advice needed

lincolnx2

lincolnx2

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O.K here's the story,

I bought this house on a quick sale, only thing that seemed to need fixing was the screen door, and paint, so I bought the house, used my savings for a down payment, bought the house for 60K under what it appraised for. Now today, this is my second month in the house, and everytime time I get a paycheck, it is dumped into the house, I am sick of being broke, the deck that needed repainting, actually needs replacing, damn wood is falling off, sprinkler system was installed by the previous owner and is too close to the sidewalk, so the city is hounding me, still haven't got around to painting, 2 sliding doors screens keep going off track, driveway is steep and cracking, outside of the house is two different colors, and my top level stays hot as heck, unless I keep the AC on 65 then I have a 300 electric bill, I want to dump this house, my mom is telling me to stick with it, its in a good location, and property value has stayed strong and is expected to rise in the area. What options do I have, I do not want to refinance the house and suck the equity out, but I cannot continue to live paycheck to paycheck. I was thinking of taking a loan out on my cars, but then that would leave me with a carnote.
 
Welcome to the world of being a home owner of a fixer upper! What I did when I bought my house was take out a personal loan for the amount of fixing the major issues that had to be done. Granted I still have more to do, but getting the major stuff out of the way was a big relief. Hopefully that helps.
 
Stick with it.

Fix only the things you HAVE to fix. If the town is hounding you about the sprinkler, fix that. An unpainted door or rotting wood can be done "someday" as long as it won't cost you more or it's unsafe.

Write down the things that you want to fix but don't need to fix and knock them off slowly one at a time, doing as much of the work yourself as possible. The upside to this is that by doing things yourself you save money and it takes longer to finish the jobs. This means that you spend the money over a longer period.

If you are living alone try picking up a cheap A/C window unit on Craigslist. Shut off central air and just cool one room where you sleep. Saves a ton of money. Do you really need to cool all those rooms?

Worst case you take a small loan for repairs and what not. It doesn't sound to me like any of those things are dire though.
 
stick with it sounds
like you dont have any big problems just regular house problems
fix them yourself and just leave the in ground sprinkler system off
and get a hose thats an easy fix for now
 
I agree with keeping it. Fix major stuff and let little things go for now. Don't get discouraged and give up on it. Here in KC we have Builders Surplus stores, lot off close out and discontinued deals, maybe get your screens doors replaced cheap. Check paint stores for returned paint that was wrong color or whatever and have a paint party. Craigslist can be your best friend.
 
Odds are you didn't need to fix anything you did... stick with it and fix it as you can afford it.
 
I was thinking about renting it out, the house across from me is renting for 1400 and it doesn't have a walk out finished basement, and I have a full bathroom in the basement. I know i could easily get 1500 for this and my mortgage is just over 1100, that leaves me with three hundred extra income to fix this house over time. My original plan for this house was to fix it over three years, and sell it when I moved, I was "thinking" my profit would be over 100K, so I jumped into this house without thinking. I didn't want to do a loan, but I think that will be my only option, if I don't want to continue being broke.
This doens't happen on HGTV, they seem to always have money!
 
If you rent it your tenant might destroy the house. any tenant will probably complain about most of the problems you outlined above, and demand you fix it. Brentalan has the right idea about how to go about fixing everything.
 
I think thats what I am going to do, am I missing something about the budgeting and brent?
 
Hey linc...

Have no advice about your current situation, but I do have couple of ideas for you to consider when you get yourself out of this situation.

1. Check out this site. Look at all the student homes and note what they've sold for versus what they were built for. It's what I'm doing at the moment. I've already purchased plans and am about to purchase property.

2. I've read from real estate experts that the way to profit is not to flip fixer uppers, but to buy disasters and sell them to flippers.
 
Ya know...............................



I CAN help with home repairs man. Just give me a call.

Mike
 
fossten said:
Hey linc...

Have no advice about your current situation, but I do have couple of ideas for you to consider when you get yourself out of this situation.

1. Check out this site. Look at all the student homes and note what they've sold for versus what they were built for. It's what I'm doing at the moment. I've already purchased plans and am about to purchase property.

2. I've read from real estate experts that the way to profit is not to flip fixer uppers, but to buy disasters and sell them to flippers.
Click to expand...

Thanks! yeah it's harder than it looks on HGTV!
 
94m5 said:
Ya know...............................



I CAN help with home repairs man. Just give me a call.

Mike
Click to expand...

Thanks for the offer Mike, I can do the work, its just supplies, I will call when I hang the drywall in the garage. We still on for G.I Joe?
 
brentalan said:
Stick with it.

Fix only the things you HAVE to fix. If the town is hounding you about the sprinkler, fix that. An unpainted door or rotting wood can be done "someday" as long as it won't cost you more or it's unsafe.

Write down the things that you want to fix but don't need to fix and knock them off slowly one at a time, doing as much of the work yourself as possible. The upside to this is that by doing things yourself you save money and it takes longer to finish the jobs. This means that you spend the money over a longer period.

If you are living alone try picking up a cheap A/C window unit on Craigslist. Shut off central air and just cool one room where you sleep. Saves a ton of money. Do you really need to cool all those rooms?

Worst case you take a small loan for repairs and what not. It doesn't sound to me like any of those things are dire though.
Click to expand...

Great advice.
Writing it all down is a must.
Then you know everything that needs to be done.
It can help you if your overwhelmed and help you prioritize.
As you knock things off the list you get a lift.
I am trying to get a house on the market now.
It has helped me.
I know what I can get done....what I can get help with...and what I need to get a contractor for.
 
Being from a builder's background...here's what I'd do in order

1) Rebuild deck and get a/c checked. Repair, replace, or add something to what is causing the upper level to get so hot. Could be too small of an a/c or not enough window treatments (solar film, thick curtains, etc.)

2) Repair or replace driveway. Is it cracked because of tree roots or just shifting ground. If it's too steep, then you will have to grade it down.

3) The rest of the stuff is small cosmetic stuff.

If you stick with it and you are dumping all you can into it, you may have to look into tapping into the equity. I know you may not WANT to, but you may HAVE to. You will have to decide if you want to a) be broke all the time until you get too old to fix on anything anymore or b) have a little higher payment each month. That's the breaks in the housing business. If you rent it out, you WILL have to fix all the safety issues before you collect the deposit (driveway and deck at minimum). Then you will be responsible for all upkeep on the place and you won't be living there. You could do the deck yourself. If the ac is ok but the attic needs insulation or something else, then that you can do. I know you don't need the following statement, but if it may help you in the future, I'll say it and I am not being mean or hateful but, there's a reason independent home inspectors are expensive, they are worth it. I hope that you do come out well on this deal whatever you decide. If I were closer, I'd help.:) :)
 
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