Remodeling The Money Pit...

Remodeling.. - Remodeling...
@twoey68 (13627)
United States
August 31, 2009 10:42am CST
My Mom owns two houses…one is in town and they live in it and the other is just outside of the city limits and we call it the farmhouse. It’s a ranch style (all one level), has 5 bedrooms, 2 baths, living room, dining room, kitchen, laundry room and sits on just about an acre. Nice, huh? Here’s the rub…it’s just this side of a death trap. I mean it needs major work (if you’ve ever seen The Money Pit, this is it’s twin). It needs new wiring, new plumbing, new floors, walls, ceilings, insulation, roof, the yard needs heavy maintenance and so on and so on. It would take a lot of money and work to make it really nice. So far it’s just been sitting empty but now it looks like it’s got a new lease on life. The human guinea pig couple I’ve been talking about want to buy it and remodel it…it’s a big job but something the husband does as a hobby. He’s got some really nice ideas about it and even mentioned a garden area and having chickens. I’ve heard of ppl buying and remodeling homes but have never actually seen someone do it…I’d like to get to see the work he does to it. Have you or someone you know done this type of thing? Would you ever want to learn to do something like this? Would you ever take on this kind of challenge? [b]**AT PEACE WITHIN** ~~STAND STRONG IN YOUR BELIEFS~~[/b]
11 people like this
25 responses
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
31 Aug 09
"Would you ever take on this kind of challenge?" More than once LOL I have actually done this 4 times now and I think I will do it one more time and then be done. When I moved into my husband's house it was in bad shape. My brother builds houses for a living and was laid off at the time of my marriage so he and I went from room to room. We have 2 rooms left, the kitchen and bath ugh, I'm not look forward to those. I love remodeling but, with my arthritis I can't do it as well or as much as I use to. Some days it's hard to hold a hammer or a paint brush.
4 people like this
@savypat (20216)
• United States
31 Aug 09
I have done his several times and you always need to add 50% more money and 75% more work to any estimate you get. It is not to bad if you don't have to live in the house while it's being done. Good Luck to them
@slickcut (8141)
• United States
31 Aug 09
Oh yes and i have done this before...It is a hassle because you have things everywhere & everything is a mess for a while, but the after effects are so worth the effort...I am sure that this man can make this farm house a show place, but nothing you do comes easy, we have to look at something like this in the finished results sometimes to continue....
3 people like this
@enola1692 (3323)
• United States
31 Aug 09
wow that sounds great my uncle loves buying old homes an restoreing them an you would never believe the magic he has done to some of these homes
3 people like this
@dragon54u (31636)
• United States
31 Aug 09
When I bought my first house 2 years ago, I knew I couldn't afford one over $100K so I knew I'd have to fix up something. The challenge was finding one that needed only minor work (or none) that fit my requirements and price range. I had to fly back east twice (I was living in the Southwest at the time) before I found my house and that doesn't count hours searching the internet listings! By a miracle, I found a house that needed only cosmetic work and not much of that. I had to replace the top part of the chimney but that's all the work that has been required. I've really been blessed with a great house! I put vinyl siding on it and had the bathroom fixed with a shower instead of a shower/tub because of my mom. So now that I've gotten WAY off the point--no, I don't think I could do that kind of thing unless I really had to. I wouldn't enjoy it. But I hope the man you sell the house to really enjoys fixing it up and it's a wonderful home to them.
3 people like this
@kitty42 (3923)
• United States
31 Aug 09
Hello my friend I watch enough of these shows that I feel like I can do it, but I know that is easier said than done, I admire anyone that can do this, what a beautiful feeling it will be for you to see the house when it is done, , I know I will not be able to do the work myself but I have the vision I know what I like/want, maybe one of these days I can actually do something like this, I wold love it.
3 people like this
• United States
31 Aug 09
yea,mine's a bit of a money pit too. i've been having to learn to fix things,as i have two males here that don't want to help (or too lazy).it pisses me off,but it's mom's house,i can't do anything about it except do it myself. gonna fix the lower roofs a soon as it quits raining.
3 people like this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
31 Aug 09
hi twoey oh my that was some movie and after having seen that and what they went through I would have to have gotten a sweepstakes win'before I would untake a v enture like that then with all my moola i would'hire it all done, and sit back and enjoy the view.that s'whats so great about imagining getting a huge hunk of money. you get tosee allthe great things but dont have todeal with the real stuff. Ihave heard pyschatrists ,I know the sp ellings wrong, who say that the worst cause of family fights is remodeling a house by the doityourselfers. I do believe that too.I have never seen anyone take on a huge remodeling like that.
@SomeCowgirl (32191)
• United States
31 Aug 09
I've never done this myself but my aunt has added to her home, as well as my grandmother having done the same. Floors have been redone as well at my grandmother's house. I would take on a task, no matter how big, as long as I could gather the money, and especially if it really needed it. If it didn't really need it I would think again as to whether I would or not. I'd definitely pace myself on it though, and have things done one by one, starting with plumbing or leaky roofs if there were any!
