I totally agree with Slappy. One thing that makes me suspicious is that they only have pictures of the outside of the house -- it's much more standard to have one picture of the outside and then a few of the inside. With the outright admission of it being a fixer-upper (forget how it was phrased), the inside may be scary.
If this home were built before 1970 , the running price would be close to 200,000 slappy..
Average sq ft price is 50.00$ + ( if i remember correctly that is)
hmb-
I didnt even THINK about a well.. ohh jeeze. There is a whole new can of worms..
"" Shewolf, you're thinking too far ahead right now."""
yeah, I am.
BUT- I have to. This is a home we have passed on to the realtor as a prospect.
I dont have alot of time and I need to make sure that when I pose a question, take a tour, or call an inspector, I know all i can.
remember, we need to be out of here by March.
Given our tiny budget , there isnt much in our price range around here.
When one pops up, I have to race to see it to know if it is something we can work with or not.
2,000 sq feet at 65,000? oh holy hell.. THAT is almost too good to be true.
it IS strange that there are no inside pictures.
I am willing to bet, THAT is where the problem is.
Seeing as how it has been a rental/lease property for.. I think 4+ years? I bet the inside is well worn. And that might be putting it nicely..
slappy-
here is an example of a 2,000 sq ft home in this area.
http://austin.craigslist.org/rfs/111132897.html
besides the pool, this is how much the home I am looking at SHOULD be for.. or COULD be for i should say...
read up on this before you go look at the house
Home Inspection
Like soz said earlier, the things that popped into my head when you said the home was 100 years old - were lead paint (you must get rid of this with Bean out of the house) and asbestos. When you do your walk around, ask what the home insulation is made of. I am thinking there will be cracks and gaps on the inside of the house where you might be able to poke around to find out what the ceilings, under the floors and inside the walls are insulated with. Mold is also another thing to be wary of. You could buy this, as is, find out it is rampant with mold and not be able to live there if it is too bad to repair or clean-up. Also check for liens on the house or buy the title insurance policy, like brooke said. If it is a repo then who knows what creditors might appear in the future demanding payment for a repair they made years ago when it was owned by someone else. I would test absolutely every socket by bringing some electrical equipment that you would expect to be able to use.
Oh and it has central heat/central air? Test that out too? Ask what the average monthly bill is to run in the summer and in the winter. If this house was repo'ed then that info might not be available but the system might be crap and very pricey with huge bills. You might have to get it replaced unless they can tell you how new the system is - when it was installed - if there is still a warranty on it that you can transfer to your name.
Did you say it is a foreclosure? We looked at a number of those (and eventually bought one). You'd be amazed at what folks will do to a house prior to having it foreclosed on. Some houses, the people had taken everything out of it including the carpet.
Check the septic system, too.
Luling is, indeed, 45 minutes from anywhere. Doesn't Mr. Wolf work at UT? quite a commute.
Isn't there something in Creedmore, Lockhart, or San Marcos that's in your price range?
OK, ran an MLS search. Ignore previous post.
Did you see this one? MLS #: 9669433
http://12.168.161.3:81/ahs/GetResults2New.aspx?id=31703
I'd buy the house...bulldoze it...and put a double wide on it. Total cost? $100k. You'll be the envy of your neighbors.
Can't bulldoze the building if you have a mortgage on it.
Shewolf investigated manufactured homes previously, I think.
i'd suggest you visit your local library and pick up a few books on "buying an old house"; i've also seen a magazine that deals specifically with old houses (title ???).
on thing for sure : unless you have money to burn, don't rush into the purchase . realtors are famous for saying : "act quickly, i have five buyers lined up". ... oh yea ?
if you are willing to spend the money, you can hire a realtor to act as YOUR agent . i'm not sure of the legalities, but a real estate lawyer should be able to advise you on this.
remember the old carpenter's rule : "measure twice, cut once ". ... (i'm very good at giving advice, judging from the wrongly cut pieces of lumber in the house !). hbg
I would also offer lower than their asking price (if you decide to buy). If they want to get shot of this property quickly then low-ball them and see if they will negotiate with you. They are expecting you to buy as is and they walk away from the sale with no responsibility at all. You have to treat it as if you had to demolish and rebuild the property. If the inside is in absolutely awful condition, think about what you would offer just for the land.
You can always take a look at others like the one Drew-Dad posted in Elgin. Those floors look nice to me!
yeah.
that one in Elgin is also another one we are thinking of.
There are about 10 on the market right now that are cheap enough for us to afford comfortably.
Rockdale IS waaay out there DD.
It has crossed my mind, but I think it would be too much of a drive for MR.
He does work at UT.
From that house in luling, he could drive here ( to MILS's house) the manchaca flyer starts its route just up the street.
Park and ride essentially. That would cut off about 25 miles a day on gas.
but.. the more I think about it, the less I think this house will work for us.
The upfront cost (inspection, repairs etc.) will eat up what little bit of money we will have left over .
Our goal with a home is to be able to move in and still have about 3,000 IN HAND to put into a savings account for unseen problems, repairs, baby gates, painting.. etc.
Is it the down payment, or the montly payments?
If it's just the down payment, then an FHA loan can get into a house with only about $500 out-of-pocket for earnest money.
Now, I looked at the listings in that price range and
there isn't a better home with the same square footage
and nice land around, as the one you're looking at shewolf.
The others are ugly from the outside and inside - except
the one DrewDad posted above, and apparently it's too
far out.
