Anyone ever bought a really cheap house?

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: Skoorb

I don't worry too much about it as long as it is livable and in a decent neighborhood.

Decent in a nice neighborhood for $40k? HAH

I said LIVEABLE (and I am going by a single male college student's definition).

There are no really bad neighborhoods in Oshkosh. Oshkosh is a really old city with lots of house's well over 100 years old to buy.


Sysadmin

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

I've now driven by the house that is listed for $21,900. I think it looks really promising. Granted, I expect their to be some problems considering the cost, but the neighborhood looks good, it is a good size, and most importantly, it has a double garage with a long driveway. Even better, it is 1.3 miles from campus. Does anyone have any further advice before I contact the realtor?

 

[Regs]

I make do

 

[PanzerIV]

DeathbyAnts, do you have money for remodeling? At that price range you are more than likely going to have to do a lot of fixing up and all of the little things can add up. It can be a very rewarding feeling however taking something like that and turning it into your own. I am constantly in awe at what people do when I watch HGTV.

Think about how much you can set aside for repairs and improvements after your bills and mortgage every month and how much you can afford to spend on anything that needs to be done before you move in. I think it could prove to be a worthwhile investment for you. Make sure you get a professional inspector to look at it! They are invaluable.

 

[DougK62]

Originally posted by: notfred
Hahahahaha, $40k house. $40k is a Lexus, not a house.

Some people prefer to do something smart like buy a fixer-upper house instead of doing something stupid like going into debt over a car. You wouldn't know anything about that though...

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
DeathbyAnts, do you have money for remodeling? At that price range you are more than likely going to have to do a lot of fixing up and all of the little things can add up. It can be a very rewarding feeling however taking something like that and turning it into your own. I am constantly in awe at what people do when I watch HGTV.

Think about how much you can set aside for repairs and improvements after your bills and mortgage every month and how much you can afford to spend on anything that needs to be done before you move in. I think it could prove to be a worthwhile investment for you. Make sure you get a professional inspector to look at it! They are invaluable.

My brother in law did something similar to this a few years back (but had to get rid of it when he married my sister, haha). So far, I know I need to do the following things:

1) Get a full inspection
2) Check into the permits I need from the city to remodel
3) Get a loan (probably 10k to start with that allows me to borrow up to that ammount over time for remodeling. I would try to get this into the deal of me purchasing the house.

 

[dxkj]

The house i grew up in cost $17k back in 1985... not sure what that equates to nowadays.

 

[Zorro]

Werd

 

[dxkj]

Originally posted by: ThaPerculator
Come to Detroit and buy out a city block of the ghetto for that much... only problem is actually getting the squatters to move out 😀

demolition

 

[PanzerIV]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: PanzerIV
DeathbyAnts, do you have money for remodeling? At that price range you are more than likely going to have to do a lot of fixing up and all of the little things can add up. It can be a very rewarding feeling however taking something like that and turning it into your own. I am constantly in awe at what people do when I watch HGTV.

Think about how much you can set aside for repairs and improvements after your bills and mortgage every month and how much you can afford to spend on anything that needs to be done before you move in. I think it could prove to be a worthwhile investment for you. Make sure you get a professional inspector to look at it! They are invaluable.

My brother in law did something similar to this a few years back (but had to get rid of it when he married my sister, haha). So far, I know I need to do the following things:

1) Get a full inspection
2) Check into the permits I need from the city to remodel
3) Get a loan (probably 10k to start with that allows me to borrow up to that ammount over time for remodeling. I would try to get this into the deal of me purchasing the house.

Sounds like a good plan. Glad you've been thinking things through.

 

[thedarkwolf]

My house was $42,500 3 years ago and is fairly nice for a single guy. Its a small 2br but is in good condition overall and has a big 1 car garage and a fairly large fenced in flat yard for a in the city house. Some of my neighbors are a bit trashy but others have been fixing up their houses lately aswell. I went with a FHA loan which is a little easier to get, no downpayment, but the house has to meet certain requirments to quallify.

Few pics Some of those are old and I have been doing little stuff to make it look better. I just ripped down the awning over the front porch and painted the one over the living roomwindow. Looks a ton better.

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
My house was $42,500 3 years ago and is fairly nice for a single guy. Its a small 2br but is in good condition overall and has a big 1 car garage and a fairly large fenced in flat yard for a in the city house. Some of my neighbors are a bit trashy but others have been fixing up their houses lately aswell. I went with a FHA loan which is a little easier to get, no downpayment, but the house has to meet certain requirments to quallify.

Few pics Some of those are old and I have been doing little stuff to make it look better. I just ripped down the awning over the front porch and painted the one over the living roomwindow. Looks a ton better.

uh, whats a fha loan?

 

[thedarkwolf]

Originally posted by: DeathByAnts

Originally posted by: thedarkwolf
My house was $42,500 3 years ago and is fairly nice for a single guy. Its a small 2br but is in good condition overall and has a big 1 car garage and a fairly large fenced in flat yard for a in the city house. Some of my neighbors are a bit trashy but others have been fixing up their houses lately aswell. I went with a FHA loan which is a little easier to get, no downpayment, but the house has to meet certain requirments to quallify.

Few pics Some of those are old and I have been doing little stuff to make it look better. I just ripped down the awning over the front porch and painted the one over the living roomwindow. Looks a ton better.

uh, whats a fha loan?

Just the first page that popped up on FHA loans

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

I went through all the hud homes and others owned by any federal agency with none in the area/price range. grrr.

 

[Leejai]

Originally posted by: notfred
Hahahahaha, $40k house. $40k is a Lexus, not a house.

that's exactly what i was thinking.....then i went to houston the other week (from CA) and my cousins just bought a house...$65k in a decent neighborhood!

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

anyone else?

 

[SarcasticDwarf]

An update. So I found out what was wrong with the cheapest house listed. It should not have been listed in the first place on realtor.com. There are structural problems with the foundation and the city has already said that the only option is to replace the foundation.

So on to the next listing, which I will drive by tommorow.

 

[apoppin]

Yep . . . 20 years ago I bought a small house on 2-1/2 acres for $25,000 . . . in a VERY rural area of the hi-desert (BUT very close to Palm Springs) . . . .


and . . .

20 years later . .. .

.... my investment is worth ~$200,000 and almost paid completely off. 😀