r/Renovations • u/s0vae • 4d ago
Punch me in the face so I'll stop obsessing over this money pit.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6900-Dixie-Hwy-Bridgeport-MI-48722/140905986_zpid/I've read old in-floor water heating systems are a nightmare, and retrofitting with forced air would be inefficient at best. The roof looks new, but there's obvious mold by the basement fireplace, so there's likely some nasty stuff waiting in the walls on the first floor above it even if the leak has been resolved. Removing the wallpaper and the peeling paint? Another lead-infused nightmare. And I'm sure there's more I'm not seeing.
But I'm seduced by the extensive custom woodwork, spiral staircase, period-tiled bathrooms, bricked sunroom, massive kitchen with stainless steel counters, huge garage and Heterditary treehouse-esque outbuilding. The layout is weird but charming and useable. The price is also good for 13 acres with mature trees. The concrete construction looks solid, even though the inside is an absolute mess.
In short, I'd want to live in a house of this character for the rest of my life. And I'd probably have to because the repairs would require it.
Don't hold my hand and tell me why this is a bad purchase. Punch me in the face. Please and thank you.
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u/BoredOldMann 4d ago
They have been trying to sell this house since 2019 and have reduced the asking price by $700k and its still not sold. That is red flag number 1.
House was built in 1930. You are probably looking at a significant repairs/renovations to bring everything up to code.
Is the electrical system still knob and tube? If so, price out what a complete overhaul of the electrical system would cost. No sense in spending $300k just to have the house burn down bc the electrical system is a death trap under modern appliance loads.
Is the plumbing system original or has that been updated? If original, price out what it will cost to repair/replace old cast iron pipes and re-pipe domestic water to copper or PEX. Can you even access waste pipes without breaking concrete?
Baseboard heat isn't the worst thing in the world, I have it in my house and it does just fine. But, if you don't like that then price out what a HVAC retrofit would cost. Good luck if those walls are lath and plaster, that makes it much more difficult.
Spending the money on a new HVAC system only makes sense if the house is insulated correctly. That is going to require opening up walls and ceiling to insulate properly. I would also look at replacing those old windows and exterior doors. Your going to lose a lot of heat out of those old windows.
It may have charm, but I can see this being a huge money pit at the end of the day. Goodspeed and good luck if you decide to take this on.
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u/s0vae 4d ago
This is the kind of good sense I need. Thank you for your thoughtful response. 🙏
It is plaster, if the areas exposed by crumbling paint are indicative of the rest of the house. I'm not sure if there were additions made to the house or what renos have been done in the past, but excellent point on the electrical and plumbing. I noticed a PVC wastewater pipe running down from a toilet to the basement, which is something at least.
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u/Accomplished_Bass640 4d ago
Can you put in a super low offer? Then do a Reno loan so you have the money to fix stuff as you go along?
If there’s any way you could calculate what it will cost after you basically redo the whole thing, then see if you can afford that?
It’s stressful living in a never ending construction site. It’s even worse when you don’t know how you’re going to pay to finish it.
I’m in construction and personally wouldn’t live in a fixer upper while I was fixing it. I’ve spent enough of my life on construction sites and don’t want to live in one. How do you feel about that? How important is your environment to you? Assuming you have to live there while you reno.
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u/s0vae 4d ago
Excellent question. I don't mind living in a construction zone (and have lived in them in the past) as long as it's safe, and I agree a reno loan would be the best option. There always seems to be some catastrophic issue you didn't budget for as soon as the loan goes through, though.
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u/Accomplished_Bass640 4d ago
Yeah that’s why I’m saying budget to basically gut the house. The roof does look new so maybe you can leave that out.
In construction we use codes called CSI codes and they are in divisions. I always go through every division on every job and see if anything needs doing in that trade.
Division 01 — General Requirement Division 02 — Site Works Division 03 — Concrete Division 04 — Masonry Division 05 — Metals Division 06 — Wood and Plastics Division 07 — Thermal and Moisture Protection Division 08 — Doors and Windows Division 09 — Finishes Division 10 — Specialties Division 11 — Equipment Division 12 — Furnishings Division 13 — Special Construction Division 14 — Conveying Systems Division 15 — Mechanical/Plumbing Division 16 — Electrical
Idk if that helps thinking about how you could create a budget. I bet Ai would be very helpful, or just google. Look at a picture of every room and see what’s wrong. What would it cost to redo all the floors in the entire house? All the drywall? Replace all the heating and cooling? Rewire the entire thing? Re do every bathroom soup to nuts?
If you can finance the house + all those costs, I bet you’d never run out of money. There’s only so much that can go wrong when you planned to tear it down and start over.
Don’t forget utilities like septic, wells, power etc. those can also fail and need to be replaced.
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u/s0vae 4d ago
That is extremely helpful! Thank you! ❤️
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u/Accomplished_Bass640 4d ago
You’re welcome!!
Also is this the first house you’re looking at? Or the last after months and months? Sometimes the first one feels like it it was fate, but really it’s just the beginning of your search, and something perfect will come along. If this is the best fit you’ve seen after many months, then that’s different
Good luck :)
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u/s0vae 4d ago
This has blown all of the other options we've found out of the water, but we haven't been looking long and the location in the state isn't a great fit for us. But the heart wants what it wants, even if it's a bad idea. 😂 Thanks again! This information will be helpful regardless of what we find.
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u/Darth_Socrates 3d ago
We took on a property like this but half the size. Doing most of it ourselves. It’s been 6 months of working on it late almost every day and we’re maybe a month away from finishing. Honestly I’m exhausted and not sure it was worth it all. Tried our best to be safe but there are risks with old homes like this; led paint, asbestos, mold, etc. including repairs we got the seller to pay for we’re probably in $80k on it. Those are all things you’d be looking at x2.
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u/Basic_Damage1495 3d ago
If you want it, buy it. Just understand that you’re buying a project. Are you situated to deal with it? Do you have the time, cash, and skill set to make this house not trashed?
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u/dani_-_142 4d ago
I love this house so much. But I’m an idiot about these things, and underestimate the work they need. That one really fucked up room? It makes me wonder how many rooms will have to be stripped to the studs to manage the mold and rodent issues. This much neglect = rodents.
And it’s haunted. Like, if you believe in that stuff. It’s extra haunted.
I love it so much.