All Forum Posts by: Michael Stole

Michael Stole:

It could vary a little depending on the layout and architecture of the house (2 story, etc), but if you are just asking yes/no about moving a couple of walls (or, rather, how much of this wall can I remove and what do I have to do to maintain structural integrity), I would expect a bill between $200 & $500 (that includes a site visit).

For Sale prices mean nothing....if they were asking $1.5M tomorrow, would you assume the other one is now worth $916K?
Comparable sales of similar house is what matters. Yes, you could probably build a brand new house for less than $125/SF ,or so.

Huh?

Which price is the fair price? $790K or your calculated $332K?

What make you think the $750K price for the lot (no house, right?) has any validity?

Or that a $/sq.ft. is a meaningful metric for a lot? In some places, it might be. But in others a lot is a lot as long as its buildable.

Huh?

Which price is the fair price? $790K or your calculated $332K?

[u]$790k for the first house plus the lot is a fair price. Well the fair price is $750-$800. So if the house plus the lot sells for $790, then according to my calculation, the house itself sells for $332. It is this $332 just for the old house that I can not justify. It is just too expensive!

What make you think the $750K price for the lot (no house, right?) has any validity?

If the lot sells for less than $750k, then this makes the land worth less, and the first house worth more than $332. That is a even more ridiculous price to me.

Or that a $/sq.ft. is a meaningful metric for a lot? In some places, it might be. But in others a lot is a lot as long as its buildable.

Michael Stole:

You could try asking the seller if s/he would provide access to the property- if it is owner occupied, s/he the might agree. If it is currently rented your might not get access. In either case, rather than you going in, you could/should engage a local draughtsman to produce a set of "real" drawings ... these would show structural elements, and maybe even systems, etc.

They would also be to scale and provide a basis from which you could have the draughtsman, an architect, or an engineer update them to show the structural renovations you wish to perform. You could then show these to contractors when soliciting bids.

Michael Stole

Is it a relatively "new" home? If so, track down the builder and get a floor plan. If it is like the mostly 55 - 125 year old properties we purchase, get your self a good tape measure and download Google sketchup ... your going to be making floor plans.

Now, once you have your floor plan and have identified the walls you would like to remove, take it (the floorplan) and an Engineeer or Contractor to the house to see which of those walls can be removed and which are structural. Many of the older Victorian and Second Empire homes here have a long corridor running down the centre of the main floor. The wall on one side, or perhaps both sides, are the main support walls holding up the 2nd floor and/or roof.

@Michael Stole, what do you recommend when determining how much it's worth paying for?