I went to look at a 4 bedroom split level house the other day. The house is only 19 years old and the seller is asking $169,900 for it.
Problem is, the house has a big wooden deck in the backyard that was not treated in any way when built. 19 years of rain and snow have eaten away at it to the point where its starting to buckle in certain areas, and the corners are all dry-rotted. The back gate is falling down and needs to be replaced and two of the basement windows have small vents in them that have to be replaced. Other than that, the house itself seems to be very stable
Questin to Debate: Do you think this house is worth what the seller is asking?
I went through the rest of the house and gave it a visual only inspection and there were only a few minor things that had to be repaired. (hole in the drywall right behind the front door, glass in a few windows had to be replaced ect)
I havent had a professional inspector come out yet, but from what I can see just by looking at it, it’s gonna cost me at least $3500 to $5000 just to have the deck replaced alone :eek:
If you were looking at this house, would you consider buying it? For whatever reason be it YES or NO, please explain the reasons for your answer in as much detail as possible.
Location location location.
Without knowing what the other houses in the neighborhood go for, it is an impossible question to answer with any degree of accuracy. I would certainly consider buying it, assuming that other factors negated the repairs you would have to make. (Add up the costs of the repairs, tack them onto the house price, and compare that to the going rate of comparable houses in the area.)
Moderator’s Note: Like for example, I think this thread would be better suited to IMHO.
I forgot to add that :o The location for me is great. Its in the city righ on the edge of the suburbs (only one block from my sisters house) and is really close to public transportation.
Well, that’s good, but I was referring more to resale value of the home. Ask your agent for a sellers report (or buyers report, I forget which), and that will give you a rough idea of what comparable houses went for in the area.
There is nothing wrong with getting a house that will need some work. A few years back, I built a house from the ground up. After about a year in it, I decided that I didn’t like the modern ‘style’, so I sold it (at a not shabby profit!) and bought a old (1930s) brick house, complete with neato stuff like plaster walls, coal chute, little milk-door thingee, paper-insulated wiring :eek:, etc. It has taken me a ton of work to get it looking good, but it was well worth it, IMO.
Sort of ditto for you. Assuming you are not getting reamed over the price, and as long as you are willing to put the work into it (sooooooo much cheaper than hiring contractors, usually), go for it. Working on your own house can be pretty fun, and the money you save, along with the value you are adding, is just money in your best investment.
To put another spin on what Brutus is saying:
When I saw your opening description (“I went to look at a 4 bedroom split level house the other day. The house is only 19 years old and the seller is asking $169,900 for it.”), I practically salivated. Around here, such an abode would be impossible to find for under $800k. So here, it would be a steal. On the other hand, if you were buying it in the center of a Louisiana swamp, I can imagine it would be a big rip-off at that price.
So, it all depends on what the going rates are in the neighborhood.
www.domania.com is a good resource.
It all depends on where you are.
Were it me, I would consider buying it if I liked the location and all (and the inspector gave me the green light).
I would offer less, though, and cite the deck as my reason. I’d offer 160k and let them talk me up to 165. Unless lots of people are buying houses in your area, they’ll probably take it.
Yet another reminder of how much house prices vary by location … here in Toronto, I was house-hunting a month ago (and gave it up, waiting for interest rates to go up) - three-bedroom houses, good area, were going for $550,000 asking price, typically more than $600,000 after auction - Canadian dollars, but still, a lot more!
Heck, go to www.realtor.com and search for similar houses in that zip code/city and see what they’re listed at.
I’m using realtor.com to look at this right now.
7 fireplaces!!
I really, really need to move away from here. You couldn’t touch anything bigger than a 4 room cape for less than 200k here. Honestly. That’s fewer rooms here than fireplaces there!
I really need to move.
Jonathan Chance - That’s a wonderful house! I hope you get it.
StG