Estimated Costs to consider

[SarahFair]

Im still looking for a house here in Georgia
While we have a lot of sweat equity to give, there is some things we cant or dont feel comfortable doing (ie, electrical and foundation issues) for resale value.
I want to be sure Im in the ball parks on estimates

We are looking at houses around 1750-2000 sqft.
One we are going to look at today or tomorrow is 1.5 stories (they say a loft, but there are no internal pictures) on a crawl space.
Here it is
http://www.zillow.com/homes/for_sale/ho ... ?3col=true

Many of the "fixer uppers" have no HVAC system and are cooled by window units.
Not going to work for us.
Okay so, to install a new HVAC system Im thinking will cost between 10-15k. That includes ductwork.
Am I off on that?

That one looks like a new roof, but something similar in size/pitch should cost about another 10k.
If it needs all new rewiring another 10k?
New pluming 10K?
Foundation issues 15k?
Insulate 10k?
Crawlspace rehab 5k?


Fireplaces.
I have no idea what condition they are in, but I love burning wood fireplaces.
How much does it usually cost to restore them?
2k per chimney?

Windows.
Now I looked at one house that retained the original windows but had an outer window put on the outside.
What is that called and what does it cost per window?
Im thinking (varying on how many windows, this house has about 15 I think) 5k-8k
What about just having restoring work done to them?
Making sure there is no rot and they open and close?


Refinishing wood floors
3k?

[Kashka-Kat]

Hi Sarah, I know this isn't answering your question but if you haven't already done so you might want to be shopping around now for a bldg. inspector & have one lined up and ready to go if/when you make an offer. When you talk with them by phone you can get a sense of which ones love and are most knowledgeable about old houses - and which ones not so much. There may be some willing or able to give you by phone the kind of very preliminary rough nos. you are looking for. Or, depending on the circumstance you may want to hire someone to do a pre-offer consultation or a walk thru the house with you before you make the offer and come up with some more precise numbers - and tell you if theres some other inspections you might have to have done or be part of your contingency - eg . an architectural engineer, specialized tradesperson, etc.

I had the pre offer inspection in one instance & would do so again, esp if its an "as is" sale or has some quirks or is in rougher condition than Im used to. As far as I know you are under no obligation to tell the seller or anyone whos looking at your house - its just some guy you're bringing along.

A good inspector should be able to give you a range of possible fixes with ballpark costs, provide some guidance re how you might DIY, what are different ways it can be DIY, what makes sense to DIY and when is it better to hire a pro, etc. Beware the ones who seem to only know about yanking stuff out and replacing it with new!

The guy I found was chatty on the phone and provided a wealth of info before even seeing the house - have used him ever since - be sure to bring along something to record what he says as you go along. Cathy in WI

[Sinoed]

My home is in Ontario, Canada so these costs might be quite different than yours but I've done some of this work in the last year or so. The house is a red brick century home c. 1895 so that makes some things like wiring and repairs tricky - I've asked contractors to work around mouldings, take care with the plaster etc. The house is about 1600 sq ft and has a fireplace in the main living room and one in the bedroom.

Rewiring the whole house top to bottom cost me $8,000. It cost an additional $1,000 to buy solid copper reproduction switchplates and push button switches.

I got a quote on refinishing the flooring - $2,500 for the lower floor and $1,500 upstairs - plus repair work (this works out to around $5/sq ft). On top of this I had to add additional money to fix holes & the stairs were additional money.

I'm in the middle of having the chimney repaired - the upper portion had no mortar between the bricks above the roofline. Approximately 8' of chimney was rebuilt, 2' replaced at the bottom of the stack and the inside of the fireplaces parged. The mason is also working on many repairs to the facade - replacing damaged and crumbling bricks and repairing an original cement wall. We had agreed on $4,000 (original price was $4,800) but there is a lot more work to do so it might cost more. He is also replacing broken window sills which have to be specially made. It will cost me $1,200 for three sills (because of the special moulds).

I had a small loft room approximately 8x10 drywalled and finished, and the holes from the electrical repaired at the same time. That work cost $1,000.

I have a few original wooden windows which were very special and unusual. The windows are wooden sash window with 16 panes in the upper portion and 1 pane in the lower one. Unfortunately because there are so many panes in each window they are incredibly expensive to remake. I have received quotes of $2,500 to $3,000 per window. I really wish they'd left the old ones, they probably could have been fixed. I don't think most old windows cost that much to replace - I just happened to get lucky.

Initial painting, new countertop, sink, tap & hardware in the kitchen and a bunch of miscellaneous immediate clean-up work cost me $5,000.

I had a new toilet installed upstairs which was a tall upright model with an elongated bowl - apparently a 'comfort sit'? lol. The new toilet with labour was $420.

