170 Year Old Rental

[David Wolf]

Hello Everyone,

I am contemplating putting in an offer for a 170 year old home which has been split into 4 apartments. The main benefit of this house is its location: 1 minute walk to the areas prominent university. In addition it is in the historic district of the town and overall a very nice area. Obviously the main tenant base of this property would be the law students that attend the university.

The main drawback is the properties age. With a property this old it is really difficult to attempt and estimate the number of repairs. While my wife and the Realtor seem to think it would rent as is, I cant help but think it needs updates.

1. 100% hard wood but really needs to be sanded and refinished.

2. OLD Windows. None of them open. I counted 36 windows.

3. Paint over paint over paint add 100.

4. Bathtubs should be torn out and replaced. While they function I am not certain they could be cleaned to my standards.

5. Worst part: The floor in one of the units has a pretty good tilt in one room. The foundation has been renovated in the past but who knows how current the tilt is. Obviously would get a structural eng to take a look during inspection period.

6. The roof looks fairly new but I saw signs of leaks.

Some numbers:

Asking: 95,000 (forclosure, last person paid 250k in 2006)

Rent: $500 - $600 Depending on how nice we make the units we could probably charge more due to the location.

Utilities: Separate except for water.

Estimated Repair: Personally I think it would cost approximately 25K to completely fix the property. Windows would be a huge part of that..