Speaking from experience, I would never buy a house that needs a ton of work.

I think you are grossly underestimating how much it would cost to renovate a house like that. I would say $500k to $1 million. Might as well tear it down…

if you are talking about that falls church house it seems like a disaster for whoever buys it. if you look at the listing photos their is insulation falling from the ceiling and all sorts of other oddities that suggest the previous homeowner tried to DIY home improvements and did them very poorly.

We bought a house in similar circumstances, but it was a historic home. Fortunately, despite spending $300K on the renovations, we still had significant equity after. We upgraded electrical, renovated all bathrooms and the kitchen, installed central air, refinished floors, built a new driveway, installed a new garage door, and redid all the landscaping. Bought the place for $1.4 and it was worth $1.9 after the renovations. It was the only way we were getting into our ideal neighborhood and it has been absolutely worth it.

I'm guessing it's a type of house that appeals to a niche group of buyers (multi generational) and don't care about having a kid-centric/conventional backyard (Japanese Zen Garden).

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I know exactly what house this is. I feel attracted to it every time I see the listing with the pictures of the Japanese garden. But it is a very strange house that, at least to me, really only makes sense with multi-generation living. It's just DH and I, and we wouldn't use all of the space because of the weird way it is all set up (which, I'm sure, was perfect for the prior owners -- but won't work for most in NoVA). And I'm not sure a total reno, that reimagines all of that multi-gen space (like the second kitchen) into something that makes more sense for a couple or a nuclear family, is financially feasible.

If you go see it, though, please report back.

In our case, we are potentially interested in the multi-generational living aspect, but I worry the resale value isn't there for the exact reasons you mention. So when we go to sell - we have a less attractive house for the average buyer.

Yeah, if your plan is to leave in 3 years and you don't want to 1) have invested more in a house than you can get out of it, and 2) worry about having a hard time selling it, then I'd say it's an easy no. This is a house that just really needs the right buyer, and I have a hard time imagining someone who wants to move in 3 years or so being that buyer (especially if you want to move to a lower COL place ... that tells me money matters for you, and that is a real issue when you'd need to put a lot into this house that you wouldn't get out).

Anonymous wrote:I know exactly what house this is. I feel attracted to it every time I see the listing with the pictures of the Japanese garden. But it is a very strange house that, at least to me, really only makes sense with multi-generation living. It's just DH and I, and we wouldn't use all of the space because of the weird way it is all set up (which, I'm sure, was perfect for the prior owners -- but won't work for most in NoVA). And I'm not sure a total reno, that reimagines all of that multi-gen space (like the second kitchen) into something that makes more sense for a couple or a nuclear family, is financially feasible.

If you go see it, though, please report back.

In our case, we are potentially interested in the multi-generational living aspect, but I worry the resale value isn't there for the exact reasons you mention. So when we go to sell - we have a less attractive house for the average buyer.

Anonymous wrote:I wouldn't buy it because our family would need to move into the house within a few months of purchase and I would not want to live through that much renovation. While I would be attracted to a Japanese garden with a koi pond, it is expensive to maintain and a hazard for young children. A pond that has been languishing is a mosquito magnet and a bacterial swamp. However, with money and motivation, it might be the project you want to tackle.

We could probably float two mortgages plus the renovations. It's just a ton of work. Complete gut inside and redoing the landscaping? Thankfully they drained the water feature but it's need to be relandscaped to have purpose again.

Plus the fact that they were delusional enough to think it's worth $1.9...I doubt they are willing to negotiate the price even lower.

I know exactly what house this is. I feel attracted to it every time I see the listing with the pictures of the Japanese garden. But it is a very strange house that, at least to me, really only makes sense with multi-generation living. It's just DH and I, and we wouldn't use all of the space because of the weird way it is all set up (which, I'm sure, was perfect for the prior owners -- but won't work for most in NoVA). And I'm not sure a total reno, that reimagines all of that multi-gen space (like the second kitchen) into something that makes more sense for a couple or a nuclear family, is financially feasible.

If you go see it, though, please report back.

Anonymous wrote:Sound like it should be a teardown once the price reaches the appropriate number

Yeah I don't think it's feasible for a teardown until it's under or close to $1 million

Anonymous wrote:Can you afford to renovate and do you need to buy?

Yes and no

Our plan was to move out of this area in 3 years for a lower COL place.

Thus house ticks all of the boxes I thought were impossible in this area but the price plus all the renovations needed gives me a whole bunch of pause. The house is potentially worth 1.35 renovated or at least a little updated, but the total gut means being "under water" on its future sale.

I wouldn't buy it because our family would need to move into the house within a few months of purchase and I would not want to live through that much renovation. While I would be attracted to a Japanese garden with a koi pond, it is expensive to maintain and a hazard for young children. A pond that has been languishing is a mosquito magnet and a bacterial swamp. However, with money and motivation, it might be the project you want to tackle.

Sound like it should be a teardown once the price reaches the appropriate number

Can you afford to renovate and do you need to buy?

We just noticed a house on the market for 50+ days in a very hot neighborhood (so there is definitely something wrong with the house). My thought on what's wrong:

$1.35 million has been off / on the market since last year. Starting price was $1.9 million.

What's not good:
Total gut job. Hasn't been renovated since it was built in the 70s with the exception of a second kitchen added in 2003.

Has some weird features - it's set up for 2 generational living (not normal in our area). Has an outhouse, one car garage.

Garden is "adult" in an area with all kids & families. E.g. it has Japanese gardens with a pond but no where for kids to play.

Based on comps it's probably worth around 1.2, but it needs 250K+ in renovations. Every single room needs to be renovated.

Thoughts?