Join us for our next LIVE show on Tuesday at 5pm EST. We're going to do a LIVE call in show to help you out with your renovations. Tune in to get my phone number. Cheers
Always enjoy learning from you. And I recommend your channel anytime I see a person doing something that you had a video on: and it doesn't look as good. Shivering black bell thumbs 👍🏻.
My grandpa died and left us some land and a money pit from 1920s. The local crackheads tore out all of the wiring and completely and smashed the drywall to get to it, a giant tree branch fell and caved in the roof above one of the rooms, and the HVAC installer completely cut a giant chunk out of two of the bathroom joists so the floor was collapsing. It's been 2 years of work, but we've fixed the roof, tore out all of the drywall and insulation, replaced and repaired what floor joists we needed to, and just finished putting in new subfloors. We've learned everything we did from your channel, and even though we've still got a long way to go, we're slowly getting there!
My favorite fixer upper is a house which is MOSTLY done by the previous owner, but something bigger is missing. In my neighborhood, there are big bidding wars on houses, which has everything done. But once just 1 thing is missing (like nice kitchen), buyers are turning away. Fix that 1 thing, and you have profit. But if you buy a house where everything is “kind of okay”, that means you need to fix “kind of” everything.
Your channel helped me greatly to make my "money pit" a fixer upper. The key was committing and jumping into it. I knew if it was going to work, I had to replace entire systems, not just the appliances and walls. So I studied your channel, learned what the requirements would be to replace the plumbing, electric, and a few structural fixes and got to it. Currently putting finishing trim on and getting ready to move in may 31st. Thank you
would suggest a middle age women not buy a 99,000 house that needs a roof ahvac and up/renovations? I not doing it my self. i hire someone but nothing needs to be done immediately...oh yeajh the floors uneven and 1942 house has large lot on side i need to get bamboo cleared.. but may place house there or just open up the property
@9:03 This is very true. I almost bought a real lemon because the home inspector (who was recommended by our realtor) wrote "the roof has at least 5 years of life as per the word of the home owner." The type of loan we were getting required the roof to be in good shape so he wrote this bs to skirt around the regulation. After reading this I complained and learned he didnt inspect the roof because he doesnt have insurance for that. We paid extra to get an actual professional to inspect it and he said that it was already failing and would cost $15k-30k to fix. The homeowners refused to work with us so we walked. Always read the full inspection front to back and dont be afraid to get a 2nd opinion. I lost $1000 on inspections but was saved from financial ruin.
My house is from 1962. Luckily it's been well taken care of for the most part. Copper and cast iron pipe, grounded copper electric, updated propane heating in 2012. It had a 60a panel when we moved in, we upgraded to a Eaton 200a panel. And we did some work on the stove top/oven situation. So far it's been great though.
Never caught a video 6s after it’s been posted before… so wanted to say thanks for all the help Jeff! You’ve been such an insanely huge help to me over the years!
I've inherited my mother's 200 year old house. After many upgrades, there are still issues as described in this video especially the "character" of slanting stairs and wonky floors. I plan on trying to fix things so that this house stands at least another 50 years, it needs to out live me.
Hey Jeff, I bought a 1953 fixer upper that was owned by a crazy cat lady. The joists are 2x8 but I've been told by multiple people that the wood they used back in the 50s was much stronger than the wood that's used now (more fibers or something). Is that true? The subfloor is also 45 degree angled tongue and groove wood planks which is super strong. Despite the age of the house, there's very little deflection in its flooring system. You're right about the electric in these homes, absolute nightmare. Nothing is grounded, wires are super old, doubled-up wires under outlet terminals, etc. That's the one thing about this house that keeps me up at night.
Generally, yes, the switch from old growth to farmed timber happened at the end of the post-war boom. Importantly, this change happened over decades and at different times in different places. For a 1953 house, you probably have good old wood. You can try counting rings to get a general idea. One thing to note is that old growth was highly variable, some was way better than we could ever hope for today, but could still end up similar to modern wood if you're unlucky. For all that modern plantation lumber is lower quality, it is at least very consistent in that quality, so you don't need these judgement calls.
Same. My dad did lots of stuff around the house, but he didn’t have the patience to teach me or let me figure things out for myself. So now I’m a new homeowner and feel like I’m starting from zero.
Great Jeff. Got a 74 in NZ and just as described, found a heap of stuff I didnt know about behind the 20 year old. shrubs. Entertaining vid that hits the nail on the head. Cheers
Such an awesome channel just purchased another rental project that was built in 79 and man do I got my work cut out for me with this one, but I know with enough Pizza and Beer for the fellas and a few cashed in favors it'll be fixed up in no time. Thanks for all the awesome content you have been a big help
OMG my house was built in the late 50's. Its been renovated some but its still old but has good bones. I'd like to keep it in great shape. Thank Jeff for all your advice!
My 1940 house was basically in original condition but after sinking 25k (discounted by the seller) into it to rewire and replumb it so it didn't flood or burn down it has all been gravy. It being in original condition means there were no structural issues from taking out walls they shouldn't have and we caught all the plumbing issues BEFORE they exploded and rotted things out. When we do the basement, we will add joist hangers to the ceiling to help support the nails holding up the joists upstairs, do some waterproofing of the poured foundation, and replace the main cast iron drain under the slab and we'll be ready for another 200 years.
Bought a house for $29,650 last year, including closing costs. Been working on it for about 8 months now. Fixed foundation and structural issues. Removed over 13,000 pounds of plaster from the interior. Down to the studs now. Doing electrical now. Installing windows. Next step will be finish the interior and a simple kitchen. Upgrade and fix existing bathrooms. Roof is about 20 years old, will probably pay to have it replaced next year. It will be a good place once it's done.
Purchased a house from 1890 in New England area about 2 years ago at the height of the market craziness. No one wanted this house cause it needed work and was last updated in 1967. But it is in a desirable area. When we bought it, the electrical panel was just updated and roof was just done. I knew it needed work and some structural work . Your comment about old house sagging and held together by bending nails. So true 😅. I’ve since handled those issues, nice having a buddy with a dad who’s is an architect,with lvls and joist hangers and it’s coming together well. Luckily many of the dangerous materials had already been dealt with again a reason I purchased the house nobody else wanted for a great price. I use your videos for advice especially for soundproofing. Good stuff!
I’m a contractor in NC, and this is very solid advice. I always tell the investors I know to let me just at least drive by a house before they buy it and I can almost tell immediately if it’s a yes or no
I live in the N C the house 1942 , siding has puffy foam where it cracking... ( there needs to be new siding) roof will need to be replaced... floor is very uneven for the most part... and needs updating.... what would you say..oh yeah havac is huge old but functioning will need to be a split unit in about 2 years... what your thoughts? one more thing bricks are covered with motar I suspect to help broken bricks to look better? rest of house around it looks solid no sinking apparent. house 96,000
Great video. I work with a contractor that renovates and sells properties, my job is mechanical and plumbing. We just completed a home that was built in late 1950’s. Everything was replaced, electrical, plumbing, well water pump, mechanical HVAC system. Windows, roof and a blow of the garage. He paid a 174k and sold it for $400k the home is in a suburb of north east Ohio. I don’t know what his budget was but I would suspect around 100 to 150k went into the renovation. Long story short, you’re dead on about age and location, fortunately this home was in a desirable area. Doing your homework about the location and ROI is vital.