In every single case the work I've had done has been local contractors I've gotten in touch with "through the grapevine". All of the quotes I received from "name brand" contractors have been higher with less work included. My mason just left a scrawled note on a half a piece of paper in the door saying he loved to work on old houses and to call him if I needed help (He is in his late sixties, a stickler for detail and an absolute gem!). If you go down the restoration and fix it route talk to your neighbours and look for the old guys. Once you get into their circle they know lots of people who will be the right fit and much more reasonable price wise.

The big expense for me was the electrical and I'm really not looking forward to the roof which is next. If I had to go back and look for houses again and wanted original windows I'd pay more attention to those - they can be surprisingly expensive.

HTH

[lovesickest]

I think it is also important to put the work a potential house needs in context of the surrounding market, as well as your long range plans.

There is major stuff that is very important, like a roof, electrical, plumbing - you cannot avoid or sidestep this.

If the market you are looking at has homes that are very modestly priced - ie homes stay on the market for a long time, a somewhat depressed local economy and a low resale value, then other repairs and upgrades you do should be for your own pleasure and preferences. If you plan to stay in that home for a long time, then make that home be the home you want/need, within your budget.

I live in Toronto, which has an insane housing market right now. Bidding wars, middle class homes selling for 140% of the asking price, etc. In this market location seems to be number one, followed by brand new trendy upgrades and seductive marketing. The average house price in 2016 is $ 782,051 CAN. If you want a completely detached home, the average price is $ 1.2M. Right now you can sell anything. It's terrifying for everyone but sellers and their realtors. In this context, 100K in upgrades and improvements seem like a drop in the bucket (if you are an owner/buyer who can afford this).

However, if you look at any of the smaller cities a few hours away, the average house prices are so much lower. A person who threw 100K at a modest home would be viewed with great suspicion and pity.

I second the suggestion for a local home inspector who is familiar with old homes. From speaking with a relative, who lives across the country in a rural area, the prices for tradespeople will vary with the region. Her roof has more surface area, but she paid half as much to have it replaced. I don't know if you will get many responses, but you could email local tradespeople pics of the type of property you are interested in, and request a (non-binding) ballpark estimate. An experienced local realtor may also be able to give you some ideas about what the basics will cost.

If your intention is to buy property to flip (you mention resale value) you may find some long faces here. Most of the flips I have seem are down and dirty, to extract the most for the least, with a focus on cosmetic diversions and band-aid solutions.

[SarahFair]

No band aid solutions here. I want it done right, but we would like to work our way up to bigger and nicer houses.

We went and looked at the house and man, it was a little more than rough, but had great potential.

The owners were there (about 6 people), it was filthy, their "stuff" sat about 3' off the wall all the way around every room so you couldnt even really "look", plus the grumpy old lady followed us around watching to make sure we werent going to steal anything.

It makes it hard to look.

The bathroom tub was clogged and filled with dirty water and the dampness ran all the way up the wall. The floor was molded and caving in.
It would be a complete gut. COMPLETE.

The kitchen would have to be a complete gut.

The sealed off the doorway from the living room into the dining room and turned it into a bedroom, that would have to be reopened.

The floors seemed good everywhere but the kitchen and bathroom. They were painted some yuck taupe color long ago though.

Chunks of plaster were missing in various areas.

Lead paint was peeling off every ceiling but upstairs (upstairs was left completely alone, never redone and it b was beautiful ).

The foundation was pulling away in one spot under an ac unit and you could smell a sewage type smell coming from below

The chimney had a terrible bow in it which had caused the roof to sink.
The roof was new, so Im wondering if that is a new sunken area or older.

One bedroom they had completely locked. They said we cant go in because someone was sleeping in there
Im here to look at the house to buy and youre telling me I cant look at every room?????

The crawlspace was in decent shape. I saw ac ducts but they said it had no ac?
I know the upstairs was blazing hot.
Maybe it broke and they never fixed it.
It still needef work. There were very very questionable supports in areas and no vapor barrier. I didn't go all the way under, but poked my head in. Lots of room to work under there, compared to our current house anyways.


Idk, I still liked it.
I asked my realtor if she really thought theyd get 60k and she said no, maybe $45-50k

Its in a dieing downtown, yet she says shes got 6 clients looking to move in that area. Theres one house 2400sqft 4b/4b they want 299k.
They started at 340k 4 months ago. Bought it 2 years ago for 28k.
And a couple that have sold recently between 150-220k.

If it was in the area we were looking id throw the 45k offer out with inspection contingency

[lovesickest]

Okay but why do you want to "work your way up to better and bigger houses" ?

