Anyone buy a fixer and live there with little kids?

[Anonymous]

DH and I found a house in our desired neighborhood at the end of a cul-de-sac with a lot of privacy. We love the floor plan/layout/curb appeal of the house. The downside is that it was built in 1998 (same as our current house) and has really not been taken car of. No updates have been done (fine) but the yard is totally overgrown and the inside is filthy and needs all new carpets, etc.

However, the house is listing for at least $100k less than it would be if it were in nice condition. We can't decide if we're nuts to consider it, or if this is a great opportunity...

Thoughts?

FYI, kids are 4 and 1 and I am a SAHM.

[Anonymous]

OK, let me start by saying that my house was built in 1868 so I don't really consider a 15-year-old house that needs new carpet and a deep clean a "fixer." But, can you afford to stay where you are while you recarpet and do whatever else needs doing?

[Anonymous]

yard and flooring could be done fairly quickly. As long as you can live with everything else and fix along the way, I'd buy it and do the yard and flooring before moving in.

we bought a house last year and lived in it while gutting the entire bottom level. THAT sucked and was hard on everyone. Lived without a kitchen for the first month and floors for another month. It was worth it once all the work was done, but the first few months were sheer misery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: I don't really consider a 15-year-old house that needs new carpet and a deep clean a "fixer."

+1

[Anonymous]

Since it was built post-1978, you shouldn't have to worry about lead paint, which is key. Lead dust kicked up by renovations can really do developmental damage to little kids if they ingest it over time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: I don't really consider a 15-year-old house that needs new carpet and a deep clean a "fixer."

+1

OP here. I completely agree, but we are not very handy people. And yes, we could do the yard and floors + a deep clean and live with everything else for a while. But even still we have no idea what kind of budget we are talking here. To clear a lot of brush/weeds/debris from a yard? $5K? $10K? I'm not sure the carpets can be saved - but maybe we could have them cleaned so at least we know they are clean even if they don't look it while we decide what to do? We'd ultimately like wood throughout the main level but I'm guessing that's going to cost, what, $15K?

I just have no clue. We haven't had to do any work on our current house except hire painters, so that is the only pricing we have any idea about.

[Anonymous]

We bought an old fixer-upper about 6 years ago (definitely not a 1990s house), so these figures are not very recent. We managed it because we were able to stay in our old place for a couple of months after we bought the house. We hired a general contractor who assured us he could do the most necessary (nothing fancy) updates in those two months. We didn't have to live through any of the interior work; we only moved in after the house was done and all cleaned up. Our experience with an old house is probably not very applicable to your situation, but FWIW, we spent about $25,000 to replace all windows, refinish all the hardwood floors (I've no experience re what new hardwoods would cost), replace the floor in the kitchen and sunroom, update the two bathrooms with midrange Home Depot stuff, and repaint the interior (with replastering/fixing of walls where necessary). Eventually, after we had moved in, we spent about $3,000 for yard clean-up, landscaping, and putting in a stone patio (but we have a small city yard). We also gradually cleaned up the finished part of the basement by putting in some new, but utilitarian carpet (for about $300 for one room plus stairs) and painting the outdated wood paneling ourselves. Unless you have a very big yard or want a lot of new landscaping, hiring someone to clean the yard would be a lot less than $5-10,000, I would think. In our case, the bulk of the cost for the yard makeover went to the stones for the patio and gravel/stones for a "rock garden" type corner.

[Anonymous]

LOL, that's not a fixer upper, that's just some minor updating. You can definitely do it. Just make one area of the house your sanctuary while you work on the rest. Get creative with the kids -- go out a lot, have picnics outside, etc. Totally doable. Kids are so adaptable. And they will be fascinated by the work being done -- our kids our riveted by the carpenters, contractors, plumbers, etc. and all their gear. And the noise it makes. Not to mention my DH's zillion shiny tools, and watching him work. We are living in our definitely very much a fixer upper house and fully gutting it (i.e. taking it back to the studs) while doing so. We have 2 kids, 3 and 1. Most people think we are crazy, but we are DIYers and handy, plus we were able to buy what will, eventually, be our "dream house" by going this route. We live in one area while we do the others. It can definitely be done, and kids learn so much from watching and following what you are doing. It can be a real learning experience for them, too. Just be careful with the lead paint, as a PP mentioned. You definitely want to be careful there, if you are doing work on windows, trim, etc. GL.

