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Thread: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

  1. #1
    madmaxine
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    Default Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    Within the next couple years I may inherit a four bedroom two bathroom home with garage that was built in the early Seventies. Hey, don't congratulate me yet. I might end up in serious debt because the home has not been cared for properly and could possibly be described as a "distressed property." There is extensive weather and vermin damage, plus, many things need replacing for energy efficiency, etc.....
    Question: is it truly cheaper to tear down the existing house and build another one? Someone told me rebuilding is cheaper than renovating, but I find that hard to believe. I also would like to look into building a home with a steel frame.
    Any and all ideas welcome. I'm a little ambivalent because I wanted to move out of state and buy my own home. I wasn't planning for this situation. But I need to consider everything.

  2. #2
    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    Yuck.

    That does sound expensive. I guess you have to ask yourself what the house is worth now, versus what the house will be worth if you fix all the stuff up....and is that difference greater than the cost of rehab. (whether it's rebuild or renovate....a contractor can tell you more about this)

    If it were me, I hate dealing with that crap so I'd sell it "as is" and let someone who knows what they are doing rehab it. Take that money, and use it to buy something I really wanted.

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    Veteran Member HoneyHITZ's Avatar
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    ditto to emily! its whatever you want, but it might not be worth it to renovate, and to just rebuild... HOWEVER.... if the house means a lot to you, you might want to renovate to try to preserve some of its history... good luck

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    God/dess VenusGoddess's Avatar
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    You are going to need to get some bids. Re-modeling a home is good if the structure of the home is still good and intact...however, if the structure is damaged, then repairing/replacing that and then remodling the inside can be considerably more. It's better to get someone who can evaluate the home and tell you what needs to be replaced.

    If the home was improperly cared for...if the place has a roof falling through, then most cases are that the foundation/structure would have been affected as well. In cases like these...it's usually better/more inexpensive to have the home torn down and rebuilt. Otherwise, it's better to renovate.

    Let your fingers do the walking and have several different companies come and do inspections...you'll know better what to do then.

    Good luck!

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    God/dess Bridgette's Avatar
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    I'm with Emily. It sounds like you're not really interested in dealing with the situation, so if I were you I'd just take whatever money I could get out of it and use it to buy what I really wanted.

    When they pass I am willed to inherit my grandparents' home built in 1975, waaaaaaayy out in the sticks and I already know I'll sell it. No way will I want to live there, and though it might make a nice escape home, I have no desire to deal with upkeep on a house in the boonies even though they have taken good care of it. So I'll just sell it and put the money toward something I really want.

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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    I agree with Emily as well.A house is the most expensive thing you will ever buy,so get something you want and can see yourself living in for at least 10-15 years.
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    Sell it. Get what you can. It would probably cost you more (cash, time, stress, aggravation, etc.) either way than it would be worth. Especially if you'd rather be somewhere else. I haven't checked lately, but I'm assuming house prices in the southern part of the valley are still fairly depressed? (at least compared with the rest of the state)
    "He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!"

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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    Emily's advice makes perfect sense. In the absence of an underlying antique value make the decision entirly on dollars and sense after careful evaluations by builders and real estate agents.

    A good general contractor can tell you what it would cost to fix anything structural in need of repair. the agent can tell you what it is worth now and after anything structural is fixed The last thing you want to do is live in a house you do not want to live in, in a place where you do not want to live.

    PS: A roof is an easy thing to fix as long as it is still somewhat functioning. It is just plywood and asphalt tiles and a lot of nails. The hard thing to fix is the foundation because everything is on top of it.

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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    another key question is the inherent worth of the lot the house is standing on. In some areas the scarcity of construction property in desireable neighborhoods might make it very worthwhile to consider simply selling the property as-is to a developer, or bcoming a developer yourself i.e. bulldozing the house and constructing a new house on the same lot and foundation whose market price would be much higher than the total amount of money you'd be investing.

  10. #10
    madmaxine
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    Default Re: Renovate or Rebuild Home?

    I talked to a couple people, and they suggested the same things. The reason this is happening is that the owner of the house is unable to take care of herself or the house and I'm the only responsible family member able to help.
    I want to turn the house into a duplex and rent out one half and let the owner live in the other half.
    My uncle is a landlord/ jack-of-all-trades, so I'm not completely alone here, I'm just wondering what to do.
    There are a pleathora of taxes/ laws levied at anyone remodeling/ rebuilding a home in CA.....one friend suggested I tear down the house and erect a manufactured home on concrete pillars to beat the foundation tax.

    Edit to add: my brother just suggested torching the place. Hahahahahah. When our neighbor down the street died, his trashed house was worth $40,000. The buyer spent $30,000 to remodel, and now the house is worth at least $250,000. Food for thought.
    Last edited by madmaxine; 01-01-2005 at 03:04 AM.

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