The Rolex Forums   The Rolex Watch

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

Wednesday 9 July 2025 @ 4:23:13 am

Go Back   Rolex Forums - Rolex Forum > General Topics > Open Discussion Forum

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 8 May 2025, 10:54 AM   #1
330ci
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Location: michigan
Posts: 2,374
Anyone buy a project home for their first house?

As a 31 yr old Millenial the concept of home ownership has been rather fleeting. every time I seemed to get close to a property I desired, some hurdle would fall in the way taking it out. I have always had a decent income but entry level homes in my area have always been just out of grasp of affordability for the most part and 30 year mortgages just seem like a jail sentence to me.

when it comes to properties, single family/entry level homes seem to be almost non existent where I grew up. anything under 250k is pretty much in a trailer park with lot rents closing in on $1,000/month. I thought things were expensive when rates were 3% and now they're 20% more with 8% rates.

my plan this year was to buy a property at the Tax Lien Foreclosure auction to fix up, and live in it while I finish school and flip it when I am done, but a cottage in my dream area popped up at a price that was interesting enough for me to drive 165 miles the next day to look at on Easter. before I got there I told my partner that I was going to figure out how to get this property one way or another and that no matter how bad it was the location is so perfect for my life that nothing would dissuade me.

once I got there, I was pretty dissapointed, I knew it would be bad, but it was far worse than I expected. My realtor and her husband are my 2 best friends, her reaction was that this project is way out of my league, and her husband responded, "what did you expect for the price" followed up with "you can do it".

I had written off this house before I even walked inside it, I was so immediately deflated the moment I stepped out of the car.

the foundation had visible cracks, the property itself had water logging issues, the electricity was cut off at the pole from who knows what sort of violation, the roof clearly was slapped on over some poor timbe, the lot size is small, and the problems only got worse when I got inside.

the floors felt like a trampoline, the framing beneath the house was damp/rotted, there was mold inside the house and it wasn't quite level due to the sagging foundation issues.

by the time I left the place, we were all laughing at how bad the place genuinely was. there were 8 realtor cards on the table in the kitchen, I asked my friend Suzie if she wanted to add hers to the deck.

immediately after we left I had dinner reservations with my family for Easter, when I told my family about it they didn't seem to have the same dismissiveness about the property. when I started talking to them about it, all I could talk about was how it would be the perfect place to call home if it wasn't such a POS now. they seemed to be a little dissappointed I had given up hope so easily.

I had another showing lined up back near where i'm living now the next day for 5 acres with full ammenities on site ready for a trailer or to build for half the price of this .11 acre lot with a cabin.

when I got to the 5 acres the next day, I fell in love with the property, but the neighbors definitely decreased the value of the lot. and I thought 4 acres of woods would have drowned out any highway noise but it was pretty considerable inside my car still. then I would have been 180 miles away from my family which isn't that bad given its a straight shot on the highway, but they've come to visit once in the past year since I moved up here and I haven't made it down as much as i'd have liked; so if I bought it I'd have my own little paradise to be a recluse in. not the kind of life I want to live and the work opportunities out here are slim.

I had never really considered a cabin on a small lot, my goal has always been acreage with a pole barn to work out of. However a small house on a 1 acre lot is 600k here these days and with interest rates at what they are, It would put costs at over a million over the lifetime of the mortgage. it just seems like a lot of investment without figuring in upkeep over the life of the mortgage and would deny me better investment opportunities elsewhere in the mean time.


so I started looking at what a small entry level cabin goes for in the area, and one similar popped up for $250k and was under contract in 3 days. The thought of being 15 miles away from where I grew up(in a better area than where I grew up) started to creep back in real quick. $250k is probably about all I could get approved for. maybe 300k and i'd be stuck there for a while as I just don't see $250k cabins appreciating much if at all over the next 10 years unless rates drop considerably. add in repair and maintenance costs and i'm probably back to being better off renting.

I called my friend up and decided to tell her that I wasn't completely over the fixer upper. She helped me do my due diligence. between calling all the local authorities and ensuring it wasn't required to tear down, getting septic reports, to finding out who to talk to about back filling and building permits she has been invaluable along the way. Slowly but surely I was able to create a road map to repairing this hellish property. from backfilling, septic repair, lifting the house to repairing the foundation, replacing the floor joists, to ripping out the drywall to studs and repairing from the ground up. The insanity of the project became a business/life decision. If I were dedicated to the work, the finish product was a worthwhile investment with a likely upside of 100k or so when all said and done.

I have been walking around for weeks, talking about this project and running estimations for projects, permits, materials etc. and through the process I realized that nobody could hire contractors to do this for what the property is worth and anyone with half a brain isn't going to buy this property to flip as it's going to have too much money tied up too long before there's any ROI.

Getting my Realtor on board to lowball the hell out of this property was a different story. She and everyone else I spoke with told me that I wasn't going to get more than 20% off of asking price given the area, property and current price and I wanted to offer less than 50%, I told her what my max was, which was where she wanted me to start my offer, but given the complexities with this property and my feelings that most investors would be better off buying a few cheap flips in less desirable areas than seeing this project through; I managed to convince her to offer 45% of asking price. we settled on 60% of asking price which was significantly less than I was willing to pay. and far less than my realtor suggested we START negotiations.


I have restored a few houses at this point and worked construction in a few different trades previously so I have always wanted a fixer upper(though I did not expect to buy something this crappy). Anyone else go this route towards home ownership? I am about to throw up, have a panic attack and shit rainbows with excitement.