I bought the "dog" on my street, it was kinda right on the edge of going too far. but I bought it, $75k cash (listed at $90k) comparabe homes in the area are $130k+ + ) I've psent $20 on upgrades and have about $20k more to go. thats just materials,,, all my labour except the 200 amp new breaker box. I am basically about half done and my house is now assessed at $165k and slowly becoming the nicest house on the block. I am 2 yrs in now, going slow cz of heart surgery, but the house is breathing new life in Edmundston , NB. A lot due in part to your Renovision videos. Thank you
My wife and I spent over a year looking for a house (we live in Vancouver so there was no knocking money off for anything because there was 20 other offers waiting that weren't doing that). There was so many places we saw where some flipper had put lipstick on a pig but so many people were only looking at the shiny fixtures and flooring they didn't realize they were buying garbage. We finally ended up getting a great deal on a 1975 home that had good bones and had been well taken care of (until the owners kid moved in 5 years ago and did nothing). It looks dated but fine on the inside but had zero curb appeal so no one gave it a second look. Just with putting in a new driveway and painting the exterior we could have easily sold it for $200k more than we paid 6 months ago. We don't plan on selling soon so we've done way more than that but 2 relatively simple things took it from the worst house on the street to one of if not the nicest looking.
Not just the fixer upper flips, but even brand new houses are like that. One was built right next door, after knocking down the old house there. What is visible, and marketable are brand names, like siding, and windows (Hardy, Pelle). But everything else (insulation, structure) are the cheapest possible.
Another important thing to remember is that if you don't like the floor plan of a house when looking at it, chances are anybody that looks at it when you go to sell it won't like it either. So unless you're willing to knock out walls, reinforce load bearing walls and relocate. Plumbing, electrical and HVAC and the rest required with fixing floor plans be wary of an ugly floor plan
@@128file true, but improving the curb appeal with some new landscaping and maybe new paint and front siding is much easier than redoing an entire floor plan. But you are right, an ugly house without changing it is still an ugly house
@@128file completely different scenario. Bones vs Cosmetic. You can make any "ugly" house look good. When you have bad bones, you're better off demolishing than polishing.
I've spent the last month looking at homes. There were several that had floor plans that made the rooms small despite the overall large square footage.
My house is most likely a money pit, but it came with 9 acres of blissful private land and is in an area where homes do not come up for sale very often.
agree with the overall message here. But assigning an accurate value to a house or building, is one of the most complex topics in real estate. sometimes you just have to take a shot at something and learn from the experience.
Just bought a very solid 1920 house! Full dry basement. We know going in we were going to gut all the lathe and plaster, did not expect to find Knob & Tube wiring as it appeared all up dated. Not the first bit of insulation in the walls! Not planning a flip, just a nice little bungalow with no mortgage!
Unsolicited advice - buy a hammer drill with spade bit to remove plaster. Shovel it all into 5 gallon buckets. Call rolloff company to see if they have a flat-rate dumpster for concrete debris. Put the plaster in this. Have fun! I’m on my fourth full gutted bungalow. Once it’s gutted… it’s easy to update everything!!
enjoy the project Scott. and don't be afraid to open up the floor plan. once you remove the plaster and lathe it is very easy to make major changes since you are already committed to upgrading the wiring.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY I wish I could share pictures here of what we have already opened up! Left side of house is open from front door to back wall. Makes such a huge difference!
I just got a 1886 house, that was redid and extended in 1977 and then in 2005 offices where added and electricity + HVAC was added. I will need to redo some the stone work. I got a nice deal. But it's a fixer upper. Keeping it, but so much variety of issues lol ( in Quebec)
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY indeed. I have worked construction in my younger days. 1/2 my family are master electricians. And for 15 years I was a handyman ( eventually supervisor) for largest buildings in Montreal... And I just took 6 months off ( made sure to set money aside to stay home and fix as much as I can ). Buying a house is not just the house cost, there's lot of side pricew
I'm a first time home buyer and bought a house that needs fixing up AND still towards the top of my budget lol. Where I live, it's very expensive. Learning a lot from your channel though.
I’m looking at a property that’s old enough & ugly enough that people probably think it’s been neglected for way too long but going through tons of records and older versions on Google maps I can see that it was maintained until relatively recently. Hope is to get it cheap and to not have a money pit. But honestly in today’s market; a full rebuild over a couple of projects as my partner and I get older still makes sense to me.
Late to the party on comments, but if you're looking into the US Gulf Coast, particularly within 100 miles of the coast in Texas, I would add onto this advice and tell you to look at homes only after the mid-80s if they are on concrete foundations(as opposed to pier-and-beam). The reason I say this is because it didn't become commonplace for new-builds down here in areas like the Houston Metro to use post-tension slab foundations until this period. You can usually tell if a house has a post-tension foundation if you can either see the ends of rebar on the exposed sides of the foundation(especially near the front or down-grade of the house), or little patches that are roughly equidistant of each other. If you do see little rusty ends of rebar, you should be good, but as soon as you buy the house I would hire a foundation contractor or mason to clean the ends of rust, and patch over them to prevent water intrusion and rust from further spreading.
1958 house here. Unreinforced basement walls and clay soil, not a good combination. The soil expands and bows the basement walls in. Not enough so you can see, except for the horizontal cracks but still a serious foundation issue. The seller (original owner) told me he knew it was going to be a problem and tried to get a better build, but the unions refused to do it. So he settled for what he could get. It cost him $27K to fix the basement walls when he sold the house to me. If you can't inspect the basement walls or foundation for any reason, walk away or assume the worst.
I lucked out on a 1968 Alabama home. $74k, 3bdr, 2ba brick ranch on slab on .66ac. Recent roof replacement; Windows already replaced with double paned vinyl windows. Recent HVAC system. Blown in insulation in the attic fairly recent. Nice neighborhood. Curbed, paved streets. 2019 is when I bought it. Convenient and clean little city. Honestly I don't think I could have done better. Seller paid to replace the fuse box with a breaker box. I put seamless gutters all the way around, in 2019 that cost $1900. Since then I've had electricians all over it, they said all the wiring is Romex. I had to replace one big electrical wire which was the old braided kind going to the range. I had electricians replace the exterior service panel. I replaced the water heater and beyond that have just had fun with preference items. I had some trees cut down. It's a pretty little place. Electricians put in GFIs. I'm a retired veteran not far from a military base where I have base benefits. Honestly I don't think I could have found better on my modest retirement. Bought on the VA home loan (it passed appraisal). Low interest rate. No regrets.
The advice in the last minute is excellent. I have sean to meny shady DIY work, ewerithing need to be guted, and thay just put new bathroom, cheap Laminat and paint ewerithing Whyte. It's criminal how some do it😮
Fascinating how different N America is from the UK. Here, houses from the Victorian period (1850-1900) are amongst the best and safest investments. My grandmother lives in a house from 1620 and it’s still absolutely fine. Sure houses from 1980 and newer are strong and well built mostly, but they’re rarely attractive or valuable.