[JacquieJet]

Whew SarahFair, you are a brave one! Just reading about all those issues makes my skin crawl. If you take it on, good for you, but there's no way I could do it!

I can't offer much in the way of info for most of what you asked about, but we did get our fireplace done last year and I can tell you we spent $6800 (CAD) on it. The chimney needed to be lined from the fireplace up to the roof (so, through 3 stories), there were a lot of cracks in the mortar and they did a phenomenal job. Luckily we didn't need our chimney rebricked (it was done about 10 years ago and was fine), but we needed new bird caps up top and new refractory brick on the base of the hearth (the original tiles were cracked and chipped). The upside is we now have a lovely and safe wood burning fireplace.

[SarahFair]

Yeah, I've read a couple places now that fireplaces are expensive. Someone spent 10k on one!


I was wondering what the price runs for lead and asbestos removal.
The ceiling paint was cracked, bubbled, chipped, flaking, and hanging in many areas.
Sure you can encapsulate or enclose (lower the ceiling) it, but then do you still have to disclose it on paper when reselling?
What happens when walls need to be taken out?
Or if you do get your chimney fixed and they have to open up a wall?
I noticed the house had had some wood replaced. Some areas looked fresh and new, other dry rotted with bubbling and cracking paint. What does it cost to remove vs paint over (back smooth and not over bubbles and cracks).

[JacquieJet]

If there is encapsulated asbestos, then it is still in the home and yes, must be disclosed in future sales.
As for removal, I've heard it can be quite pricey, so some people take the task upon themselves for substantial savings. As long as you follow safety protocol, you can DIY. It just can be tricky when it comes to things that are powdery/easily airborne.

I don't think many people remove lead paint. Usually that's just encapsulated, and I don't believe that has to be disclosed upon future sales (at least here it doesn't). I think most people assume that old houses had lead paint at one time or another. Usually you would just sand the cracked/chipping areas (or use a heat gun or chemical stripper on wood), and then repaint. If you get a good quality mask you won't have to worry about fumes- they run about $75 and can be used again and again. Just keep the windows open during and afterwards.

As for wood costs, it depends what you are talking about- hardwood flooring? Trim? Exterior siding? The best thing to do would be to visit a local DIY store (Home Depot, mom&pop woodwork store, etc) and price it out there. You don't have to buy from there, but they would be able to easily give you a ballpark for what type of thing you are looking for. It would depend on what it is, how many sq ft you need, and whether you are installing it yourself or paying someone to do that.

[GibsonGM]

Hi,

Not too specific to the actual things you'd asked about, but...if one isn't very handy and ok doing a ton of things on their own, they're going to have to PAY to have them done, of course. And that is VERY pricey, with an old house...they ALL need tons of work, simply to keep them up!! Sounds like you're getting good advice about all of this. If I had to pay for all of the things I've done to my place over the last year, I would be shelling out at least $50K, LOL! My cost: <$5,000, just in materials.


Ok, I know you mean well, JacquieJet but...lead paint....disturb it as little as possible...paint over it. 2 coats is nice to do. On future disclaimers, all of this is "unknown", as noted. Listen....DO NOT HIT IT WITH A TORCH OR POWER SOUND IT INSIDE THE HOUSE, EVER, please?????? Do you know WHAT KIND of 'mask' to get?? (Respirator)

I do lead paint work. While not forbidden for a homeowner to do as the present time, if you expect to gain any money from it (renting, or an upcoming sale), it is illegal. I CANNOT use those methods in my work...and I must clean my mess up with a HEPA vac (not your household one, a special $500 one).

Why should YOU not sand it or torch it? The DUST will persist in your house...little kids that visit will then inhale it, and perhaps suffer neurological problems (ok, not from 1 visit, but there IS risk). The TORCH will created lead GAS that will get on surfaces or be inhaled, and is worse than the dust for kids The danger is mostly to small children. When we disturb lead paint, we seal the room off, do the work, and clean it all VERY well with HEPA prior to opening it again, limiting the spread of dust.

It's a real hazard. Some people would take a swab of dust prior to buying a house, and have it tested for just this reason...

Asbestos...non-friables like exterior house tiles, yes you can carefully remove. Friable items INSIDE the home...no. I just did my own exterior, posted it on here; great. I wouldn't touch it inside unless using FULL CONTAINMENT.

I held an OSHA Asbestos Management Planner license thru the early 2000's, BTW, and am qualified to be an environmental scientist...do what you want, but if you don't have a FULL appreciation of the risks, you WILL be driving up your Excessive Lifetime Cancer Risk profile....your call. The worst part is that both substances PERSIST, so it's not just YOU who gets hit...sorry to be a bummer, but without the knowlege (obtainable, for sure), you are simply endangering yourself and others...