Buying a foreclosure/fixing outside structural things

[hers]

My husband and I have been talking about buying a house lately, but we have no idea if we'll even be able to. Still, we're looking at some houses online and have found a couple we like. We're looking to possibly buy a foreclosure, simply b/c they tend to be cheaper and we can do some things to it and have it paid off (hopefully) faster. We found a really great house that is $50K and looks beautiful inside (mind you, we've only seen pics of the inside), so I went to teh house today and looked around the outside of it and here are some things I noticed.

 

The yard is a really great size but the fence would need to be replaced. Also, there's no grass at all b/c of a big oak tree in the middle of the yard, so we'd have a dirt-yard unless we did something about that.

 

Then, the outside of the house is wood. It could stand to be replaced with some vinyl siding or something. The wood looks old and is chipping in some places.

 

The front yard would need to be fixed up. It's very weedy and the driveway woudl have to be paved (it's now just a grass driveway).

 

Then there are some things like replacing the windows and screens and some doors.

 

Now, this is just what we saw on the outside. The curb appeal is lacking, but the inside, based on pics and what I could see, looks great and updated and kept up. So quite a bit of work would need to be done outside. More than we'd have the energy for.

 

hypothetically speaking, if we were to go into a home that has some things to be fixed on the outside, what sort of experience is that like for homeowners? Is it stressful and time-consuming? What about costs? What's the general cost of fixing up a yard, for instance?

 

Again, this is hypothetical and we're not 'buying" this house, but we are thinking about possibly buying in the next year or so, and we're not opposed to a home that needs a little TLC but we're not looking for a fixer-upper either.

 

Just looking for thoughts. Thanks!

[Ariel85]

Be very VERY careful about buying a foreclosure. You buy the house as-is, which means there are often structural or major mechanical things that are wrong, and you are stuck repairing them. Most REO's don't even have utilities working, and haven't for months, or years, so your inspection isn't near complete since you in all probability will not have utilities turned on for it. You'd be surprised at the damage your plumbing will sustain from not being operable for months or years - same with your HVAC system. Lastly, a lot of people that have lost their homes have done some really spiteful things when leaving, like pouring concrete down the toilets or putting dead fish in the heating ducts, and these are things you often won't know until after you've sign the deed, and then you're royally screwed.

 

You're better off buying a home with a realtor involved in a legitimate sale, just for the peace of mind. Believe me - you may think you're getting a bargain, but you're taking a huge risk, and most likely your repairs are going to extend far beyond the cosmetic problems you can eyeball.

[OptomisticGirl]

I have a few people I went to HS with who have bought foreclosed homes and fixed them up. It's like anything else in life - you win sometimes, you lose sometimes. Even a brand new house can screw you over. I know one guy who bought a foreclosed house for about the 40K mark and spent about 2K fixing it up and he's been there for the last 4 years and loves it.

[abitbroken]

The fence is merely cosmetic, and something people would even change out of personal preference if it were in working order. More important are the main functions of the home, including the foundation, heating system, plumbing etc. You can't tell those things most of the time from a photo. Foreclosures vary from pits where the copper pipes were stripped out to places that were well loved, but the owners stopped fixing the little day to day stuff that you do for maybe a month or two. I would say the siding is not a priority unless it is causing troubles with insulation, or anything else. The biggest would be making sure the house is sound, the pipes don't leak, etc, because anything you do will be undone when the pipes burst. If the house was vacant a long time, a new fence might give a sign to people that the house is lived in and will protect it from people that might have targeted a vacant home (even if there is nothing in it, unsupervised kids might think its cool to break windows or mess up the yard or someone may go in for the pipes.) if there are outward signs of being cared for, and the fence is faster to fix then siding, then it needs to be done.

 

One of the biggest considerations is the expectations of the people involved. If you and your husband have very different expectations on what the house is going to be (one is grateful to own a home and figures it will get fixed over time in rank of priority so long as it is livable, the other expects it to be perfect in a month, one wanted it because its the worst home in an awesome neighborhood and would love to fix it up and be there long term and the other one wants to flip). Also, if the relationship is strained, it will get much worse. Some people have the image of the sweet idea of working side by side, when its best for the relationship to hire the experts except for matters of painting a bedroom, etc.

 

Remember when considering a foreclosure, consider the amount of the very bare bones necessary repairs also. They can be a great deal - but only if you are getting the neighborhood you want, etc, to be happy in and not just the price.

[hers]

Well those were definitely some of the considerations I've had, all the way down to possibly vindictive previous owners, so I have considered a lot of that.

 

One of my friends and her husband bought a foreclosure for $30K and spent $15K fixing it up and it looks amazing and they're very happy there, and it should be paid off next year (they've been there about 3 years now I think). They did have to put in a lot of work to it and did it together and went through some issues they didn't expect in terms of fixing things, but nothing too outlandish.

 

Bear in mind, if we do something like this, we would be going into it with A LOT of advice-seeking and questions to our friends and family, as well as relying on some friends and family members who have gone through this very thing AND who have already offered to help where needed, whether it's helping tear something up or helping pick something up from the hardware store (you get what I mean). Anyway, it's not anything we'd be going into blindly, and as of right now, it's all hypothetical.

[hers]

Oh, as far as the fence goes, we'd insist on fixing that b/c of our dog. Part of the reason we want a house with a yard is for the dog, and the house itself is not far from the interstate (actually the house sits on a dead end, b/c if you went farther down, you'd be on the interstate) so we'd need something safe and secure for her.

 

Not to mention we both want some outside entertaining areas.

 

The siding would be just to make the curb appeal look better, in case we did want to sell later on. Not an immediate fix, unless it was causing problems, but something we'd want to do nonetheless.

[GettingBetter]

How handy are you and your husband? Have you any experience replacing siding, shimming windows, working with plumbing or electrical problems, or pouring concrete? Not that you need to do everything yourself, but be prepared that hiring all of these things done can get very pricey. And as others have said, you really have to hope there aren't any structural problems.

 

Is the house on a subfloor or slab? Do you see any cracks in the foundation? Are there any trees near the foundation? Does the siding look to be rotting or have dry rot? Is the moisture barrier or insulation exposed? When was the house built? These are all things I would look at, given your description of the place.

 

Good luck!

[annie24]

Before you buy anything, make sure that you have a certified inspector over there to check EVERYTHING! And I mean everything! Cosmetic changes are not a big deal, but if there are some major problems, you might have to spend more fixing it than what the actual house costs.