New England has a ton of houses from that era that are valuable here as well, but the technology to build durable houses with wood didn't exist back then. They are definitely more of the money-pit end of things especially if neglected, but luckily the historic neighborhoods they're usually in are very expensive which allows the budget for restoration.
@@lukeh3020 yeah, not many structural masonry houses here, but townhomes in older urban areas and businesses commonly are. Can't blame the old timers. They found a "new" continent with 10's of thousands of square miles of hundred foot tall trees that they had to cut anyway to make room for houses. May as well use it, especially when there weren't even roads to transport the bricks yet.
Great advice Jeff. That said, there are areas where 90% of the houses are 1890-1925, and anything newer is just ridiculously expensive. Being a DIYer with an old house, i can tell you that it is a lot of serious work, but if the market is hot enough, it still makes sense. If you’re buying a house for $600k and can sell it for 1.2-1.5M… yeah, throwing $200k at it still makes sense.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY I live in one of these areas (DC). House I'm looking at was originally built in 1915, it was updated in the 70s. Needs a lot of work. They want 270k comps in the neighborhood are selling for around 480-510. I was hoping to put 100k into the reno.
We got a fixer upper from 1980. Sounds like we hit the sweet spot. So far weve done mostly cosmetic fixes like drywall, paint, flooring. Also remediated some of electrical, hvac and plumbing. Less than $10k invested but the whole house looks completely different.
You can also search for houses sold to get an idea of an idea of how long comparable house have taken to sell, price reductions and what changes other people made to get it sold. Overviews/ property descriptions are fun to read. You may by extoling the same virtues of your hidden gem with multiple offers in a coveted neighborhood with amazing views.
I'm buying a house that was built in 1952. I didn't notice any part of the roof sagging and the floors were level when I toured it. I'm getting the home inspection done on Friday. I'll probably have to verify the receptacles are grounded and not bootlegged since that is outside of a visual inspection. The roof, HVAC, water heater, and kitchen appliances are fairly new so everything should be good.
Electrical isn't an issue IF it's not knob and tube and has decent sheathing. 100A Breaker is a nice bonus as well however that's a DIY job or reasonable professional job like anything if you handle some of the prep. GFCI receptacles are up to code without ground in US national code and grounds themselves aren't nearly as important as most are lead to believe. They're way more important on 240v applicances with metal chassis, though. By far the biggest issue with old homes is the foundation and sewer line condition and ease of replacement. Anything else can be handled with some time and effort without spending a ton. Ironically, foundations and sewer mains aren't ever considered for most people despite being by far the most devastating.
I bought a house built in 1940 that I plan to renovate that's sorta in between being a money pit and a fixer upper. It has a relatively new water heater and furnace, PEX and PVC all throughout, cinderblock foundation and crawlspace in relatively good condition that was still relatively dry even during a flood, a garage in excellent condition except the bottom plate has severe rot in many places and the roof has reached its lifespan, original hardwood floors in decent shape in the living room, newer windows but some moderate rot behind the siding, no signs of water intrusion coming through the ceiling except one small section at the back of the house where even the roof sheathing has rotted away into nothing but the roof is probably 20 years old or more and sags pretty bad and has no attic access but felt solid to walk on, the small section underneath the roof leak has been sinking into ground for a while, original electrical, original kitchen and what appears to be the original tub directly above the crawlspace with moderate rot in the subfloor
Hey thanks again for all the advice you give .. I do commercial and industrial masonry for a living (up and down east coast) (ME to FL).. please continue preaching VAPOR BARRIERS .. cheers
Remolding a 1920s craftsman house damn I'm like going crazy on how much work and labor went into these dang houses . And the fact I'm changing most of the damn plumbing either myself or having our local plumbers help me 😂 we updated electrical as well add a second AC and changed the furnace . We remodeled the master bathroom and changed all toilets and vanitys through out the hole house 4 bathrooms and changed 2 showers updated everything to pex on the bathroom showers . Working in another bathroom and pulled the toilet to paint and take of base board low and be hold the old brass toilet flange is disappeared 😂 so being to break out the old little stop sign shape tile and it's like a 1 inch thick of cement 😂 got that all ready to go and there I found out the pie coming off the toilet dran had a crack in it 😮 I just keep on shaking my head at this place . But can't get over the house uniqueness and to me craftsmanship idk maybe I'm crazy for loving this headache of a house ❤ 😂 I spend a lot of time or have in the past watching your videos on how to do things and not to get discourage thank you sir for keeping me motivated wish I could share pictures/ videos of our house with you I think you would like it or think we are CRAZY 🤣 take care God bless 🙏
There is a consistent theme in our area of attempted flipping. Houses from the mid 60s to 70 sell for 280k - 320k a few months later go one sale again for 380k - 400k and slowly drop in price to about 340ish. The houses are solid but the interior is very dated so new kitchen (30k) new basement (30k+), new bathrooms (10k+), add in realtor fees …suddenly there is zero profit and nothing but headache.
best plan for earning roi is to buy it as a principle residence. then renovate and hold for 3 years. less in some places. that way you qualify for the no taxes on capital gains. no taxes on profit done 3 times in 10 years will supply most families with an incredible retirement fund.
Warning from a friend who bought a fixer upper partly to “save” on smaller mortgage. Then ended up paying for his supplies etc with even worse loans like cc and other slightly better loans.
My brother's house was around 1980s. He didn't really get an opportunity to inspect in person, but one of the big surprises he had was how all of the drywall was shot. Ceilings were sagging, walls were bouncing. He opted to just screw it all back in, but I think he should have just replaced it all. The concern for him there was in my area (I think everywhere in US?) if you open up a wall, you have to also make sure you bring everything up to code within that wall.
I'm currently trying to buy a house in Perth, Australia. Prices are sky-rocketing, weekly it seems, because the previous generation of tradesmen were kept in school and taught trades weren't good. Whose laughing now. If you are a tradesmen and thinking of moving to Australia do so now. You might have to upgrade your qualifications to Australian rules but you'll still have a good paying job in the meantime.
I'd say if you inherit a house it would make sense to fix it up unless it has serious structural issues. The cheapest decent fixer uppers in my area are going for about $40 grand and all that money saved could be used wisely to fix it up and have a nice house for very little cost all things considered
Bought a 1903 house, that is very close to a money pit. Luckily, we didn't overpay, and it should be a house we live in for 5+ years. It has old timber joists, that we are spending 8k to remove and replace. It is a full basement for the most part. The roof needs replaced, the cistern needs cleaned and possibly replaced, the septic needs replaced, electrical needs a new box with portions needing replaced. All in All, looking like $80-110k in cost, we got the house for 217k, and with current sq ft price in the area, it is a $320k value house if in good condition. We will probably break even when we sell, but we needed the space for our growing family, and we had been looking at houses for 6 months.
Also HOAs. Can be pain with architectural change processes or can be the other way. No HOA or low HOA fees and the neighborhood can be run down with no curb appeal. Or the HOA could have no reserves or a poor capital plan putting you at risk for a unexpected special assessment.
