DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Future Housing Question..

Hey guys, I have a question I would like yours guys' input on regarding a long term decision my wife and I are considering. A little background info for everyone, Im 25(drive for FedEx Freight make approximatley $40000-$45000 a year. My wife is currently a medical assistant making about$18000 a year, and is currently attending an R.N program that she will graduate from in 2 yrs. So in 2 years she will most likely make around what I do or more.

We sat down last night and looked at our finances which are mess(I am still off on dissability due to complications from my emergency appendectomy) We came up with a new budget and determined we can be debt free of medical, credit, and auto debts in approximatley 3 years.

Ok now that the background info is out there We bought our house in 2010 for $89,000 with now downpayment except seller assist. (currently would be about $84000to pay off) Its about 60 years old with less than an acre of yard which is all sloped hillside. Well if some of you remember in November 2011 we had a house fire. The house was rebuilt from the wall studs out on the inside. I mean everything in the house is brand new. (plumbing, main floor wiring, insulation added to walls etc. Outside half the house was siding and the other was stucco/stone veneer. The siding was replaced, stucco repainted, veneer scrubbed and stained/sealed, and the roof was completely replaced. So the good thing is basically everything major except foundation and frame of the house was replaced.

The bad is were having problem with the basement leaking pretty bad anytime we have rain or the snow melts. I am pretty sure it is because of the basement walls cracking and the footer drain is plugged up. To fix that I have heard anywhere from $10000-20000 to repair.

What we were considering doing is selling our house. Which our family is telling us is crazy since so much has been uprgaded/repaired due to the fire. But the thing is it just doesn't feel like home any more(we did lose our animals in the fire and pretty much everything we owned.) Also we would like a few acres to own. But our thinking is it makes no sense for us to buy another house that need upgraded/ fixed up since we have that all hear.

Our plan is basically a five year plan(aren't we tired of that lol) But basically we think we can have only major debt being my wifes school loan and our mortgage. And our thinking is to buy a few acres have a basement dug and poured then purchase a modular or manufactured home over it. We want to try and keep it under $150000.

So do you guys think this is a reasonable plan idea? Or should we just stay where were at? Im asking for your guys ' input because I know there is a diverse background of people on here and life experiences.

Oh and the area we would be looking is the youngstown oh/mercer county pa area. I work in North Jackson Oh and dont really want any further to drive than I do now 30 min tops.

Thanks for any input you guys have. I know I rambled and that was a lot to read but wanted to try and put all info in there I could think of.

Thinking out loud here: You owe $84,000 on a completely new $89,000 house. (do I have that right?) You have a basement that leaks bad. $10,000 to $20,000 to fix it.

If you put it on the market, any prospective buyer is going to know, or find out, the basement leaks. If it's something they determine they want to buy anyway, they're going to try to ding you the 20 grand on the selling price. What's your house valued at today? $90,000? Say you sell it for $70,000........you still owe an extra $14,000.

I don't know what land in your area costs - but around here, building ground is at a minimum $7,000 to $10,000 an acre. Let's go high numbers - 5 acres of ground will set you back $40 to $50 grand. Let's say $45,000. Add the $14,000 you MIGHT owe on your home, you're looking at $59,000 in debt, with no home - just land.

I don't know what a basement would cost - but I have to believe it would be in the $20,000 range? (just a guess). at a bare minimum? That potentially puts you at basically $80,000 with nothing but land and a cement hole in the ground.

What does a modular cost?

I think I understand..

First, putting the house on the market in it's current state of disrepair (referring to the foundation leaking) isn't going to work out too well for you.

Unless PA is different than Ohio, you will have to reveal to any and all perspective owners that the basement leaks.

You'll need an appraisal to verify this, but, you paid 89k for a home that was 60 years old. But, since you moved in, almost the entire house has been rebuilt so everything is new.

My guess is that your house should be worth lots more than it was when you bought it.

If it's worth enough more, you could do two things, take a second to get the cash to repair it, or Sell it for the increased price and put in an allowence for repairs.

In other words, if it's 10k to fix the basement and you sell the house for 100k(example), you can give back 10k to the new owners so they can get the basement fixed. There's probably other ways to accomplish that, but you get the drift. the goal is to be honest, tell what's wrong, but if you get your price, you'll pay for the repairs up to a certain amount. Thus limiting your liability.

If you like your home, if you wanna stay, then I'd look for alternatives to repair the foundation.

There are DIY methods that may save you a ton of money.. you'll need to do some research..

if it's me, I stay in the house, fix the leak, then at some point, sell it with a clear head.

JMO

unless the market where your house is at hasn't changed in years (ie dropped like the rest of the country around 07-08) then I would fix the basement, hang out 5 years then see what the market is like then, if selling will recoupe your investment and retain you some profit for purchasing of the new property then great.

