Basements, Attics and Crawl Spaces - Fix old house or dump it

My late mother's house was built in the late 40's. My sister and I were going to have outside and inside remodeled. Basemement gets a lttle water and roof leaks. Needs new windows, too. Someone told my sister to have it all remodeled , there are too many permits and codes to deal with . Best to just sell as is.
Or should we have a handyman remodel and sell and hope to make money? The house sits at a good location right off an interstate between two cities. Mom's house is in southern York County, PA.

Someone called me with a similar situation. He had his mother's house which he wanted to sell but wasn't sure how much work he should do first. I won't list all the things that the house needed but the worst problem was that the front stoop was sinking into the ground. I told him to fix that, since it really was something to scare potential buyers & leave the rest alone.

If you have anything scary like his front stoop, fix it & forget the rest.

There are all types of buyers out there. Some want location, some want a custome home. I would follow Pulpo's suggestion, fix any glowing problems and then list it on the high side. Someone who wants to remodel will have their own ideas and would rather start from scratch, at a lower price. It's not a bank foreclosure that has been abandoned, so it will be a bit more attractive and flipping homes is a hot project for many people.

If you don't get your price, the remodel option is still there for you, but you will have a better idea as to what folks are looking for. Start high as no one ever offers list. If you remodel, be ready for some major unexpected bucks. You could have a pro inspector go over it in either case, but once you are aware of a problem you must disclose it at the sale.

If you aren't doing the work and good at it, this could be a bad place to learn.

Bud

Thank you both. Really! I will tell my sister what you both told me. This was a big help. Thanks again. Susan

My opinion is that when old people let's their house go, you end up putting twice as much into it then if you were to build a brand new home.

You will never get your money out of it - if you put more money into it because unless it is sitting on Marcellus Shale or gold, the property is not going to increase in value anytime soon.

Carpenters works on a basis of a bid or time and materials.

Either way, they will have to repair all the things that were left go and put a new roof on the place and probably all new wiring, heating, insulation, drywall, windows, porches, etc..

Before long, you will have more into it then if you just went out and built a brand new home.

The house is obviously paid for, so any remodel cost would come way under the building of a new house. But that is not to say it won't be expensive. One more thing to discuss with your sister, does it have sentimental value. If you hire a good contractor, be prepared money wise to have him do a complete job. I have seen cheap "get by" jobs, and have had to redo all of them correctly to meet code or customer's wishes. I agree with the others, in fixing the glaring problems and letting someone else sink their money into the remodel of their dreams, not yours. Good luck with the house.

The problem is - when building to existing, you first have to tear down and remove what ever is faulty before any remodeling can occur.

The problem then becomes when you get into a old house, you will have issues with settling and things not being square and level.

Every time you remove something, you will find something else wrong.

When working with new construction, all you have to do is put up the foundation and then frame the structure and then sheet the outside and then drywall and insulate and wire and plumb the inside and in time you will have a new house.

With a old house, no matter how much money you put into it, it will still be a old house and you can throw good money after bad and not be able to get it back out of it.

Young people do not want to live in a old house. Where I live, you cannot even give them away. The only people who buys old houses is reliefers and gypsies. Nobody is going to give you $200,000 for a old house when they can build a new one for $180,000 and have everything brand new!