You've obviously just got to weigh the +'s and -'s. It's a trade off that we're happy with.

If it all checks out and is in a desirable LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION, you should come out fine. Old homes really have a lot of character that many people appreciate.

Good luck.