Flickr Widget

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

How bad is too bad?

We're almost finished undoing the damage done to our 1964 home by well-meaning real estate flippers. However, life has a funny way of playing tricks on you when you're not looking, and it appears that my daughter, grandsons and I may be putting this house on the market before I post the "after" photos.

However, we have located a house a few blocks from our current address that we're very tempted to buy. It was built in 1962 and is a one-owner property. From the looks of the photos, the people who lived there got too old to maintain the place and let it fall into serious disrepair, inside and out.

It's obvious that the yard was once landscaped magnificently, but it's so overgrown that you can't even see the huge double front doors from the street. The interior is spacious and has some great features...lots of rock walls and fireplaces, beamed ceilings, wonderful windows, original slate floors, unique architectural features, and a gorgeous room divider.

There's no doubt that this house could easily be a real showplace worth more than twice the current asking price when restored, but a long and arduous renovation taking at least two years would be necessary. We think we might be able to get a really low offer accepted, because the house has been on the market quite some time, which would give us a low enough monthly mortgage payment to pay cash for repairs as we go.  My daughter definitely has the patience to take her time and have the work done in stages...but do I?

Can a house skip "bad" and go straight to "too bad"? Or would it be worth the effort to restore a diamond in the rough like this, even if it takes a while? What are your thoughts?







17 comments:

  1. I think it looks like it has great potential and if the changes are mostly aesthetic rather than structural, I'd say go for it. But I also like to make things the way that I'd like them to be, so I'm willing to deal with some inconvenience to make it so. Also, your daughter is lucky to have you. We should all have someone like you in our corner!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Patience is not my strong suit, and sometimes my need to get things perfect overnight drives my daughter crazy. haha I agree that a lot depends on the inspection. If the deterioration is mostly cosmetic, we'll probably make an offer.

      Delete
  2. I have been waiting patiently for photos of your current home!! You're killing me Dana! However...these photos make me weak in the knees. That room divider is enough to make me sign on the dotted line. I am so envious of all the fantastic MCM homes in your area. Please keep us posted Dana, and don't leave your current home without taking "after" pictures.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We still have a couple of bathroom faucets to change out in the master bath, and we need to tweak the new cabinet and fixtures in the half-bath. Then there are only two more ceiling fans to hang and one light fixture to put up, and we'll be ready to take pictures. Promise! :)

      Delete
  3. Ohhhhh! Love it Dana!
    (that's a YES from me!)
    x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Love IT!! Those period features are fabulous. I just expect to see Carol Brady coming down those stairs...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I bet those stairs would be gorgeous if they were stripped, sanded, and stained. It would also be nice to find out what kind of wood was used for the paneling. It looks really dry, but I bet there's a product out there somewhere that could make them look brand new...just not that nasty Old English!!! :)

      Delete
  5. You are fortunate to have so many MCM homes in your area. I hate moving, I think packing up to move again would bother me more than the renovations. As homeowners, aren't we always renovating something anyway?

    House, you had me at all that gorgeous stone. :) Good luck with the decision.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, this neighborhood is full of great MCM homes, which is lucky for us. As for packing up, our garage is still full of unpacked boxes. We didn't want things in the way while we worked on this house, which is going to make the next move fairly easy.

      Delete
  6. Sounds like you've already made up your mind: "restore a diamond in the rough" is an understatement. Go for it!!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I didn't even show you the BAD photos. We're really leaning in that direction though. Serious structural damage would be a deal breaker, but we're up for some cosmetic restoration. Did you notice where that round rug had been (probably for decades), and you could see how dark the floors are all around it? I bet that rug has been down for 53 years and had 5 decades of grunge around it. I've already told my daughter we'd have to sandblast all the rock walls. I wonder if you can do something similar to floors. Probably not if they're slate, but rock...maybe.

      Delete
  7. Perhaps some type of cleaning liquid on the stone. I'd just make a list of good and bad and compare it to your current house.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Right now, our current home would win hands-down in the "make a list" game, but if the other house were restored, there wouldn't be another like it anywhere in the neighborhood...or in the whole town, for that matter. The question is whether or not it's too big a project to tackle.

      Delete
  8. This is amazeballs!! I LOVE IT!! It's nothing you can't manage.All that stonework. That screen!

    ReplyDelete
  9. This house is great! It has so much potenital. As long as it's structurally sound, I say go for it!

    ReplyDelete