The title says it all - we're thinking of buying a mess! We are looking at a four-season house at a lake about 5 hours' drive from our home, as a possible vacation home/rental property. We love the area and are familiar with the rental market, and we feel quite confident that we would be able to find renters in the high season without too much trouble.

However, the house itself is a problem. It was built in the 70s and hasn't really been updated since, although it does have newer kitchen appliances and bathrooms, plus a new water heater/softener, etc. A new metal roof with a 50 year warranty was put on about 5 years ago.

That is where the positives end. The first floor would be livable with some cosmetic upgrades, but the layout is awkward. The house was constructed to be wheelchair accessible, so the doorways and closets are all extra-wide. The windows are tiny and placed too high. Etc. However, the larger issue is the "finished" basement - it isn't finished anymore. The walls are mostly down to the studs, and the kitchenette and bath down there would need to be replaced. It's also not a real basement - the house is sort of built into the side of a ravine, so the basement level is underground on the front side but opens into the backyard in the back. Part of the underground foundation wall has water damage, which has been estimated between 10-20K to repair/replace.

So, given all of these negatives, what would you do in our shoes? We had discussed renovating, but now that we know how much the wall fix is going to cost, it seems that a complete tear-down might be more cost-effective in the long run, and would allow us to build the house we really want.

Thoughts? How much would a complete tear-down cost vs. leaving the foundation in place (if that's even possible given the damage)? Also, is there any way to salvage those newer bits (appliances, water heater, etc.) to use in the new place?

Thanks in advance for your advice!