Oh man I needed this like 3 years ago "I'd love a house that needs work, but not a ton of core systems work" ...proceeds to buy a house with core systems work lol
We inherited a house that is a 100 year old 2500 sq ft home on about an acre of land. It's all family lamd that we will eventually inherit a portion of. Our home needs a whole new foundation, has some mold in at least a bathroom, and will probably need to be taken almost back to studs. It appraises on Zillow for $240k and I believe that building costs are around $130/sq ft. Do you believe it is worth it to renovate from what I've described?
Homes in the 1980’s are at risk of having asbestos containing material. It is very common to be found in the joint compound, ceiling texture, vinyl tiles, Lino mastic and other materials. 1990 or earlier should be tested and is required should you have an insurance loss such as a fire or a flood.
Wish I saw this before I bought this house. 1916 the inspector was in cahoots with the agent.... missed mold and a leaking pipe... said no cracks but .....basement needs gutted 14 grand, fixed the pipe issue $1,300 ... loved the old woodwork ect. I think it's gonna be a money pit. People didn't fix things properly. Hopefully it will be ok.
The house we’re buying is a 1984 build. One owner. However I will be inheriting my great grandfather’s (obviously much older) and I want to be able to salvage it but I just don’t know…
If you want a dog pound, come to Macon, GA. Plenty of cheap houses, either ugly or money pit. Not the best return on investment, but not none. Augusta and other Atlanta suburbs too.
Comps are everyting in real estate, Ive seen a lot of people put tons of $$$ and sweat equity trying to make a million dollar house in the middle of a 500k neighborhood. You are somewhat capped by the comps, unfortunately some realize this too late. Homes have a value plateau, where you will get negative RoI.
what's your advice for people who really want a pre 1900s house. I love historical homes and I wouldn't be buying for the purpose of flipping. What thing should I and the inspector really look out for?
Wow, we were ready to move out of our house built in 1987 to a house built in 1960! We thought the materials used back then was better but would upgrade electrical & plumbing. Now, I’m a bit concerned we could be making a mistake.
Can I extend your words for German houses which is build in 1975? I am looking for a house originally built in 1938, the house was modernized and expanded in 1975 and renovated and modernized again in the mid-1990s. They are selling it for the land price only but the house maintains nicely. however, the hitting system needs to upgrade and the floor and roof need isolation.
Great advice! Wish I'd seen this video before buying our house. Still think it turned out to be a good buy, but may have tried to hire my own inspector.
What would be a safe rough budget for repairs and upgrades for a remodel? 10% of home price? 20% of home price? I know it’s dependent upon what needs to be fixed, but just looking for a safe estimate.
that all depends on the scope of work. you can invest up to 50% of the total value and still do well if you do everything. as a diyer you always make money.
Lol, I just love it when JEFF exposes things like “the selling agents blind 🙈 inspector” or, JEFF telling people with pre 1990s finished basements, “everything down there was JUNK the minute you carried it down the steps!”……. TELL EM HOW IT IS EH! I send customers these videos after I inspect , when I’m on my way over to deliver proposal to renovate their catastrophe home! JEFFS my goto “SECOND OPINION CLO$ER HO$ER”😂😂😂thx From Detroit !
Cheers Andrew. I am happy to share my experience to save others headaches. Wisdom in many cases comes from making mistakes and learning from them. Happy to share mine!
If anyone needs an email architect, I have an architecture grad kid who did my house redesign with furniture placement over email.. I had to accurately measure the house for him to begin work. I don’t get buildable plans but I got the perfect floor plan after a lot of back forth and some research on my part and 3D model.
first time homebuyer here...looking at a charming 1947 built on slab with masonry walls 2bedroom. asking price is $675k because of location/HCOL area. i had one contractor come out and he estimated it will be $150k to renovate. that doesn't include any appliances/mechanical (A/C, kitchen appliances, water heater, etc) or furniture. money pit? should i back out?
Moneypit here. They calked, smoothed and painted everything and I saw some of the stuff that was obvious but it had been inspected twice by two different inspectors. This house was a mistake.
Let's be honest here. that type of asbestos and the really low level of it in the mud is not much more dangerous than dust in general. if you wear a mask and get ventilation it is not even worth testing for in my opinion.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIYso are you saying asbestos is not as dangerous as they make it out? We are looking at a property from 1940s. Home needs major renovation (new flooring, new roof, drywall) and afraid of tearing anything down in the home .😅
Hey Jeff, obviously it’s necessary to look up the rules for your property depending on where you want to buy. But how do I do that, look up the “rules”? Each video suggests to look up the rules but with so many rules to look up, where the hell do you begin? I almost don’t want to get into the reno market cause I’m afraid I’ll miss one of these obscure rules that will ruin the whole project for me…
Each city should have a building dept. start there. They would have all the code requirements needed for that city. If you’re outside the city, then check your county office. They should have an office that deals with building codes.
Join us for our next LIVE show on Tuesday at 5pm EST. We're going to do a LIVE call in show to help you out with your renovations. Tune in to get my phone number. Cheers
Always enjoy learning from you. And I recommend your channel anytime I see a person doing something that you had a video on: and it doesn't look as good.
Shivering black bell thumbs 👍🏻.
LOL don't get a mortgage... I don't know many average I come families that can buy a home outright cash
My grandpa died and left us some land and a money pit from 1920s. The local crackheads tore out all of the wiring and completely and smashed the drywall to get to it, a giant tree branch fell and caved in the roof above one of the rooms, and the HVAC installer completely cut a giant chunk out of two of the bathroom joists so the floor was collapsing. It's been 2 years of work, but we've fixed the roof, tore out all of the drywall and insulation, replaced and repaired what floor joists we needed to, and just finished putting in new subfloors. We've learned everything we did from your channel, and even though we've still got a long way to go, we're slowly getting there!
Be sure to list that in the description when you sell!
Detroit?
My favorite fixer upper is a house which is MOSTLY done by the previous owner, but something bigger is missing.
In my neighborhood, there are big bidding wars on houses, which has everything done. But once just 1 thing is missing (like nice kitchen), buyers are turning away. Fix that 1 thing, and you have profit.
But if you buy a house where everything is “kind of okay”, that means you need to fix “kind of” everything.
Your channel helped me greatly to make my "money pit" a fixer upper. The key was committing and jumping into it. I knew if it was going to work, I had to replace entire systems, not just the appliances and walls. So I studied your channel, learned what the requirements would be to replace the plumbing, electric, and a few structural fixes and got to it. Currently putting finishing trim on and getting ready to move in may 31st. Thank you
Awesome! Happy to help
would suggest a middle age women not buy a 99,000 house that needs a roof ahvac and up/renovations? I not doing it my self. i hire someone but nothing needs to be done immediately...oh yeajh the floors uneven and 1942 house has large lot on side i need to get bamboo cleared.. but may place house there or just open up the property
@9:03 This is very true. I almost bought a real lemon because the home inspector (who was recommended by our realtor) wrote "the roof has at least 5 years of life as per the word of the home owner." The type of loan we were getting required the roof to be in good shape so he wrote this bs to skirt around the regulation. After reading this I complained and learned he didnt inspect the roof because he doesnt have insurance for that. We paid extra to get an actual professional to inspect it and he said that it was already failing and would cost $15k-30k to fix. The homeowners refused to work with us so we walked. Always read the full inspection front to back and dont be afraid to get a 2nd opinion. I lost $1000 on inspections but was saved from financial ruin.
