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biondanonima_gw

Gut reno vs. tear down - opinions, please

biondanonima
10 years ago

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!

Comments (2)

  • columbusguy1
    10 years ago

    Several things come to mind here:
    1. It is going to be a rental/vacation home--it doesn't have to be perfect for a permanent home like your main house--you aren't going to be living there a lot, so why gut it to fit your likes when it isn't necessary;
    2. Being wheel-chair accessible is a good thing, it gives a more open feel and doesn't diminish the pool of potential renters as normal doors would;
    3. You can always put in larger windows without tearing down or gutting the place--much cheaper for this type of property;
    4. The cost to repair the foundation is far less than either of your options mentioned, and won't interfere with getting tenants quickly to offset the purchase and repair price;
    5. Tearing down or gutting will open you up to all sorts of restrictions due to zoning and other factors which may be currently grandfathered in--you might not even be able to build what you want if you do tear down what exists;
    6. Lastly, it's a rental--I can't stress that enough! The whole point of those is to make money, and the sooner the better, not to obligate yourself to even more debt which could take decades to pay off.

    If this was your main home, it would be a different matter...but for your stated intent, do what is needed to make it livable and let it be what it is, a place to be used a few weeks out of the year by you, the rest of the time a source of income.

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    Joseph Corlett, LLC
    10 years ago

    I immediately thought of #5 above when I read the title of this thread. This should be your first consideration.