bought a fixer upper, 3 years later, still isn't fixed up, need opinions.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

So nearly 3 years ago we bought a foreclosure that was need in some repairs, and along the way we just haven't gotten enough money to do the repairs. Now i am newly pregnant and it is bothering me. The roof has some damage, that may be covered by insurance, there seems to be a new leak everywhere we turn in the piping and the house has some mold and just smells musty and it may be my pregnant nose/brain, but it is driving me mad. I feel like we could never get out of this house, no one would ever buy it in it's condition and feel like a fool for buying it this way now. Dh really liked the house and i thought it was okay, but my biggest fear was we would buy it and not have money to repair it, and that is exactly what happened. There is always other things that take over priority, dh's parents for one, and paying off debt is another. We are suppose to be getting a settlement from an accident but it is taking way longer than expected, and I guess I am just looking for positive thoughts. Dh is not a handyman and doesn't really know how to fix much, so we would mostly have to hire someone to fix it up. We had all these dreams and potential for the house and all we have done is paint a couple rooms...But the structural integrity of the house needs some work and with some of the leaks we will likely have to renovate the basement and now a wall in the kitchen and the masterbathroom needs to be remodeled. What would you do? we are really trying to avoid any further debt, which is why we haven't taken out credit to repair the house. Would you put debt repayment/savings on hold to fix the major issues? Leaks?

Thanks for reading...

[Sharlla]

i gave ex the fixer upper in the divorce, he traded the house for his parents car now they are living in it. bought the house for $4,500 5 years ago.
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[2xand2y]

I'd borrow the money and get the house fixed before the house falls apart around you and you are left with nothing but debt. If there is mold you could be jeopardizing your heath, your husband's, and you unborn child's as well. More debt is not a pleasant thought but debt with nothing to show for it is worst IMO.

[zebra15]

I would wave my magic wand, turn back time and never buy the place... oh wait, I can't do that for you... hummmm

Mold can be deadly and you really will have a difficult time selling a home that has mold so you need to fix that. Same thing with a roof. I dont know where you are but winter is coming to most of the country... I guess I would get some quotes and get serious about fixing the house ASAP.

I dont like debt either but I dont want to live in mold or have the house just cave in one day. And I refuse to have mold in the pipes YUCK!

[Three~Little~Birds]

Originally Posted by 2xand2y

I'd borrow the money and get the house fixed before the house falls apart around you and you are left with nothing but debt. If there is mold you could be jeopardizing your heath, your husband's, and you unborn child's as well. More debt is not a pleasant thought but debt with nothing to show for it is worst IMO.

I agree.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

the insurance guy is coming to look at the roof tomorrow. We had a microburst a few months back and following is when we began seeing the leaks, prior to that our roof was in good condition during our home inspection prior to purchase, so hopefully the insurance will cover the repairs for just the deductible for that. I talked briefly to dh about the repairs, and we will hopefully moving forward with the plumbing repairs in the next couple weeks.

[laohaire]

Leaks and mold are nothing to screw around with. If you don't take care of them stat, you could lose all the value in your house. I've seen this more than once, including with the house across the street that is being condemned and razed later this year.

I'm sorry, though. It must be really hard. If you were saying, I dunno, that there was a hole in your interior wall or your cabinets fell down, that's one thing - but leaks and mold have to be dealt with or they will ruin the structure.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

good news from the insurance co. with the damage from the microburst they are going to pay for the repairs minus deductible. We won't be getting a whole new roof as he said most is in good condition except for part over the upstairs will need replaced along with the drywall on the ceiling where the leaks were first noticed.

I've got a few numbers to call for the plumbing/mold, and I plan to get some estimates hopefully next week. I am really grateful for your comments, this stuff has really been bugging me and i think hearing that sometimes financing is the way to go is really motivating me to get the ball rolling and making dh see the reasoning for doing so also.

[SubliminalDarkness]

Good! I'd also suggest you pursue seeing if any interior damage can also be covered as a result of the roof leak.

[cristeen]

I dont like debt either, but there are certain things when it comes to house repairs that are worth it. Anything that can ruin the value of the homebeing the big one. That would include roof and leaky plumbing, along with faulty electric.

And just to hopefully make you feel better, we bought our fixer upper in 1999, and while its liveable, there are still plenty of projects that have been back-burnered for monetary reasons. We're only now getting around to putting a floor in the kitchen, and thats only because our crawler is picking up splinters in his knees.