[Anonymous]

We bought a 1925 house that needed extensive work (had 2 young kids) and survived it all. We are very handy and have slowing done the work as time and energy and money allowed. Kids can adapt and watching construction can be very entertaining. It was an adventure for sure (especially with one child with special needs) but doable.

Sounds like yours needs very little so you should be able to do it. compare prices for carpet installation per square foot and hardwood per square foot and it might just be close enough in price to go ahead with the hardwood floors instead of carpet. Floor installation is pretty fast if done by a professional.

[Anonymous]

We are having our .4 acre lot completely re-graded and sloped for $6500, so there is no way you landscaping should be 5-10k.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for all the price points. We put in a bid, but I'm guessing we will be outbid. The lot/location is hard to come by in our area. We'll see!

[Anonymous]

In early 20120, we bought a house that was built in 1993 and somewhat renovated in 2006. The owner could no longer make the payments and made it a boarding house. It was a disaster. The kitchen had a fire. The carpets were destroyed (luckily no mold but we weren't so sure at first). The place smelled. The roof leaked. You name it and it needed redoing. The structure was basically fine though. It was a great deal and my husband and I decided to go for it. The great thing about a house that is 10-20 years old is that it probably doesn't have MAJOR issues. You can do a lot of cosmetic work and get where you want to be. Once you have to start adding space and redoing plumbing and electrical, you get into big bucks and you don't actually see the money you put into it. Cosmetic stuff is also very pricey but it's more fun!

We moved to the area and didn't find a house right away so we lived in an apartment while searching. We lived there for the first 3 months of the renovation too. We hired a contractor to immediately fix the basement a little to make it livable (drywall repair, bathroom redone and primed walls and put in carpet). We then moved into the basement (2 adults, one kid and a dog in one bedroom) for 4 months while they finished putting in a new kitchen, new powder room, new master bedroom and bathroom and our son's room. That was our priority and the rest of the work continued after that and we did much of it. We waited 6 weeks before we had a kitchen!!! That was tough. Didn't even have a microwave.
I can tell you that it takes a lot of time away from your kids but it can be done. (I had no family, no sitters and no preschool). My son just turned 3 yrs old and he'd walk into people's homes and say, "That's a great light fixture!"
It just became a way of life. He is a handful so it was tough but we got through it and the house is exactly what we wanted. We didn't skimp but I searched for deals and negotiated everything. My guess is that you are going to put that $100k right back into that house so make sure you think it's a good investment. We spent about $150,000 redoing the interior and much of that excludes our labor. I don't think I would have found a comparable home for our purchase price plus $150,000. I'm not sure we would make much if we had to sell (and we might move soon unfortunately) but we'd come close and it was worth it to say we did it!

My logic was that I didn't want to pay market price for a home that I'd redo anyway because their style was different. This house allowed us to pay less and put the money back in (therefore paying close to market price but for the exact house we wanted).

[Anonymous]

I personally would contact the insurance company that you currently have your homeowners policy with. Explain that you are looking at a new home and would like a recommendation for a home contractor that can come with you to help you evaluate the home for how much it would cost to fix it up. Get a tour of the property with that contractor and give him all of your concerns. Think of this like a pre-inspection home inspection with a contractor as opposed to an inspecter. Contractors who work with insurance companies have an excellent eye for what needs to be repaired and ballpark how much it will cost to repair. Right now, the problem is that you can only see the superficial things (lawn and carpets), but you don't have the experience to see if there are other problems that need attention (a plumbing leak, damage to the floors, damage to support structure, roof, doors and windows, DIY not done to code, etc. When dealing with a fixer-upper, it is better to go in with your eyes open.

That said, I agree with folks that this isn't really a fixer-upper, but a home that has not been cared for. It sounds like mostly superficial issues. Fixer-uppers, often have deeper problems than this.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks for everything. Not surprisingly we were outbid. But we'll likely end up with a similar home due to our area/budget. I really appreciate the responses and encouragement.

[Anonymous]

I redid the carpeting in a 3-story, 3BR home in a single day - it took like several hours. Hardwood flooring would take a bit more time. Tile floors take around the same time as hardwood, maybe a bit more.

Hell, I gutted a kitchen and 3 bathrooms while living in that house with a 2-year-old. it still wasn't that bad. we had a fridge and microwave and at least one working bathroom at all times, and it wasn't that stressful.

you can do the yard with kids running around.