Purchasing a foreclosure home that needs LOTS of work - Page 2

[shelbean91]

We're currently in AZ, looking to relocate to WI- madison area.

2400 sq ft- do we NEED that amount of space? Absolutely not. Would it be nice? Yes. We currently live in 1400 and it's fine, but we are starting to feel a bit of growing pains as the kids are getting bigger. When people come to visit, it gets a bit crowded (a few times a year).

Mold here in AZ isn't as bad to clean up, as it's drier, IMO. I know in the midwest it could be much harder. Best case scenario, we'd be dealing w/surface mold and bleach would take care of it, worst case, we'd have to go down to the studs to fix things.

I'm handy if I have the time/resources, but since the kids are small, that's just not an option like it used to be.

[ILoveMyBabyBird]

We just put a bid on a foreclosure, and it needs some work too. It looks like someone started fixing it up and never finished the job, but we know it needs some plumbing work an possibly electrical, and there are two areas taht are not completely finished, upstairs loft and basement, but they really just need flooring. Honestly I am nervous to death about it, but i am a worry wort. dh had a co-worker look at it and he has renovated 15+ houses and he told us about how much it would cost to "finish" what the previous owner started, all in all he said about 10-15000 if we wanted to completely fix it and everything. But at this point we are going to make it "livable" and just fix the main problems and worry about finishing the other extra rooms later, assuming we get the house.

This house is about 35,000$ under the county appraisal in its current condition, which I know they sometimes infate, but really the house has had a lot of updates so it is well worth it, in our opinion. Is there anyway you can check out the county tax appraisal? Sometimes you can find the info online.

Also, about the mold. Dh and I have looked at over 30 houses the past 6 months and honestly, my nose is the judge of the house. If it reeks of mold, I hate it, even if it has a nice layout, etc. WE have looked at a lot of foreclosures and I would def say "lots" of mold damage would definitely turn me off. Good luck, btw!

[shelbean91]

The asking price is now 59,900. Would that change anyone's mind? We'd be looking to have a 'summer' home and winter home.

[kkfum]

not unless i had the cash to hire a remediation company to come in before i moved in to take care of the mold. and, i'd want to find the best, most thorough home inspector to check for other potentially major issues--cracked foundation, major leaks, animal infestation, rotted support beams, etc. but most home inspectors aren't able to be this thorough. but if you're a gambling woman...

[Equuskia]

Seriously, mold would turn me off. And if it's due to moisture, which is probably from a leaky roof, you're looking at corroded electrical wiring (fire hazard), corroded studs, infestations, etc. That would be too much headache for me, and mold is so toxic, and hard to get rid of in humid areas.

[shelbean91]

At that price, we could tear down to the studs and start over, though. Hmmmm.....

[kijip]

Originally Posted by shelbean91

At that price, we could tear down to the studs and start over, though. Hmmmm.....

Can you post a link to the listing? That would help me have an opinion one way or the other.

$59,000 for a house seems perposterous to me but then again, I had to pay 300ish for ANYTHING in Seattle.

[starling&diesel]

If I had twice the asking price in cash to throw at it in heaps and gobs, plus time coming out my wahoo, and patience to spare .... maybe, juuuuuust maybe I'd consider it. Otherwise I've got one word for you:

N-I-G-H-T-M-A-R-E.

[thriftyqueen]

Have you seen the house in person? My concern is that even though you could tear everything out, have you seen the foundation, the roof, the exterior siding, etc? There could be a lot of things like that. Have you had a private home inspection done? I would look into doing that first. It would cost about $300, but worth it even if you pass on the house. If that comes back and it seems doable, find a great contractor (if you can affordto hire one) or contact a contractor now and have them do a walk through of the property to give you an estimate. That way you would know cost wise what it would be. $59,000 is cheap for a house and if it is something that could be fixed up for say $40,000. You could have a great house for under $100,000. If it is going to cost a lot more than that, you could just as well buy something that is in better condition already.

[grlpowers]

I just thought I would through this in. If it has an indoor pool and has mold issues it mean that there is not a good ventilation system and that is a major fix. Like at least $10000.00. I have an indoor pool and while it is nice it needs to have proper ventilation for moisture. The previous owner of our house installed our system and he did the work himself. For the materials alone I know it was like $25000.00. It must run all the time and that means it uses lots of electricity. Our electric bill is never under $300. Even in the summer. While a forecloser sounds good and usually it might be a really good deal I would run from a house with an indoor pool with mold issues. The walls might need to be totally redone. And the issues of having mold in your house are not good. Just something to think about.

[shelbean91]

I haven't seen the house in person, haven't even been to the town- just found it while looking at houses in the area. This is ALL just hypothetical at this point.

[shelbean91]

http://www.realtor.com/search/listin...rcnt=11#Detail

link- hope it works. It doesnt' give much detail, though.

[KariM]

That's a good price for that size/age home in Deerfield, but the fact that it's still on the market would REALLY have me worried. Homes in Dane County tend to move pretty fast and Deerfield is a desirable location.

I suspect the mold issues must be severe for it to not be selling.

[shelbean91]

That's what I was thinking, also. Honestly, this really is a hypothetical- as in- how low would you have to go to make a headache worth the $$. I mean, even if it needed 100k worth of work, at that price, it's still under market value. I'd never buy a house sight unseen and have no idea about the area, and live too far away to check it out. My sister could drive up for me, but still.

I do think the mold must be huge and any amount paid for the house would be basically just paying for the land, as most likely, the house would have to be torn down and a new house built in its place.

[Maddy123]

A plumber who works on our house sometimes once told me "Mold is gold!" (Meaning that it costs BIG bucks for the homeowner to deal with it and means $$ for the plumbers.)

I realize that there are all sorts of mold issues, from the minor to the big. This house sounds like it may have a big problem. So...I'd think, "Mold is gold!" (for the plumbers) and stay away from it.

But, for the record, I've bought fixer houses also. Not any with mold, but some that needed a lot of work.

[phatchristy]

My sister wound up renting a home with mold issues...she and her husband had SERIOUS health issues as a result.

I would not consider purchasing this unless it was a tear down.

(and she is NOT a typical person that is allergic to stuff...this was severe mold...some mold is just flat out a respiratory toxin)

[shelbean91]

I think that's the thing- even if you get it cleaned up, it either comes back or is never really all the way gone. My guess is that for the price to have gone so low in a desirable area, it's got to be very bad. Maybe I could talk the bank into giving ME money to take it off their hands Still not sure if it would be worth it.

[lalaland42]

To answer your previous question, how low does it have to go before I would buy something, it obviously depends on the situation. I probably wouldn't do it if I was out of state and didn't have contractor contacts in the area of the house. There are also certain problems I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, mold being one of them. Recently, I was offered a house where the owner was divorcing and she didn't have any money to deal with the issues. I looked around and a lot of the work was cosmetic but when I looked in the closet, I saw mold. I don't want to cause respiratory problems for DD and I knew I didn't have the time or financial resources to deal with it, otherwise I probably could have got a great deal on the house.

I do have a friend who is a contractor and he and his ex-DP went around the big island of Hawaii making offers on for sale houses. He offered approximately half of the asking price. He made enough offers that he had a couple of takers. He made some great deals that way. Their kids are grown though and they did the work themselves.

[velochic]

Something that jumped out at me: it says that the pool is "partially" finished. What in the world does that mean? Maybe that is the cause of the mold problems.

This place sounds like a money pit. I personally wouldn't do it.

[D_McG]

Originally Posted by velochic

This place sounds like a money pit. I personally wouldn't do it.

Totally.