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[quote=Anonymous]We have been renting a SFH for about 5 years. We sold a townhouse and moved because we had outgrown our space and couldn't afford to buy something larger but we could afford to rent. We honestly never thought we'd get as attached to our neighborhood as we have but our kids have friends, we like the schools, and it's the right location for our respective commutes. But we still cannot buy here, not by a longshot.

Except maybe we can. There's house about 2 blocks away that's been sitting empty for almost as long as we've been here. It's clearly neglected and needs lots of work outside but it looks structurally sound. A few days ago a "coming soon" sign showed up in front of it so we called and got to go inside yesterday with the realtor. He warned us ahead of time but honestly I was not ready for what it was like in there. Stuff everywhere, it smelled like death, and every surface was gross. It was awful. But my husband, who is made of stronger stuff, took the time to really look around and he feels like once we cleaned it (and by we I mean hired professionals who do this kind of thing), did a ton of cosmetic work, and replaced all the appliances and bathroom fixtures (and maybe gutted the kitchen entirely) it would be a livable situation and we could spend the next few years making it what we want.

The only reason I'm considering it is that they are asking $550k under what houses in our neighborhood are going for. We could afford it, even with about $75-100k of work on top of the purchase. If it was in a different location I bet it would go as a teardown but our neighborhood hasn't really embraced that concept and I don't think a developer would see it as a great return on investment. So I think we could get it (the realtor implied that the estate selling it is highly motivated to unload it quickly). But I'm really struggling with the idea of living in a place like this. I never thought I was the kind of person who cared about what happened in a house in the past but I'm writing all kinds of scripts in my head and it's making me super uncomfortable about making this our home. I can't tell if I'm being irrational or if this is really something to avoid doing. Does anyone have experience with this kind of situation? Am I nuts for not jumping on this opportunity or nuts to consider doing it?[/quote]

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