Looking to rehab a huge 3,000sqft house.

Investor · Hillsboro, TX · Member since 2017 · 358 posts · 245 votes

6y

Depending on area, It may be a steal. Many of the old historic homes in my area are being revamped. I looked at one, but found that being in a historic district in my town, they were requiring me to keep that charm, $$$$$$. An old home (1920s), you will probably need to update plumbing and electrical. Hopefully you can refinish some beautiful hardwood floors, or at least keep some of them. Without more detail, I cannot be sure, but I can assure you that I think your looking closer to the 100K than the 50K for a full remodel, and can be more. Look at it, put a pencil to it on the high side and then add 10-15%, that will get you close.

I am in the middle of a major rehab now, but on a rebuild that was priced out at 60k it has turned into probably 75-80K. That is on a 1500 sq ft, home. Once, i scalped it and put on the new roof, we found many ceiling joist that were broke and scabbed improperly, wiring, plumbing etc. Just be careful but it is doable. In my area, incomes do not justify that size house. The reason many are sold cheap, because people cannot keep them up.

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Tyler D.

OP

Member since 2019 · 219 posts · 99 votes

6y

Originally posted by @Ron Flatt:

Depending on area, It may be a steal. Many of the old historic homes in my area are being revamped. I looked at one, but found that being in a historic district in my town, they were requiring me to keep that charm, $$$$$$. An old home (1920s), you will probably need to update plumbing and electrical. Hopefully you can refinish some beautiful hardwood floors, or at least keep some of them. Without more detail, I cannot be sure, but I can assure you that I think your looking closer to the 100K than the 50K for a full remodel, and can be more. Look at it, put a pencil to it on the high side and then add 10-15%, that will get you close.

I am in the middle of a major rehab now, but on a rebuild that was priced out at 60k it has turned into probably 75-80K. That is on a 1500 sq ft, home. Once, i scalped it and put on the new roof, we found many ceiling joist that were broke and scabbed improperly, wiring, plumbing etc. Just be careful but it is doable. In my area, incomes do not justify that size house. The reason many are sold cheap, because people cannot keep them up.

Interesting, thanks for the info, Ron.

What's interesting to me is that it was sold fairly recently (2012) for more than it is selling for now, and only very recently foreclosed. That tells me that it probably has decent bones, but ultimately I will need to get in there and check for myself.

It does have hardwood floors, though they are damaged. I would definitely try to refinish them.

Seeing as the average SFH goes for 300k in this town, someone paying 400K+ for a rehabbed giant home is not outside the realm of possibility. There are a handful of homes on the market in my town of similar size for 600k+, though many of them are in better neighborhoods.

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Greg Dickerson

Developer · Charlottesville, VA · Member since 2018 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes

6y

Originally posted by @Tyler D.:

I was browsing properties and found one that could possibly be a steal. It's a foreclosure, and a huge house with an old but regal-looking construction. A little over 3k sqft. It's not in an amazing area, but the price appears to be a steal, if repair costs can be kept low.

This house is going for about 190k, while 1000sqft SFHs in the same area go for 200k or more. It was sold for 208k back 20 years ago, and has actually decreased in price while most houses in this area have double or quadrupled in price since then. It was sold back in 2012 for 270k and was put on the market for 340k about a year ago, before being foreclosed on.

All in all, looks like a potential steal depending on the rehab costs. I've never done a rehab before, but it is old. Built in 1920, and has some scary looking walls and floors. I'd probably want to do the most full rehab I could do without going crazy with the budget. I'm hoping I could completely clean the place up for 50k to 100k tops.

So, what do you think? I'd like to scoop this place up and start rehabbing it, but want to make sure I'm not walking into a trap. Thanks in advance for the advice.

It all depends on location, condition, comps and as you mentioned the rehab cost. Depending on what needs to be done you can easily spend $100k plus fast on a house like this. Best thing to do is get a couple of GC's to walk through the property with you and put together a budget. It will help to have a detailed scope of work including finishes but if you are not sure how to do that they can help.

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Looking to rehab a huge 3,000sqft house.

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