2 people like this
@celticeagle (157563)
• Boise, Idaho
3 Sep 09
It is quite an undertaking and can cause stress on a couple. If it is well planned out and as well executed it can be a wonderful thing. I have known of many people in my area that have done just that. The out come is both very nice and very rewarding. Alot of people can turn over alot of money by buying, remodeling and then reselling the place. It takes work and alot of committment but it can be acomplished.
@dlr297 (5409)
• United States
1 Sep 09
My husband has been in construction all his life, and he is very good at doing this type of work, and over the years i have picked up a lot of it myself. It is a lot less expensive if you do the work yourself, but it does take time. we do a lot of different re-molding jobs for people. so yes we would take on a project like that.
2 people like this
@scififan43 (2434)
• United States
26 Sep 09
I have not seen the movie money pit but I am famuialr with it. I would not want to have a house like that. it would cost too much to have that type of house. if fact, I think it would be as much to have purced a new one it you were going thur the trouble.
1 person likes this
@dorannmwin (36392)
• United States
31 Aug 09
My mother has taken on this type of challenge twice in her life. The actual house that she did turned out wonderfully. She was able to sell the house after she got done for a slight profit (it would have been more but her partner got sick with cancer and they had to hire in contractors for a lot of the work) the other was an old school building and it never actually got done. But the work that was done to it was great considering the condition the property was in when she bought it. Now, the house that my husband and I bought last year and we are living in it now also needed a ton of work (it still needs a lot done) but we've taken on the challenge and we are turning what looked like a run-down house into a diamond in the rough. We redid our bathroom with the help of his little brother. We took it down to the studs, toilet and tub and rebuilt from there. We did all new drywall, ceramic tub surround, new hardware, new vanity, new marble floor, the works, you really can't tell a ghost of the way that the bathroom once was. We've replaced the windows and installed new heating and added central air. We've put in new carpet and granite entry and fireplace base. We still want to remodel the kitchen (all new appliances, cabinets, sink and floor) and we want to redo the floors in our office and hallway. We want to put down baseboards and we also want to put new vinyl siding on the outside of the house. We bought our house for a great bargain as it was pre-foreclosure at the time and we hope that within 5-10 years of living in it we can make at least a 70 thousand dollar profit off of it.
3 people like this
• Malaysia
1 Sep 09
good articles
2 people like this
@tammytwo (4298)
• United States
2 Sep 09
If I had money I would love to do something like this. There is a house just down the street from me that was purchased by a man who completely went through ti and redid everything. I haven't seen the inside of it but from the looks of the outside he put a lot of money into it. I know he put a great deal of time into it as well.
1 person likes this
@Stephanie5 (2946)
• United States
1 Sep 09
Seen a LOT worse than this! - A house that has been torn up.
I have. And it wasn't fun. And I probably wouldn't do it again. I'm a lot more informed now, so I'm very careful. It feels like such an accomplishment when you are all done and can stand there and say "I did that!"
@blackbriar (9076)
• United States
2 Sep 09
Hubby and I almost bought a house on an acre that needed a ton of work done to it but the bank wasn't going to lend us what the owner wanted cause he had it priced too high for what it was worth. I love working on houses but only ones that we are fixing up for ourselves, not to sell once it's done.
1 person likes this
@jezzmay (1845)
• United States
2 Sep 09
My son and I are looking at one now. We can get it for 5,000 dollars it is in town and has a nice lot. The land alone would be worth that. My son is in construction and he thinks he can remodel it for 10,000 dollars. If we did this we would only have 15,000 in it. Have a nice day.
1 person likes this
@roberten (3128)
• United States
1 Sep 09
twoey68, I have a similiar project I'm attempting to undertake on my family home. It is a bit smaller but in near similiar shape. I hope my brothers will help out but I plan to do as much as I can myself. I know nothing about flipping houses so this is going to be one of my greatest challenges. Maybe I can do a before and after shot. I hope it will only take a few months, but I fear it will take upto two years to complete. The local home d-i-y store is going to be my newest best friend.
1 person likes this
@PeacefulWmn9 (10420)
• United States
2 Sep 09
Hi Twoey. Twice, when I was married, we remodeled two homes, the first one over 100 years old, and that one, we did all the work ourselves, with the help of family. New ceilings and flooring, new paneled walls, new roof, paint, etc. It was a lot of work and the mess! Ack! The second home was 30 years old, and we hired some of done, while other work we did ourselves. New roofing, new carpeting and ceilings, totally new kitchen and bathroom. Again, tons of work, time, and money, and mess!! But the final results make all the other worth it! Plus it increases the resale value of the home.
1 person likes this