Looking at a live in flip, looks like a killer deal

[William Dubus]

Hi, I'm William. I was born and raised in Denver, and I want to get into real estate investing. I have a construction background, and I've spent 2 years listening to bigger pockets, reading every scrap of literature I can find and tapping youtube dry.

I found a house in Golden Colorado thats really weird, and pretty ugly, but looks like a good deal for me. It's a 4 bedroom 1 bath, just under 2000 square feet for sale by owner built in the 60s. Asking price is $248,500, comps are in the low 400s, and after itemizing what I need to do im looking at 23k in materials, tools, and rentals, and about a 6 month long project if I do it all myself.

I have 8k cash right now, im a first time home buyer, so I qualify for an additional 6k with a grant from the state, it's in a usda loan area and I think I can qualify.

Id like to share some pictures and the paperwork ive put together and bounce this off of someone. The deal looks awesome, but its been on the market for almost 3 years so id like to get input from someone more skilled than me if I can. I'm moving forward regardless, even if I'm wrong by a margin of 100% 50k to rehab this place is still viable. I've got enough of a wedge to screw up a fair amount and still come out on top.

I'm just hoping someone smarter than me would like to look at this and tell me what, if anything, im missing. It's an old house, I'm a new investor and I'm fully aware I'm about to get in over my head.

[Grant Stoecklin]

As a home inspector, two things come to mind whenever someone says they are looking to buy a 60's home.

1) cast iron plumbing. Unless they re-plumbed then the house will likely have cast iron plumbing which insurance companies may not want to insure. It can be costly to re-pipe.

2) electrical: I will often see issues with panels and wiring. The wiring material and panel may be old and cause an issue with insurability.  Does it have a fuse panel or breakers?

3 years on the market may be, as someone said, a big foundation issue but i'm wondering if it isnt' due to the fact that its weird and ugly and therefore the potential swath of buyers is smaller. Will it be weird and ugly when you get done with it or is it going to be an updated weird house that may not warrant a price tag of 400k upon completion?

Any evidence of termites (especially subterranean termites)? There can be massive and unseen damage behind walls. A quick and dirty method is to push on the siding and feel for deflection (suggesting weak, termite-ridden wood behind).

Even if you end up putting 50k into it and end up with an ARV of 350 at the time you put it on market, its likely still worth a go (though you may want to add a second bath.....)