Moving a house to a new lot

[Tom Munro]

Hello, I am new to BP and loving all the resources so far.  

I have a project where Im planning to move a  2000 sq ft SFR about 4 blocks (stick built home, NOT a mobile). I run a handyman/maintenance business, but have never done a project like this. I'd love to get some input from anyone with knowledge or experience...whether it's positive, negative, cautionary, anything...

Here's some info about the project:

- The house was built in 2000 and is in pretty good shape. The land its on now is going to be a large housing development so they need this house gone.

- Its free if I can make the deal work.

- I have gotten numerous rough bids from subcontractors for plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc. For my budget numbers, Im trying to be very conservative since I've never done this kind of project. I'm assuming a full house re-wire, re-plumb and replacing the existing furnace and ducting - I understand that I may not need to do all that, but I'd rather plan on that and be positively surprised.

- I'm planning on another 50k in random repairs - new cabinets, drywall, interior and exterior paint, etc. NOT including the permits, dirt work, foundation and moving costs.

- There is a 1,000 sq ft unfinished attic that may be able to be finished out, potentially making it a 3,000+ sq ft house. Budget for this is not factored into the 60k mentioned above.

My plan is to get a HML to help fund the project and then re-finance/rent it or flip it. I'd love to hear thoughts about any of this but specifically, I'm curious about what kind of ARV I could expect. I have heard that selling a home "Not built on site" can reduce the sale price by upwards of 20-25%...Is that accurate with anyone's experience?

Thank you for any advice.  

[Theresa Harris]

My mom did this..twice actually.  We're in Canada, so somethings may be different.  

You may not have to do a complete re-wire of the house.  In both her houses, it was a single story house that was moved, she just had to connect the electricity back to the house and do wiring in the basement (which was new).

Definitely hire a professional house moving company to do the move and check them out. They will get everything sorted with the route.  Make sure permits are in place.  They will also come back once the foundation is ready and lower the house.

Think about adding a full basement.  It will cost more than a crawl space, but will also give you more space.  In her last house, she added a legal 1 bedroom apartment so she has a rental income.

When you talk to house movers, ask for names of people who have used them both for references, but also so you can ask them about the process and costs.