Your 25, your life and lifestyle is most likely just starting to level out, and by 30 you will have a much better idea of who you are, where you want to be, and what your future goals are.

And as arch says, you'll have to notify any interested buyers of the basement issues, which I guarantee will either come out of your price or you'll have to repair upfront. Either way, your on the hook. Depending on how bad it leaks, why it leaks, and where it leaks, it may or may not cost you as much as estimated I'd start by getting 3-4 contrators out to look at it and get specifics and estimates.

With the basement leaking I was thinking of Putting in shallow french drains since it only leaks on the side of the house where the water pretty much runs downhill into the side of the house. Hoping that would slow down the leaking probelm to where its not as bad or helps quite a bit. What I am hoping with being completely clueless about how to increase house resale values is that when we would actually put it on the market thats our biggest selling point I guess that furnace, ac/heat pump, windows, roof, Litertally everything is only going to be 5 years old. So I am hoping that would push the value up enough to offset the leaking basement.
Also part of plan is for the plan is to paying extra on the mortgage so that we can hopefully get what we owe down quite a bit. Worst Case scenario is Im hoping we sale it for at least what we owe( if not we proabbly would put the plan on hold)

Our area is a little bit lower for acreage I would say $5-10000 for an acre. I have seen 4-7 acres from $20-40000 really varies on the location.

I was thinking about $15-20000 for the basement, but really not sure.

A modular that I did happen to find a price on was $70000, and that was I think 1800 sq ft. Which is about 300 sq ft more than our house.(Not looking to go smaller)

I haven't really put to much effort into researching any of this yet as we didn't seriously consider looking into it last night after we looked over our finances. That's why I asked you guys lol.

Also we realize everything is new here and that why we are pretty much only considering going the modular route instead of another house is it doesn't really make sense for us to sale and buy a house for however much and have to do $30k in updating etc.
Main reasons for considering this are that it jsut doesn't feel like our house anymore(though in time it could) Also realizing we definitley should have looked for something with more acreage.

In housing sales, negative have greater negative value than positives. So a 10k basement fix will cost you 10k in sell price, but a 10k kitchen upgrade only increases you 6k. (numbers are only examples)

Basically a brand new house, that needs some basement work done?

I'd stay put and have the work done.

There is a product that they can put on the inside of the basement walls that contains drainage to the floor drain, and is supposed to guarantee a completely dry basement. You can also try hydroclay, which is pumped in around the base of your foundation from the outside, and follows the path of water to seal up holes. Basic concrete sealer is another option ...... stuff like Drylok works really well, and can last for quite a while. I put it on some of the basement walls at my old house some 20 years ago, and that basement is still leak free where I did the repairs. It expands into the tiny holes that make up leaking areas and seals them from "inside". Most of the professional options can be done is 1-3 days, depending on the size of your basement, and while I'm not sure of the cost, I would guess that they are less than digging up the whole foundation and sealing it from the outside, and putting in drainage.

I would suggest getting the repairs done before you try to sell. When I bought this house, they had to disclose any water penetration. If someone doesn't want to have to go to all of the trouble of repairing a wet basement, not to mention potential issues with mold and such, then they will just move on. However, if you have a nice, dry basement, that is ready to be used, or remodeled, then you have something special.

If you are going to sell, I would also recommend using caulk and/or spray foam and sealing up the rim joist really good. This will keep any crawly critters out when someone goes wandering through the basement, thinking about buying your home. It's a cheap, and easy way to upgrade the quality of the home

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is that you should check all of your downspouts/gutters to make sure that they are not plugged. That's a huge reason why basements get water in them. Also, in an older home, and I would think especially one that had to be rebuilt, make sure that you have a good grade away from the foundation. If you have construction tromping through the ground all around the house, that area may have had its grade leveled out some, and you may need to rebuild it. That's an easy matter of just adding dirt around the foundation to make sure water slopes away.

ok, you are right you don't get back what you spent. but, I was assuming insurance picked up a great deal of that expense since it was replaced after a fire. guess it depends on the level of insurance he had.

Quote:

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Granted - if you DON'T fix things, you'll lose even more than a replacement would cost - but you don't recoup your investment. JMO.

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But isn't that recouping your investment, in a way?

If I put my home on the market for $100,000 (as an example) and it needs a roof, people are always going to overestimate what that roof will cost. If I pay $10,000 and get the roof done (and I have no idea what a roof costs these days) and get $95,000 when I sell, doesn't that work out better than having to sell at maybe $80,000 without the roof done?

When I went house shopping, I ticked off a list of things that needed done to use as my negotiating points. The fewer such points a buyer can find, the higher price a property will bring, and, I would think, the faster it will sell.

You might also want to investigate if your site work ie; out side of your basement/house work was properly installed.
Such as drainage and weather proofing on the out side of your foundation. Perhaps you might be able to go back on the contractor (if it's a newer house) if you can prove that work was not done properly yet signed off on you might also be able to go back on the county, however the case it is easier said then done.