I have NO manual skills whatsoever, and I rent an apartment, but I LOVE your videos! I’am always fascinated, watching you: everything seems so easy.
My house is from 1962. Luckily it's been well taken care of for the most part. Copper and cast iron pipe, grounded copper electric, updated propane heating in 2012. It had a 60a panel when we moved in, we upgraded to a Eaton 200a panel. And we did some work on the stove top/oven situation. So far it's been great though.
Never caught a video 6s after it’s been posted before… so wanted to say thanks for all the help Jeff! You’ve been such an insanely huge help to me over the years!
Cheers, happy to help!
I've inherited my mother's 200 year old house. After many upgrades, there are still issues as described in this video especially the "character" of slanting stairs and wonky floors. I plan on trying to fix things so that this house stands at least another 50 years, it needs to out live me.
Hey Jeff, I bought a 1953 fixer upper that was owned by a crazy cat lady. The joists are 2x8 but I've been told by multiple people that the wood they used back in the 50s was much stronger than the wood that's used now (more fibers or something). Is that true? The subfloor is also 45 degree angled tongue and groove wood planks which is super strong. Despite the age of the house, there's very little deflection in its flooring system.
You're right about the electric in these homes, absolute nightmare. Nothing is grounded, wires are super old, doubled-up wires under outlet terminals, etc. That's the one thing about this house that keeps me up at night.
Generally, yes, the switch from old growth to farmed timber happened at the end of the post-war boom. Importantly, this change happened over decades and at different times in different places. For a 1953 house, you probably have good old wood. You can try counting rings to get a general idea.
One thing to note is that old growth was highly variable, some was way better than we could ever hope for today, but could still end up similar to modern wood if you're unlucky.
For all that modern plantation lumber is lower quality, it is at least very consistent in that quality, so you don't need these judgement calls.
I love your videos. Your personality is the best. I never had anyone in my life that could teach me about this stuff. I’m 30
Same. My dad did lots of stuff around the house, but he didn’t have the patience to teach me or let me figure things out for myself. So now I’m a new homeowner and feel like I’m starting from zero.
Great Jeff. Got a 74 in NZ and just as described, found a heap of stuff I didnt know about behind the 20 year old. shrubs. Entertaining vid that hits the nail on the head. Cheers
Cheers to my favorite wine region in the world. Love me some sauvignon blanc
Such an awesome channel just purchased another rental project that was built in 79 and man do I got my work cut out for me with this one, but I know with enough Pizza and Beer for the fellas and a few cashed in favors it'll be fixed up in no time. Thanks for all the awesome content you have been a big help
Happy to help anyone who is willing to put in the work. Cheers!
OMG my house was built in the late 50's. Its been renovated some but its still old but has good bones. I'd like to keep it in great shape. Thank Jeff for all your advice!
'good bones' is a nice way to say 'money pit'
@@knurlgnar24 my first good bones house netted me 362% in 3 years. My second good bones house will make me between 400% and 450% in 4 years.
That is what I am talking about! Cheers
My 1940 house was basically in original condition but after sinking 25k (discounted by the seller) into it to rewire and replumb it so it didn't flood or burn down it has all been gravy. It being in original condition means there were no structural issues from taking out walls they shouldn't have and we caught all the plumbing issues BEFORE they exploded and rotted things out.
When we do the basement, we will add joist hangers to the ceiling to help support the nails holding up the joists upstairs, do some waterproofing of the poured foundation, and replace the main cast iron drain under the slab and we'll be ready for another 200 years.
Bought a house for $29,650 last year, including closing costs. Been working on it for about 8 months now. Fixed foundation and structural issues. Removed over 13,000 pounds of plaster from the interior. Down to the studs now. Doing electrical now. Installing windows. Next step will be finish the interior and a simple kitchen. Upgrade and fix existing bathrooms. Roof is about 20 years old, will probably pay to have it replaced next year. It will be a good place once it's done.
Purchased a house from 1890 in New England area about 2 years ago at the height of the market craziness. No one wanted this house cause it needed work and was last updated in 1967. But it is in a desirable area. When we bought it, the electrical panel was just updated and roof was just done. I knew it needed work and some structural work . Your comment about old house sagging and held together by bending nails. So true 😅. I’ve since handled those issues, nice having a buddy with a dad who’s is an architect,with lvls and joist hangers and it’s coming together well. Luckily many of the dangerous materials had already been dealt with again a reason I purchased the house nobody else wanted for a great price. I use your videos for advice especially for soundproofing. Good stuff!
Well done Josh.
I’m a contractor in NC, and this is very solid advice. I always tell the investors I know to let me just at least drive by a house before they buy it and I can almost tell immediately if it’s a yes or no
Right. some things are just that obvious to a contractor for sure.
Hey, I’m a wholesaler based in NC. I usually get deals all around. Let me know if you’re interested in working together.
Are you located in Charlotte area?
Are you located in the Charlotte area?
I live in the N C the house 1942 , siding has puffy foam where it cracking... ( there needs to be new siding) roof will need to be replaced... floor is very uneven for the most part... and needs updating.... what would you say..oh yeah havac is huge old but functioning will need to be a split unit in about 2 years... what your thoughts? one more thing bricks are covered with motar I suspect to help broken bricks to look better? rest of house around it looks solid no sinking apparent. house 96,000
Great video. I work with a contractor that renovates and sells properties, my job is mechanical and plumbing. We just completed a home that was built in late 1950’s. Everything was replaced, electrical, plumbing, well water pump, mechanical HVAC system. Windows, roof and a blow of the garage. He paid a 174k and sold it for $400k the home is in a suburb of north east Ohio. I don’t know what his budget was but I would suspect around 100 to 150k went into the renovation. Long story short, you’re dead on about age and location, fortunately this home was in a desirable area. Doing your homework about the location and ROI is vital.
I bought the "dog" on my street, it was kinda right on the edge of going too far. but I bought it, $75k cash (listed at $90k) comparabe homes in the area are $130k+ + ) I've psent $20 on upgrades and have about $20k more to go. thats just materials,,, all my labour except the 200 amp new breaker box. I am basically about half done and my house is now assessed at $165k and slowly becoming the nicest house on the block. I am 2 yrs in now, going slow cz of heart surgery, but the house is breathing new life in Edmundston , NB. A lot due in part to your Renovision videos. Thank you
My wife and I spent over a year looking for a house (we live in Vancouver so there was no knocking money off for anything because there was 20 other offers waiting that weren't doing that). There was so many places we saw where some flipper had put lipstick on a pig but so many people were only looking at the shiny fixtures and flooring they didn't realize they were buying garbage. We finally ended up getting a great deal on a 1975 home that had good bones and had been well taken care of (until the owners kid moved in 5 years ago and did nothing). It looks dated but fine on the inside but had zero curb appeal so no one gave it a second look. Just with putting in a new driveway and painting the exterior we could have easily sold it for $200k more than we paid 6 months ago. We don't plan on selling soon so we've done way more than that but 2 relatively simple things took it from the worst house on the street to one of if not the nicest looking.
