Is this house salvagable?

[cfabe(Guest)]

I went to see a property today. The property is 2.5 acres backing up to county park land on two sides, it's in an area I like and is only about 25 minutes commute for me. It's listed at a price that is comporable to what building lots go for in the area, so I assumed the house was going to be rough. I won't be able to get inside until later this week but I went by today and took some pics of the outside. The property would be very affordable and could be a good starter house for me if the house is usable. I probably can't afford to tear down the house and rebuild because building codes in the area require 1800sqft fancy houses.

I see signs of structural issues. The roof ridgeline has some significant sag in two areas, and the front wall of the house is leaning out in the center. The roof is in bad shape and is leaking inside in at least one place I can see, with a hole in the ceiling plaster. I also opened up the crawl space access and found standing water, there was a sump pump but I'm sure the power was cut off long ago. I'm guessing that a pier in the center of the house has sunk/collapsed/rotted and allowed the center of the house to sink, bowing the front out. The standing water in the crawl space concerns me, could this compromise the whole floor structure? I'll be tempted to try to rehab this if I think I can do it for under 20k. If the floor structure is sound and there's not much water damage inside, I think it may not be too big of a deal to pour a couple new footings under the house and raise the center back up. Thoughts?

Pictures are located here:
http://www.fabiens.org/gallery/v/chris/MunsonTwp/

[John_M]

I can't imagine them allowing an 1800 sq. foot fancy house and allow something like that to sit there???  Oh well.

I'm thinking there is a lot of work there!!  Too bad you can't put up one of John's smaller plans up.  Wouldn't cost a whole lot more than what your budget allows.

Water usually indicates rotted wood.  Not sure how much would be salvagable....gets to the point where it is cheaper and faster to rebuild.

If you "renovate", how much of the existing place needs to remain???  If you leave one small section up and build around it, is that a "renovation"?

[John_M]

Also...those places next door seem fairly modern but well under 1800 sq. feet!!

[JRR]

Get a clear understanding from the "city fathers", or whomever, what is absolutely necessary before you buy the property.

You can bet they want someone to make improvements, so they may "bend" a little ... but get them to make a commitment up front now ... or walk away.

I see no asbestos shingles ... that's a big plus.  But you can count on lead paint.  I would want the municipal leaders to agree to let me do a total tear-down, and rebuild to the same footprint ... but making positive changes to structure and appearance as I desire.  A commitment to use all salvageable materials ... but adding new materials as makes good business sense.

If you present a plan that shows the property will be improved, leaving them some "wiggle room" ... and be prepared to "bend" yourself ... they may surprise you.

Good luck!

[peg_688]

 For 20k you mean livable ?   MTL your looking at 5k for framing materials/ concrete etc  , 2k new roofing , new wiring / service 2k, new plumbing rough in fixtures etc  4k , insulation 1k , drywall 1k, side , exterior doors/ window / trim misc 4k, cabs /interior trim /door etc 4k,  this is DIY no labor  all guess's , wing it's   I'd say 20k won't get it done   Unless you can save more than I think.

Most re-models  like this go over budget , one thing leads to another etc , I say tear um down start over with a John small house plan

  Edited to add I see now the 1800 Sq ft. requirement , they won't budge on that ?

   The garage would  be more savable than the house as it is a garage, hence less stuff to deal with .

30 K would be my guess to get it livable with most stuff DIY.

Sorry , good luck if you do go for it , I could be high on all those # but better high than to low , it's alot easier to spend less than the budget is set for
PEG    

[Amanda_931]

Sometimes one can build back using either the original building's foundation or putting a new one exactly where the old one was.

I've seen an article or two in magazines.

and I think that the people here who wanted to build a mother-in-law apartment in place of their 2-car garage were doing something like that.

But that would be a "get it in writing" deal.

[mark_chenail]

Well I have seen worse houses brought back to life.  My suspicion is that the front wasnt always enclosed space and was originally a nice big open veranda.  If it was enclosed on the cheap that might explain the bow in the front.  If it was me I'd rather have the veranda.  The roof certainly is in bad shape, but you could probably strip it down and repair the framing and put on a nice metal roof which would suit the style of the house.  It sure is a nice piece of ground  and the garage doesnt look to be in really bad shape, though it needs a new roof too. ive seen worse but its gonna be messy.

[CREATIVE1]

Years ago we bought a really cool, cheap kinda z-shaped house that was structurally funky.  We were going to remodel it, but when we tore into the walls--the horror, the horror--we found electric wiring patched with iron cord (!!!), a wall that was simply cut out with no header or support added, so the roof was sagging there--and a multitude of foundation and other problems.  Needless to say, we just started over.

Your house looks scary.  Maybe you could two story part of it, to add more square footage and get around impact fees if they apply to new construction in your area.  But if the foundation is bad, you're talking some nasty and expensive work.  Talk to someone in the construction field who is truly creative, and see what they say.  My son just remodelled a house anyone else would have torn down (but a new house couldn't have been built there hanging over a river with boat parking underneath.)  Came out pretty good, with Habitat for Humanity windows and doors, recycled pine panelling, used plumbing fixtures--and again, creativity.  

By the way, our house ended up as fill in a Florida sinkhole, and some of it was carted away by an industrious 90 lb woman who needed windows, water heater, etc., for her own project.  We still have antique lighting fixtures and railroad lanterns and a bell/gong from that house, and they will be moving to Washington State and hopefully a Victoria Cottage soon.

[cfabe(Guest)]

Thanks for all the replies. I got inside the house this weekend, the inside was actually not as bad as I had expected. Only significant water damage in one area, and the floor framing seemed sound. The roof needed some reinforcement, but most of the framing up there was not rotted.

Unfortunately between monday and saturday, we had a wind storm which knocked over the oil tank and spilled a few hundred gallons of oil. The oil ened up about half on the ground in a 50x30 foot slick, and about half floating on top of the water in the crawlspace. I can't even imagine how it could be cleaned up from under the house.

So, I am not pursuing that property any further. Thanks for the input.