would you consider this

xpc

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I concur about the money pit - it may have charm but along with charm comes a big repair bill. Years ago when I had cable I remember a bunch of these fix and flip shows that all seemed to start with $500,000 over priced houses that people would get interest only loans then sink $100,000+ into them, I believe they all work for McDonald's at night to help pay for them now that they are only worth $250,000.

I bought this place 5 years ago as a foreclosure and was on the market for a year, I went back and forth with the bank (owner) and finally got them to accept $24,000 only if they agreed to have the lot cleared of all the damaged out buildings and completely clean the interior of all previous belongings and junk. see my other thread if you don't remember. http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6190

I bought it not so much for the house but more so for the lands location along with existing water, septic, and electricity which is actually worth more then the land.

I no longer keep track of the remodeling cost but believe it is around $20,000 cash and probably needs another $5000 to finish it. I did everything myself including gutting all the rooms to rewire, re-plumb, insulate, new roof, siding, windows, and floor - basically I rebuilt it from the inside out. My unfinished list is a new heating and cooling system, vinyl kitchen floor and carpeting. If I had to pay someone to do this it would of cost more than twice that. The only thing I would of did different was to only hang the drywall and hire the taping and mud finishing out.

I believe your mother is right about moving the mobile home and best to check with the DOT for regulations and permits as this can be a highly costly endeavor if it can be done at all. I do not and neither do banks consider a mobile home an investment but rather a endless depreciating obligation. I only considered buying an older mobile home if it was cheap enough on improved land so I could live in it while building a real house that will increase in value, then turn the mobile into a storage shed or workshop. Your double-wide seems in a little better shape but still is 25 years old.

This house was built in the 1940s and like most country homes of the time did not have plumbing or electricity and was added several years later - and not very well done at that. When I rewired I shuddered at all the burned and charred wiring I found in the walls and ceiling and wondered how it never burned down as the electrical loads increased over the years with all our new gadgets.

Older homes were (usually) unequivocally built much better then modern ones, the structure and carpentry were above par in design and strength. There were many decades during the housing boom where codes didn't exist and everything was skimped on to where you could actually punch your way through a wall from the outside in, many houses built from the 70s-90s are just like that and only have fiber sheathing for walls.

You are in a pickle and unless large sums of cash is available best to stay in the mobile home doing only the bare minimum of work to make it habitable with the least amount of cash as I would not borrow against land or property. Religiously saving what you would normally be paying for rent and build something new later when money and labor is available. Start all you kids on a trade so they can help build it, a carpenter, plumber, and electrician is nice to have in the family - Then again having a doctor lawyer or rock star could just buy you a new house too.
 

Augustmomx2

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Looks like it could be gorgeous but you would need A LOT of moolah to make it that way!

I work for the Health Dept in our county and see all too often how much work and money historical homes can be, once restoration begins. You start with replacing the drywall and realize that mold has infiltrated the beams, the floor and then you have another MAJOR expense on your hands, etc, etc... Just be expected to renovate for the rest of your life ;)

Sorry if I'm being redundant in regards to the other posts, I haven't gotten a chance to read them all...Good Luck in whatever you decide to do :D
 

bibliophile birds

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if that house were on 15 acres or more, i'd be moving to NC right this second. i've remodeled old houses before (i'm working on one that was built in 1850 right now) and, yes, they can be a total money sink. and take a LOT of time.

but $40,000 for a house that size, with that structure, is amazing. even if you sunk $40,000 more into it, i'd say it was a dream come true. but, of course, i can do most of the work myself (cosmetic, drywall, flooring, etc) and have friends who are electricians and plumbers. if i was going to have to pay someone to do MOST of the work, it'd probably be a no go. (most things aren't as hard as you think, too. you could probably do a lot more than you realize.)

but, like i said, it would have to be on land for it to even be a consideration for me. not only do i need land for the critters and my own peace of mind, there is no way i'd be up for remodeling a house in that condition to then have to put up with neighbors and no yard....
 

PunkinPeep

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I haven't read all the comments yet, but if it were me (which it isn't), and it were between the .43 acres and the 6. something acres, i would likely go for the 6 acres. Just because it's 6 acres.

But i've always been more interested in the land than the house. We live in a two room house that we're pretty sure used to be a garage. But we have 1.5 acres, which is way more than we've ever had before, so i think we live in a mansion.

And we have a really small mortgage.

I'd rather have room for chickens and goats and cows and live in a tiny house that we can later improve - than to live in a mansion and not have room for a garden.
 

Jaxom

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I've read most of the comments. First major red flag in my estimation, is the price. If Zillow has that house at $160k and they're only asking $40??? Something is really wrong. Even if it's a repo, banks are very reluctant on adjusting prices because they don't wanna loose any money (even after all the bail outs and mega dollars they give to thier board members)

The only way that would make any scence is 1)being handy to do most of the work yourself 2)you still need a boat load of cash! 3)willing to spend 10 years doing the remodle, unless you've got two boat loads of cash to do all the work right away.

I personally don't mind doing some work, and actually expect to to do some, but even I'd walk away from that...
 

MountainMom

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A good home inspection before buying would tell you a lot as to what you are looking at, renovation wise.
 

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