Not just the fixer upper flips, but even brand new houses are like that.
One was built right next door, after knocking down the old house there.
What is visible, and marketable are brand names, like siding, and windows (Hardy, Pelle). But everything else (insulation, structure) are the cheapest possible.
Another important thing to remember is that if you don't like the floor plan of a house when looking at it, chances are anybody that looks at it when you go to sell it won't like it either. So unless you're willing to knock out walls, reinforce load bearing walls and relocate. Plumbing, electrical and HVAC and the rest required with fixing floor plans be wary of an ugly floor plan
great advice!
Agreed. I feel the same about the front of the home, if it’s an ugly home and you can’t fix the curb appeal your beating a dead horse.
@@128file true, but improving the curb appeal with some new landscaping and maybe new paint and front siding is much easier than redoing an entire floor plan. But you are right, an ugly house without changing it is still an ugly house
@@128file completely different scenario. Bones vs Cosmetic. You can make any "ugly" house look good. When you have bad bones, you're better off demolishing than polishing.
I've spent the last month looking at homes. There were several that had floor plans that made the rooms small despite the overall large square footage.
My house is most likely a money pit, but it came with 9 acres of blissful private land and is in an area where homes do not come up for sale very often.
agree with the overall message here. But assigning an accurate value to a house or building, is one of the most complex topics in real estate. sometimes you just have to take a shot at something and learn from the experience.
Just bought a very solid 1920 house! Full dry basement. We know going in we were going to gut all the lathe and plaster, did not expect to find Knob & Tube wiring as it appeared all up dated. Not the first bit of insulation in the walls! Not planning a flip, just a nice little bungalow with no mortgage!
Unsolicited advice - buy a hammer drill with spade bit to remove plaster. Shovel it all into 5 gallon buckets. Call rolloff company to see if they have a flat-rate dumpster for concrete debris. Put the plaster in this. Have fun! I’m on my fourth full gutted bungalow. Once it’s gutted… it’s easy to update everything!!
@@calvinjohannsen6519 doing pretty much exactly what you have suggested! Dirty dusty work!
enjoy the project Scott. and don't be afraid to open up the floor plan. once you remove the plaster and lathe it is very easy to make major changes since you are already committed to upgrading the wiring.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY I wish I could share pictures here of what we have already opened up! Left side of house is open from front door to back wall. Makes such a huge difference!
I just got a 1886 house, that was redid and extended in 1977 and then in 2005 offices where added and electricity + HVAC was added. I will need to redo some the stone work. I got a nice deal. But it's a fixer upper. Keeping it, but so much variety of issues lol ( in Quebec)
Not the least of which is finding quality help.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY indeed. I have worked construction in my younger days. 1/2 my family are master electricians. And for 15 years I was a handyman ( eventually supervisor) for largest buildings in Montreal... And I just took 6 months off ( made sure to set money aside to stay home and fix as much as I can ). Buying a house is not just the house cost, there's lot of side pricew
I'm a first time home buyer and bought a house that needs fixing up AND still towards the top of my budget lol. Where I live, it's very expensive. Learning a lot from your channel though.
I’m looking at a property that’s old enough & ugly enough that people probably think it’s been neglected for way too long but going through tons of records and older versions on Google maps I can see that it was maintained until relatively recently. Hope is to get it cheap and to not have a money pit. But honestly in today’s market; a full rebuild over a couple of projects as my partner and I get older still makes sense to me.
Max Nice work your under Appreciated. You make Jeff look like a super star. the man behind the scenes.
LOL. Caleb you are awesome.
Late to the party on comments, but if you're looking into the US Gulf Coast, particularly within 100 miles of the coast in Texas, I would add onto this advice and tell you to look at homes only after the mid-80s if they are on concrete foundations(as opposed to pier-and-beam).
The reason I say this is because it didn't become commonplace for new-builds down here in areas like the Houston Metro to use post-tension slab foundations until this period. You can usually tell if a house has a post-tension foundation if you can either see the ends of rebar on the exposed sides of the foundation(especially near the front or down-grade of the house), or little patches that are roughly equidistant of each other.
If you do see little rusty ends of rebar, you should be good, but as soon as you buy the house I would hire a foundation contractor or mason to clean the ends of rust, and patch over them to prevent water intrusion and rust from further spreading.
Good stuff Jeff! I've never thought of looking at houses this way, nor have I read this or heard this anywhere. Thank you!
This is great advice for even a non-flipper. Thanks!
Happy to help, cheers!
1958 house here. Unreinforced basement walls and clay soil, not a good combination. The soil expands and bows the basement walls in. Not enough so you can see, except for the horizontal cracks but still a serious foundation issue. The seller (original owner) told me he knew it was going to be a problem and tried to get a better build, but the unions refused to do it. So he settled for what he could get. It cost him $27K to fix the basement walls when he sold the house to me.
If you can't inspect the basement walls or foundation for any reason, walk away or assume the worst.
I lucked out on a 1968 Alabama home. $74k, 3bdr, 2ba brick ranch on slab on .66ac. Recent roof replacement; Windows already replaced with double paned vinyl windows. Recent HVAC system. Blown in insulation in the attic fairly recent. Nice neighborhood. Curbed, paved streets. 2019 is when I bought it. Convenient and clean little city. Honestly I don't think I could have done better. Seller paid to replace the fuse box with a breaker box. I put seamless gutters all the way around, in 2019 that cost $1900.
Since then I've had electricians all over it, they said all the wiring is Romex. I had to replace one big electrical wire which was the old braided kind going to the range. I had electricians replace the exterior service panel. I replaced the water heater and beyond that have just had fun with preference items. I had some trees cut down. It's a pretty little place.
Electricians put in GFIs.
I'm a retired veteran not far from a military base where I have base benefits.
Honestly I don't think I could have found better on my modest retirement. Bought on the VA home loan (it passed appraisal). Low interest rate. No regrets.
The advice in the last minute is excellent.
I have sean to meny shady DIY work, ewerithing need to be guted, and thay just put new bathroom, cheap Laminat and paint ewerithing Whyte. It's criminal how some do it😮
Fascinating how different N America is from the UK. Here, houses from the Victorian period (1850-1900) are amongst the best and safest investments. My grandmother lives in a house from 1620 and it’s still absolutely fine. Sure houses from 1980 and newer are strong and well built mostly, but they’re rarely attractive or valuable.
New England has a ton of houses from that era that are valuable here as well, but the technology to build durable houses with wood didn't exist back then. They are definitely more of the money-pit end of things especially if neglected, but luckily the historic neighborhoods they're usually in are very expensive which allows the budget for restoration.
@@zachicusmaximus5551 I guess that's the difference between timber and masonry. Very unusual to find timber frames in the UK.
@@lukeh3020 yeah, not many structural masonry houses here, but townhomes in older urban areas and businesses commonly are. Can't blame the old timers. They found a "new" continent with 10's of thousands of square miles of hundred foot tall trees that they had to cut anyway to make room for houses. May as well use it, especially when there weren't even roads to transport the bricks yet.
