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What would you offer for this house (needs total reno)
We looked at a house (from the outside, through the windows, lol- it is unoccupied!) that we are planning to see with our realtor soon.
I like the layout a lot, the size and location are great. The inside, however has not been updated, like, ever. Ok, it must have been in the 70's-80's based on the amazing shag carpet. The downstairs bedroom is fine. I couldn't see the upstairs or the dining room at all.
The living room and stairs have pink (PINK!) shag carpet and peeling wallpaper. Fairly easy/cheap to fix the walls, new carpet would be maybe 1000$. What would it cost to pout wood flooring in? (It is a small older house, I am guessing the LR dimensions are something like 12-14 feet by 20 feet).
The kitchen and family room are 1 large room with orange (ORANGE!) shag carpet. Yes, the kitchen is carpeted. OMG. It would have to be redone completely before we even could move into the house. I feel like that room has a lot of potential bc I could do the kitchen exactly how I wanted, and it would all be open, which is hard to find in old houses. How much would a kitchen gut and remodel cost for a fairly small kitchen, but mid to higher end stuff (like I want solid wood cabinets, not builder-grade appliances, etc)?
And finally, has anyone built a garage? How much does that cost? We would likely plan to attach a garage to the screened porch (so the porch would become a breezeway) in the next 5 years).
Asking price is 250K. The sellers realtor has said that it is way overpriced. It is about 166$ a sq foot. Houses in this town go for 100-125$/sqft so even if it was in great condition the price is too high. We realize they likely won't accept a low ball offer, but we like the house so we are willing to offer and find out. The sellers realtor has said he encourages all offers (I assume he is hoping some lowball offers will make the sellers realize they are crazy). 125 a sqft would be 187,500. 100 a sqft would be 150K. WWYD?
Link (photos are beyond horrible but you can see the lovely carpet color, lol): http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/450-W-Maple-St_Granville_OH_43023_M46569-92475?ex=OH530966629
Re: What would you offer for this house (needs total reno)
HD has a special on flooring install for $397 for special order. Pergo wood starts at 1.99 a sq foot.
BUT the install price doesn't include carpet removal (that can be another $300) nor quarter round install (about .25 a square foot... depending on sq) nor underlay (.25 a foot)
Kitchen remodel ... 20 grand maybe?
Garage building is about 10-15 grand for a single
Good point! The house was built in 1900, so anything could be under there. Is it possible to pull up a corner of carpet and look under? Is there some other way of figuring out what is underneath?
The good news is that it is so overpriced, that even if they reject a low offer now, it will probably be on the market in 4 more months and we can offer again if we don't find anything better.
If they have air vents in the floor, you could lift one of those up and try to see if there is a layer of wood underneath the carpet. You could also try looking in a closet.
Do you think you could talk to your real estate agent and see if they could find out from the seller? If there are hardwoods underneath, hopefully they are in good condition. That would be a great find! It is a cute house. I hope you get a good deal!
There is no way anyone on here could answer your questions. We do not live in your area or know the market. We can not estimate the cost of a kitchen when we don't know the size or quality of finishes you are looking to use. We don't know if there are load bearing walls you want to remove to open up the kitchen. We don't know if you're DIYing this or hiring a contractor. We don't know the soil conditions or how level the area you want to put the garage is. We don't know what size garage it is or if it's detached or not.
We did something similar and asked about 80% of asking on an estate sale (we offered just over $155k and asking was $190). Similar situation- needed all new floors, kitchen, wallpaper everywhere, landscaping/weeds growing out of control. The pricing all depends if you hire it out or DIY. My prices below are all DIY:
$5/sq ft 3/4" hardwood floors. We did appox 550 sq ft in the living and dining room.
Carpet: $1850 for approx 1400 sq ft plus $650 for installation and padding
Kitchen: approx $15-17k which includes a ton of new cabinets, brand new appliances, 55 sq ft granite countertops, sink, plumbing, electrical, tile floor, backsplash, knobs/pulls for cabinets, and misc things like paint/drywall/lighting. We did get our cabinets at cost and our appliances through a corporate friends an family discount. I think if we had paid full retail and hired this out we'd easily spend $40-50k but our kitchen is really big and we did some upgrades on the cabinets.
We've priced a garage for DH (more of a pole barn than a brick garage) approx 36x32) at anywhere from $18-54k. Most estimates were $20-25k.
Meet have not done the garage yet but we've spent a total of $30-35k on fixing up the house in the last 10 months including landscaping supplies (mulch/rock) and the inside kitchen, flooring, drywall, paint, light fixtures, electrical and plumbing for a lot of the house (DH put in PEX plumbing).
You have addressed the cosmetic issues but the mechanicals are very important and can be costly too. When was the wiring last updated? Condition of heating and cooling system, water heater, etc. Those can add up fast if they all needed replacement as well.
ETA: Especially if you are doing a full kitchen remodel. If you hire a contractor everything will have to be brought up to code which can tack on a lot of added expense when you are only thinking about the cosmetic costs of cabinets/flooring/fixtures.
If it really needs a total reno, then you should be buying it at a bargain price. If the owners are starting out overpriced, I don't see it being worth it, as there's no way in he!! they would come down $100K from that starting price.
IMO, lack of any interior upgrades probably also means lack of any mechanical upgrades. it's hard to tell from the pictures though, they may just have outdated taste.
Personally, I would walk away - find something at that price point that doesn't need a complete overhaul. or find an overhaul at the right price.
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Chasing a Rainbow: The Chart/The Fruit
First the mayor issue is if the electrical/wiring and plumbing have been updated.
Knowing this can save you big bucks in the long run in regards to avoiding hazards, mayor repairs and high insurance costs.
Without knowing this and based on the year built of the house I would pass.
All I can say is you need to get it for a price that you feel is a good deal. We bought a big fixer upper too (didn't have the orange shag!). If I felt like I overpaid, every little "surprise" would throw me into a tizzy. Now as I scrape wallpaper and marvel at the 5 different tile patterns used in the master bath, I remind myself that we're adding value.
Ditto that all the electrical, plumbing, etc. should be thoroughly inspected.