Fixer Upper Houses

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

If you are on this site, you are probably a do it yourselfer. That means, we try to tackle anything and everything that goes wrong with the crap we own. So, I was wondering, how many of us were not only into the infinite hell of a project house to add to the misery of a project car that never seems to be finished? If so, what projects are you tackling?

My list goes something like:

Back Porch Roof

Replace all the screening round the pool and porches

Repaint the house

Sod the lawn

Install vinyl siding in the gables

Fix the concrete around the pool

Fix the pool pump

Remodel the kitchen

Replace all windows

etc.....

What's your list?

 

[MrHernandez]

Build Credit, Get Some Money, Buy A House

 

[Oldsmoletick]

Build Credit, Get Some Money, Buy A House

HAHA, same boat here, every time I think I've scraped together a good down payment to qualify for a mortgage, some thing happens and I'm forced to use it on "other" things. Someday

 

[axisg]

LOL. I bought my first house 3 years ago to try and flip in 6 months.

I knocked out walls, refinished floors, and gutted and replaced the entire kitchen and expanded it into what was the Dining Room, refinished the bathroom + powder-room, and decided to tackle the electrical while I had the walls open so I upgraded the panel and a bunch of wiring at that time. New Roof, New Eves, put a 12x12 addition on the 12x12 shed ( no garage ), new deck in the front to cover up the sagging flagstone front step, dug new fenceposts and replaced about 75' of rotten 30 year old fencing,....

There was lotsa tearout as the house was built and finished in 1976 ( brown shag carpet and all !! ) and it was lived in and left untouched until we bought from the orig owners ( brown shag carpet and freaking wallpaper top to bottom all intact from 1976.... they even took a 10x20" piece of the 30 year old living room carpet with them when they moved )

I actually had 90% of it done within the first 4 months and then my business took off so the house got back-burnered. All I have left now is to replace the windows and 1x9' section of wall to re-insulate and re-drywall in the basement and then put down some flooring down there and it should be ready to sell...... But the market is so soft I will end up breaking even once I put in the cost of materials alone.

Should have listened to my wife as we wanted a 4 bedroom, unfinished basement, detached house with garage. And we bought a fixer upper semi-detached, poorly finished basement with fake wood paneling, no garage. Even as the market as soft as it is the house is worth $ 40k more than what we paid for it.

Next time around I will be buying what I wanted in the first place and charge people for the skillls I have aquired and honed on my house.

 

[cdg1984]

I tend to try to not bite off more than i can chew....

 

[Brick442]

If you're trying to flip a house, the good news is that something like 1 out of every 2 listings right now are short sales are foreclosures. If you want to flip a house, and have some patience, I'd recommend buying a short sale.

I purchased one 2 years ago for well less than what it was worth at the time--my realtor didn't even want to put in my offer because she felt it was too low and the bank wouldn't accept it. Well, I put it in anyway and as the months passed forgot about it. A few months later got a call and the bank accepted.

The house was only 10 years old, but neglected. The former owner (a single mom) didn't do any maintenance at all, and let the place go. fixtures where mixed and matched. Kitchen cabinets were dated, poorly layed out and had water damage from the dishwasher.

I removed all the carpeting and old tile, and put a nicer tile diagonally throughout the lower level (900 sq/ft worth of tile).
Replaced all receptacles and light swtiched.
Gutted kitchen, new cabinets ($12K) new stainless appliances, added an island with eating area, granite countertops, added decorative pendulum-type lights above island.
Got rid of a ceiling fan in living room and added 6 recessed lights on a dimmer.
All carpeting in the house was replaced.

Gutted 1 bathroom and 1 half-bath
In the master bath I added a walk in shower stall (all tiled) with custom framless glass doors. Replaced all fixtures and the vanity. New tile on floors in both bathrooms.
(it had another bathroom but that one was pretty nice so I left it alone, only replaced the light fixtures).

Landscaping was also key, as this house had a pool (which was inoperable and covered when the bank had it on the market). Turns out the pool was only 5 years old and had a busted skimmer pipe which I fixed and now looks brand new.

Had no grass, it was all dirt and weeds, so I added sod and had the driveway redone and widened (a friend owed me a favor, so his company did the driveway).

In all, it took me 3-1/2 months. I think the key is finding the best deal on materials (which doesn't mean using cheap materials) and doing most of the work yourself if possible.

I made about $55K profit off of this house--mostly thanks to the bank taking a loss on this house when they sold it to me. I guess the figured getting some money for it was better then getting nothing when the woman who owned it eventually foreclosed.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

I have actually owned my house for 14 years now, and it is the only place I have ever had. I bought it before I moved out of my parent's house to try and flip it, but decided to keep it instead. Right now, I am trying to fix it up enough to get the appraisal I need to avoid PMI when I refinance the house in another month or so ( It should drop my payment to $450 a month including tax and insurance). It was run down when I got it, and while I stabilized it, I never could afford to finish it because of too much other crap going on. I only paid $40k for it, and it's a 2/2/1 with 1100 square feet and a screened in in ground pool.

As for how it is going, I did manage to fix the pool pump issue today. I had abandoned that part of the house for the last year due to my lack of cash, and someone decided to put a golf ball in the skimmer. Pulled it out, and it works! Now I just have to get a vacuum and hose to suck all of the dirt off the bottom, then filter, chlorinate and voila! The pool should be usable again! Once I get the porch roof on in the next week or so, I will have a nice place to entertain should I ever have anyone to come over. I should post pics of my project house hell, but I am a bit too lazy to do it.

 

[Camshaft]

I'd like to get a place up here. I hope this thread takes off, I love working on houses with my father, brother-in-law, and best friend. I want to see everyone's projects. I still have to paint the porch we built last spring!

 

[dougfather]

I am isulating our attic as I get time to it. Our house was built around 1905. Anyway, found some incorrect insulating (no vent between the insulation and roof deck) not to mention that the r-13 was compressed. For 66,000, not a bad house. Has 2 car attached, 3 bed (soon to be 4 when the attic gets done), and 1 1/2 bath. I had gutted the kitchen. Previous owner though it wise to drywall over the old horsehair plaster, excpet in the kitchen. Many of the drywall nails are popping out in places.

 

[Bonnewagon]

Everything I've ever owned is a fixer-upper. House is paid for,but after raising kids needs a makeover. Mother-in-laws house I fixed up for my kid. LOTS of work in fixing old houses, but gives the best return. And on top of my cars I have boats. Endless headaches, but I'm NEVER bored!