Well done. Covered the majority of factors in only 13 minutes. wow!
Cheers!
Great advice Jeff. That said, there are areas where 90% of the houses are 1890-1925, and anything newer is just ridiculously expensive. Being a DIYer with an old house, i can tell you that it is a lot of serious work, but if the market is hot enough, it still makes sense. If you’re buying a house for $600k and can sell it for 1.2-1.5M… yeah, throwing $200k at it still makes sense.
it is all about the local real estate market. the general national trend is never something to give much weight to.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIY I live in one of these areas (DC). House I'm looking at was originally built in 1915, it was updated in the 70s. Needs a lot of work. They want 270k comps in the neighborhood are selling for around 480-510. I was hoping to put 100k into the reno.
We got a fixer upper from 1980. Sounds like we hit the sweet spot. So far weve done mostly cosmetic fixes like drywall, paint, flooring. Also remediated some of electrical, hvac and plumbing. Less than $10k invested but the whole house looks completely different.
well done!
Awesome insight in this video. This helped me out a ton!
You can also search for houses sold to get an idea of an idea of how long comparable house have taken to sell, price reductions and what changes other people made to get it sold. Overviews/ property descriptions are fun to read. You may by extoling the same virtues of your hidden gem with multiple offers in a coveted neighborhood with amazing views.
I'm buying a house that was built in 1952. I didn't notice any part of the roof sagging and the floors were level when I toured it. I'm getting the home inspection done on Friday. I'll probably have to verify the receptacles are grounded and not bootlegged since that is outside of a visual inspection. The roof, HVAC, water heater, and kitchen appliances are fairly new so everything should be good.
Electrical isn't an issue IF it's not knob and tube and has decent sheathing. 100A Breaker is a nice bonus as well however that's a DIY job or reasonable professional job like anything if you handle some of the prep. GFCI receptacles are up to code without ground in US national code and grounds themselves aren't nearly as important as most are lead to believe. They're way more important on 240v applicances with metal chassis, though.
By far the biggest issue with old homes is the foundation and sewer line condition and ease of replacement. Anything else can be handled with some time and effort without spending a ton. Ironically, foundations and sewer mains aren't ever considered for most people despite being by far the most devastating.
I bought a house built in 1940 that I plan to renovate that's sorta in between being a money pit and a fixer upper. It has a relatively new water heater and furnace, PEX and PVC all throughout, cinderblock foundation and crawlspace in relatively good condition that was still relatively dry even during a flood, a garage in excellent condition except the bottom plate has severe rot in many places and the roof has reached its lifespan, original hardwood floors in decent shape in the living room, newer windows but some moderate rot behind the siding, no signs of water intrusion coming through the ceiling except one small section at the back of the house where even the roof sheathing has rotted away into nothing but the roof is probably 20 years old or more and sags pretty bad and has no attic access but felt solid to walk on, the small section underneath the roof leak has been sinking into ground for a while, original electrical, original kitchen and what appears to be the original tub directly above the crawlspace with moderate rot in the subfloor
Hey thanks again for all the advice you give .. I do commercial and industrial masonry for a living (up and down east coast) (ME to FL).. please continue preaching VAPOR BARRIERS .. cheers
Remolding a 1920s craftsman house damn I'm like going crazy on how much work and labor went into these dang houses . And the fact I'm changing most of the damn plumbing either myself or having our local plumbers help me 😂 we updated electrical as well add a second AC and changed the furnace . We remodeled the master bathroom and changed all toilets and vanitys through out the hole house 4 bathrooms and changed 2 showers updated everything to pex on the bathroom showers . Working in another bathroom and pulled the toilet to paint and take of base board low and be hold the old brass toilet flange is disappeared 😂 so being to break out the old little stop sign shape tile and it's like a 1 inch thick of cement 😂 got that all ready to go and there I found out the pie coming off the toilet dran had a crack in it 😮 I just keep on shaking my head at this place . But can't get over the house uniqueness and to me craftsmanship idk maybe I'm crazy for loving this headache of a house ❤ 😂 I spend a lot of time or have in the past watching your videos on how to do things and not to get discourage thank you sir for keeping me motivated wish I could share pictures/ videos of our house with you I think you would like it or think we are CRAZY 🤣 take care God bless 🙏
I live nowhere near the ballpark you are addressing, but that doesn't mean I can't learn a ton just by listening!
Yo! Jeff you crushed it with this video dude! Best advice video I have seen that I can remember. We’ll done👍
Bigger pockets makes you pay for this kind of information.
Just doing my best to help folks out.
My house was built in 43, has knob & tube, and no insulation. Good times!
Wisconsin, I'm over there every year with in-laws. Hy from Michigan
There is a consistent theme in our area of attempted flipping. Houses from the mid 60s to 70 sell for 280k - 320k a few months later go one sale again for 380k - 400k and slowly drop in price to about 340ish. The houses are solid but the interior is very dated so new kitchen (30k) new basement (30k+), new bathrooms (10k+), add in realtor fees …suddenly there is zero profit and nothing but headache.
best plan for earning roi is to buy it as a principle residence. then renovate and hold for 3 years. less in some places. that way you qualify for the no taxes on capital gains. no taxes on profit done 3 times in 10 years will supply most families with an incredible retirement fund.
Warning from a friend who bought a fixer upper partly to “save” on smaller mortgage. Then ended up paying for his supplies etc with even worse loans like cc and other slightly better loans.
Great job ! As usual ! Thank you !
Everyplace here in southeastern iowa is a money pit. But man I wish I could find some of the houses you’re talking about for renovations.
I feel like most people that recently bought a house are just very thankful right now to have a roof over their head.
My brother's house was around 1980s. He didn't really get an opportunity to inspect in person, but one of the big surprises he had was how all of the drywall was shot. Ceilings were sagging, walls were bouncing. He opted to just screw it all back in, but I think he should have just replaced it all. The concern for him there was in my area (I think everywhere in US?) if you open up a wall, you have to also make sure you bring everything up to code within that wall.
that is a very real issue in some areas. Always check with local authorities about the rules for your city. Cheers!
I'm currently trying to buy a house in Perth, Australia. Prices are sky-rocketing, weekly it seems, because the previous generation of tradesmen were kept in school and taught trades weren't good. Whose laughing now. If you are a tradesmen and thinking of moving to Australia do so now. You might have to upgrade your qualifications to Australian rules but you'll still have a good paying job in the meantime.
13 mins of good solid advice.
Cheers Mark!
Learnt more in those 13mins than hrs from other so called experts. Always ask somebody who does the job for a living.
