the hovel i want to call home

[bibliophile birds]

on the back side of our farm is a nice little "farmlette" that i've had my eye on basically my whole life. about 50 acres, well off the main road, a nice mix of forest and field, and beautifully private (it's cut off from the rest of the farm by about 2 miles of thick forest). we own the land but it's basically been ignored for the past 40 years. we cut hay there but that's it.

there are two old houses that have been abandoned that whole time. the front house has been severely vandalized by hooligans but it seems to be structurally sound, thanks to a generous crawl space underneath and a tin roof. my best guess would be that it's somewhere between 700 and 1000 sq ft (big range, but i'm crap at eyeballing these things).

the other one is a tad larger and unvandalized, but that is because it's completely overrun by ivy and seems to be impossible to get into. i think it might be a tear-down. there is also a totally solid barn (thank god for metal sheeting) that we currently store hay in but i think might have been a milking barn way back when. plus 5 outbuildings in various stages of disrepair and full of junk.

in short, it's paradise!

i went over there today to do a bit of poking around and assessing the possibilities. i'd never even been inside the houses so i didn't know what state they were in. but i think the front house had AMAZING potential. all of the drywall would have to come out. the floors are hard to get a look at through all the debris but they look to be linoleum covered hardwood. the floors seemed totally solid, not even a creak, except for the side room that looks to have been a later addition to the house. it's the only part in pretty bad shape. and i'm sure the whole house would need to be rewired and possibly replumbed. probably wouldn't hurt to have a new roof but the old one seems to still be doing it's job nicely. new windows too.

so, factoring in that i/family members can do all the drywall work, roofing if it needs it, putting in windows, fixing odds and ends, and that i have friends/family who do construction, electrical, and plumbing... i'm thinking i could possibly make this place a beautiful house for around $20,000.

am i insane? naive? i've helped on several remodels, but never one that was this far gone (although my sister's house was close). anyone have experience or just a better eye for costs?

here are the picture's. please ignore the graffiti. if you don't want to see foul language, please don't look. (i HATE trespassing hooligans!)
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2568300&id=9414598&l=7493d6872b

 

[curly_kate]

It does look very cool! Before you do ANYTHING, tho, have someone in the know (contractor, appraiser, etc) take a look at it to give you a real, honest assessment of what it would take. DH bought our house 5 years ago with fantastic ideas of fixing it up, and the problem is, it honestly won't be worth it. He didn't have a real appraiser look it over, just a buddy of his. Now we've discovered that it's highly unlikely that we'll ever get out of it what we put in.

Not saying you shouldn't do it, because I'm sure it would look awesome fixed up. Just be sure you have a pro check it out before you make any moves.

JMHO. Good luck!

 

[bibliophile birds]

i'm definitely going to have my uncle, who is a contractor, come look at it and then, if he thinks it's worth it, hire an actual inspector. i def don't want to spend the time/money and get nothing out of it (especially since i can't sell it off...).

i'm trying to keep my hopes in check and my expectations low, but that is HARD!

 

[elijahboy]

i see a PERFECT COTTAGE in the future.

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

"swoons"!
Wow, that is awesome!
Yes, have a pro check the foundation and roof for sure.

 

[FarmerChick]

I don't think $20K will fix that house. It is in rough shape seriously.

Absolutely get info on structure, roof, etc. Before you sink one penny into that home you truly should find out what a real contractor will ballpark that remodel.

Could you build a very small home on the property with a floorplan for paths for additions in the future? You have a nice small new home, possible additions for later if needed etc?

 

[Wannabefree]

I think you have a very reasonable outlook. It looks pretty structurally sound, but man what a wreck those trespassers made of it!! The foundation will be the biggest worry as you can't see it all that well, but if your uncle comes and looks at it and gives the thumbs up...I wouldn't worry too awful much. It looks really fixable! I do hope however that the $20k is a flexible number...it could take more than that depending on materials and if you can find some good deals or not. I'd be CListing like mad for materials! That place has SO MUCH potential! Hope it's a GO!

 

[Bubblingbrooks]

If the structure checks out ok, you can utilize your local habitat recycle place (if you have one) for materials.

 

[Wannabefree]

If the structure checks out ok, you can utilize your local habitat recycle place (if you have one) for materials.

another fine idea for reducing cost of the remod! Good one BB!

 

[adoptedbyachicken]

I have a couple concerns, the tree being so overgrown so near the foundation, the root damage that could be there, and the state of the weight bearing walls, headers and beams in terms of dry rot or just rot. It's really hard to tell from the pictures but it seems to me to be sagging or shifted a bit and those made me think of these concerns.

For sure I would have it checked out, wow what potential is has if it can be fixed up, but it will be quite a restoration to undertake.

To add to what the others suggested I would look into local laws regarding building codes and inspections and standards you would have to meet before I sunk any money into it. If you have to make everything up to code it might not be doable, or financially sound to do so. Sometimes you only have to do parts up to new code and that might be OK, depending on the project.