PS sorry for your bad luck

j/c a response to some of what I read

I know we aren't going to get what it actually cost to redo the kitchen etc. (Which the insurance company paid for like everything., We paid for a new furnace and a.c/heat pump, and to upgrade certain things. I think total we put about $10k extra into the repairs. And the reason I say that as a selling point is sort of the reason we went with this house(it had been flipped new carpet paint etc) When we looked in the range of $80-100k I would say 90% of them would have had us putting in another $20k at least in upgrading stuff from bathrooms and carpet etc literally was from the 70's. Old windows drafty windows. 20 yr old furnaces. I couldn't believe it.

As for the foundation it wasn't touched or to much done to it with the repairs. And the house sits on the side of a hillside so the yeard slopes into the side of the house that the basement leaks. The down spout is on the other end of the house. I am pretty sure I think I said earlier that it is jsut that the house is 60 years old and has started settling on the hill side. I think come spring I am going to get my shovel out dige down about two feet and repair what I can see and put in shallow french drains. Also try to build the ground up against the house.

Also guys thanks for all the responses, making a pro-con type list. Like I said we are just talking about it, and seeing if it is even viable/worth doing.

I agree.

To fix the leak may be as complicated as digging down to the foundation and sealing the walls.

It may be as simple and spending a few hours with a pick and shovel digging a small trench like you would around a tent....or is it a guttering problem?? Guttering isn't all that expensive.


I am no expert, but unless you have some sort of spring running under the house, groundwater runoff can be controlled.

It may take some sweat, and trial and error, but don't let water from the roof hit at the foundation and don't let uphill water drain to your foundation.

You might have to move some dirt, or add some dirt, but $500 of dirt, a wheelbarrow , and 25 hours of effort goes a long way.

Hey guys giving me a lot to think about. And I really aprreciate it. Before we can seriously plan/consider this is at least another 2yrs or so off. Have to see where my wife gets a job at once she completes nursing school etc. And if we can stick to our new budget it will be about 3 years before we have the debt managed better.

Also actually seeing it in writing it does seem odd to sell a house thats brand new inside and didn't cost us any real cash.

Also about the wheelbarrow and $500 in dirt, thats kinda my plan this summer already. Start digging with my shovel. Lol. If it looks like serious problems the whole way down then I might have to call a proffesional in. Once again guys thanks for the input.

Thanks FL Dawg it has been a crappy year and a half. House fire lost our pets, my Dad passed away the Monday before Christmas 2011, and I have been off work from my ruptured appendix since November 18th because of complications and infections. But like I tell my wife there isn't any point in getting worked up over it all, that's life and you can't change it.

Count your blessings. I recently divorced. In the process I lost the house to my ex. While I was able to cash my equity out what I cleared isn't enough for a real down payment on another home. I've essentially been priced out of the market. You can't even get in the front door of the housing market in Portland under $225,000. Unless you're willing to live in a bad part of town or on the very outskirts. A typical 2-3 bed bungalow on .11 acre here in town starts around $249,000 and can reach $500,000 depending on where it's located.
I'm trying to figure out how to turn my nursing wages and my $20,000 cash into a home without becoming 'house poor'. Having to live paycheck to paycheck.

Wow sorry about that PortlandDawg. I couldn't live in the city. We rented to houses in "town" before we bought our house and I couldn't stand it. That's what's nice about where I live. Youngstown OH is probably the biggest city around us. Otherwise its a hour and fifteen min to Pittsburgh or a hour and 45minI to Cleveland. So prices are a lot lower here.

My long term goal is to get back out to the country. Right now my career is in the city. There is better money to be made in the city and far more options for moving about inside my career. The city also offers a better lifestyle for the way I live at this time.
I've been thinking about just maintaining my renter status for a few more years. Looking ahead towards retirement I'm considering looking into nursing inside the prison system. It'll afford me a retirement benefit package that is hard to come by in my field. If I go that route I can move to a smaller community where housing is cheaper. By then I may be ready to move away from the easy access and convenience that living in the city affords.

I've only been off the title papers for 8 months or so. I'm a nurse but not a vet or fire fighter or anything of the such. My credit is very good. 780+ last time I checked.
Right now I'm just trying to plan my next move. I'm questioning if I want to get into another mortgage or not. Renting has its pluses. When the roof leaks and the furnace goes its someone else's money fixing it.
It's just been a big change of lifestyles. I went from 2300 square feet, 4 bed, 2bath. With a garage (my woodshop) and carport, and a well landscaped yard that I broke my back for... To a 750 square foot, 2 bed, 1 bath apartment. No place for my tools.
I'm still adjusting to my new life. Getting a little more square footage and a shop again will make me feel like I haven't lost so much ground.

Sorry to highjack the thread.

Hijacking ok with me. I got some outside prospective like I was looking for. So hi jack away.