I'd say if you inherit a house it would make sense to fix it up unless it has serious structural issues. The cheapest decent fixer uppers in my area are going for about $40 grand and all that money saved could be used wisely to fix it up and have a nice house for very little cost all things considered
Crazy fixer upper here are going for 15000
Bought a 1903 house, that is very close to a money pit. Luckily, we didn't overpay, and it should be a house we live in for 5+ years. It has old timber joists, that we are spending 8k to remove and replace. It is a full basement for the most part. The roof needs replaced, the cistern needs cleaned and possibly replaced, the septic needs replaced, electrical needs a new box with portions needing replaced. All in All, looking like $80-110k in cost, we got the house for 217k, and with current sq ft price in the area, it is a $320k value house if in good condition. We will probably break even when we sell, but we needed the space for our growing family, and we had been looking at houses for 6 months.
can someone please explain what it means that the staircase sags becasue the foundation walls are stronger than the interior walls ? @6:04
Also HOAs. Can be pain with architectural change processes or can be the other way. No HOA or low HOA fees and the neighborhood can be run down with no curb appeal. Or the HOA could have no reserves or a poor capital plan putting you at risk for a unexpected special assessment.
Whew Jeff!, solid advice on this vid, thank you.
Oh man I needed this like 3 years ago
"I'd love a house that needs work, but not a ton of core systems work"
...proceeds to buy a house with core systems work lol
Just replaced a 23 year old water heater! Worked like a champ!
Noice!
PLEASE
PLEASE
PRETTY PLEASE
Do a video on the dog/cat smell remediation!
PLEASE
PLEASE
PRETTY PLEASE
Really wish I would have gotten this advice a year ago before I bought a money pit.
What happened???
9:03 exactly
We inherited a house that is a 100 year old 2500 sq ft home on about an acre of land. It's all family lamd that we will eventually inherit a portion of. Our home needs a whole new foundation, has some mold in at least a bathroom, and will probably need to be taken almost back to studs. It appraises on Zillow for $240k and I believe that building costs are around $130/sq ft. Do you believe it is worth it to renovate from what I've described?
Homes in the 1980’s are at risk of having asbestos containing material. It is very common to be found in the joint compound, ceiling texture, vinyl tiles, Lino mastic and other materials. 1990 or earlier should be tested and is required should you have an insurance loss such as a fire or a flood.
Wish I saw this before I bought this house. 1916 the inspector was in cahoots with the agent.... missed mold and a leaking pipe... said no cracks but .....basement needs gutted 14 grand, fixed the pipe issue $1,300 ... loved the old woodwork ect. I think it's gonna be a money pit. People didn't fix things properly. Hopefully it will be ok.
The house we’re buying is a 1984 build. One owner. However I will be inheriting my great grandfather’s (obviously much older) and I want to be able to salvage it but I just don’t know…
If you want a dog pound, come to Macon, GA. Plenty of cheap houses, either ugly or money pit. Not the best return on investment, but not none. Augusta and other Atlanta suburbs too.
Comps are everyting in real estate, Ive seen a lot of people put tons of $$$ and sweat equity trying to make a million dollar house in the middle of a 500k neighborhood. You are somewhat capped by the comps, unfortunately some realize this too late.
Homes have a value plateau, where you will get negative RoI.
very true!
You're the only guy online who mentions the inspector/ realest scam.
Um…we still have to run 2 dedicated circuits to kitchens in the US…yes they are 12/2 now.
what's your advice for people who really want a pre 1900s house. I love historical homes and I wouldn't be buying for the purpose of flipping. What thing should I and the inspector really look out for?
Wow, we were ready to move out of our house built in 1987 to a house built in 1960!
We thought the materials used back then was better but would upgrade electrical & plumbing.
Now, I’m a bit concerned we could be making a mistake.
Can I extend your words for German houses which is build in 1975? I am looking for a house originally built in 1938, the house was modernized and expanded in 1975 and renovated and modernized again in the mid-1990s. They are selling it for the land price only but the house maintains nicely. however, the hitting system needs to upgrade and the floor and roof need isolation.
Great advice! Wish I'd seen this video before buying our house. Still think it turned out to be a good buy, but may have tried to hire my own inspector.
This is great info. Really well done
What would be a safe rough budget for repairs and upgrades for a remodel? 10% of home price? 20% of home price? I know it’s dependent upon what needs to be fixed, but just looking for a safe estimate.
that all depends on the scope of work. you can invest up to 50% of the total value and still do well if you do everything. as a diyer you always make money.
Lol, I just love it when JEFF exposes things like “the selling agents blind 🙈 inspector” or, JEFF telling people with pre 1990s finished basements, “everything down there was JUNK the minute you carried it down the steps!”……. TELL EM HOW IT IS EH!
I send customers these videos after I inspect , when I’m on my way over to deliver proposal to renovate their catastrophe home!
JEFFS my goto “SECOND OPINION CLO$ER HO$ER”😂😂😂thx From Detroit !
Great stuff just wouldn’t go anywhere near Alabama for anything lol or Home Depot as of lately.
This was extremely entertaining! and informative :)
Thank you!
Wisdom!wisdom!tonnesof wisdom,u are a gift sir
Cheers Andrew. I am happy to share my experience to save others headaches. Wisdom in many cases comes from making mistakes and learning from them. Happy to share mine!
Crucial intel in here.
If anyone needs an email architect, I have an architecture grad kid who did my house redesign with furniture placement over email.. I had to accurately measure the house for him to begin work. I don’t get buildable plans but I got the perfect floor plan after a lot of back forth and some research on my part and 3D model.
Interesting! Was it affordable?
@@suma.8134 I ended up paying $1,000 but initially it was $250.
Informative crash course 👍
first time homebuyer here...looking at a charming 1947 built on slab with masonry walls 2bedroom. asking price is $675k because of location/HCOL area. i had one contractor come out and he estimated it will be $150k to renovate. that doesn't include any appliances/mechanical (A/C, kitchen appliances, water heater, etc) or furniture. money pit? should i back out?
Run Forrest run
Moneypit here. They calked, smoothed and painted everything and I saw some of the stuff that was obvious but it had been inspected twice by two different inspectors. This house was a mistake.
Freaking love this guy. 👍🏼
Great information thank you 🙏
As an insurance adjuster in Alberta and the NWT, I regularly find asbestos in drywall mud installed up to 1990
Let's be honest here. that type of asbestos and the really low level of it in the mud is not much more dangerous than dust in general. if you wear a mask and get ventilation it is not even worth testing for in my opinion.
@@HomeRenoVisionDIYso are you saying asbestos is not as dangerous as they make it out? We are looking at a property from 1940s. Home needs major renovation (new flooring, new roof, drywall) and afraid of tearing anything down in the home .😅
Have you ever put tile around a shower insert? Aren't shower inserts more hygienic than tile?
sure. I highly recommend it!
Literally my situation with the inherited house.
Beautifully said.
Hey Jeff, obviously it’s necessary to look up the rules for your property depending on where you want to buy. But how do I do that, look up the “rules”? Each video suggests to look up the rules but with so many rules to look up, where the hell do you begin? I almost don’t want to get into the reno market cause I’m afraid I’ll miss one of these obscure rules that will ruin the whole project for me…
Each city should have a building dept. start there. They would have all the code requirements needed for that city. If you’re outside the city, then check your county office. They should have an office that deals with building codes.
Awesome knowledge
we got a '77 rancher on crawlspace... no asbestos surprisingly..
Man I feel like my house might be money pit 😅…. Sheeeeeit! My knees are bad, my back is effed and I already bought the money pit!? Oh well 🎉
There should be a club for us folks! 😂 I'm wrecking my body & mind in an 1836 2 story.