This moment really feels surreal, like something truely spoken into existence and a testament to Gods Blessings. It's going to be a ton of work, but I will have a paid off house by the time i'm 33. 15 miles down the road from my family,in an area I prefer, Life is insane. you miss 100% of the shots you don't take.


would love to hear your stories on horror flips, renovations or how you built your dream property up. I just went under contract so I'm having all sorts of emotions (from excitement to WTF did I just commit to, to just enjoying the rush). I just finished renovating a 1500 sq ft home, so have all sorts of ideas for how I want to finish this place out, though I Imagine it won't be ready to outfit until after winter given this place needs to pretty much be reframed from the ground up.

I'm on cloud 9 right now, probably going to feel sick again after closing and I step foot on the property again
330ci is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 11:57 AM   #2
kieselguhr
"TRF" Member
 
kieselguhr's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Real Name: Nick
Location: Las Vegas
Watch: 1601
Posts: 10,732
Anyone buy a project home for their first house?

I didn’t have the courage you do. My first house in 2014 was a new build starter home, was the model home for the builder actually. Still have it, as a rental.

Second home was somewhat of a project, older 1997 build, bigger wasn’t better. Things broke down every year, in addition to needing renovations to modernize the house.

Third house is nice. Went back to buying new build. Love it. No issues. Just not big enough in our mind (wife’s mind), so bought another one.

Well the 4th one is pretty nice. New build again. It was exactly what we wanted in theory. But now we have mother in law living with us and turns out this new one isn’t ideal either…

So now we’re planning for yet another one… I could care less about what the house is anymore. I’m just going to make sure it comes with an RV garage so I can build a loft and it will be my man cave.

Lesson is, good luck in your endeavors OP. It likely won’t be the last house you buy lol
kieselguhr is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 02:03 PM   #3
JasoninDenver
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Denver
Posts: 4,409
My first house was a dump in Durango, Colorado. Before closing, the listing agent called me and asked if I would like them to remove the dead deer from the backyard before I took possession.
__________________
Jason

116610 LN
DateJust
Pelagos FXD
JasoninDenver is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 02:21 PM   #4
TheVTCGuy
2025 Pledge Member
 
TheVTCGuy's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Real Name: Paul
Location: San Diego
Watch: 126619LB
Posts: 21,807
Good on you for undertaking such a challenge! I would love to have a project like that, but with my (lack of) ability it would end up worse then when I started. Please post pics



PS: Is my-

… Oh, never mind.
__________________
TheVTCGuy is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 03:12 PM   #5
daniyo
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: US-California
Posts: 23
In the end it’ll cost more than you budgeted, take more time than you anticipated, and be more tiring/manic/stressful/draining than you ever thought… but the end result will be worth it and when you’re literally living in your hard work, it’ll all be worth it. Remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint!
daniyo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 03:26 PM   #6
Speedbird-1
"TRF" Member
 
Speedbird-1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Real Name: Steve.
Location: UK
Posts: 6,780
Kevin McCloud has been making a programme called, Grand Designs for 20 years or so.
I think they're available on the UK's Channel 4.
You may find some of them helpful/useful.

Good luck, you'll need plenty of energy, money and determination.
Speedbird-1 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:17 PM   #7
Dan Pierce
"TRF" Member
 
Dan Pierce's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Real Name: D'OH!
Location: Kentucky
Watch: Rolex-1 Tudor-3
Posts: 36,498
Every house purchase is a project house. Some more than others.
dP
__________________
TRF Member# 1668
Bass Player in TRF "AFTER DARK" Bar & NightClub Band
Commander-in-Chief of The Nylon Nation
The Crown & Shield Club
Honorary Member of P-Club
Dan Pierce is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:18 PM   #8
1st amg
2025 TitaniumYM Pledge Member
 
1st amg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2013
Real Name: nicholas
Location: ottawa canada
Watch: Rolex,AP,Panerai
Posts: 10,926
Looks at it this way. They don’t make dirt anymore. If you’re happy with the location, neighborhood and proximity to things of value to you, then your decision was the right one.
Get a bin on closing, and just start tearing everything out yourself with some labor hands helping. Pay them cash. Gut right to the studs, tear the floor and planks completely. You will finally get to the shell of the entire structure and start with a fresh new plan. Post pics of this project from the moment you get the keys here and visit the thread with updates. There are loads of members here who are in the industry or specialize in something such as flooring, drywall etc. good luck!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
1st amg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:28 PM   #9
Maleg
"TRF" Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2022
Real Name: G
Location: Illinois
Watch: 5513
Posts: 2,357
If the price is right, tear it down and rebuild what you want on the lot. Repairing structural problems and mitigating all the weather damage will cost close to what building a new structure to code will cost, and the resale value will be better for a new home than the old one.
Maleg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:29 PM   #10
1William
2025 TitaniumYM Pledge Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: North Carolina
Watch: Rolex/Others
Posts: 50,691
Interesting situation and one that I would not do. Plenty of information from reputable sources that weigh the pluses and minuses of home purchase. Why not explore alternatives to home ownership beyond where you are. I did the fixer upper for my first home in the early 90's and I think my rate was 9.25% and the place was a dump. I had enough money for either heat or air conditioning as neither was present and I choose heat. Made for some warm summers with a broken down window unit and some fans. I did a lot of the work myself and fixed it up. It was a nightmare and one that when I was done I would not replicate. I sold the home several years later for a modest profit and bought the home I am still in. It was a done home with no needed work to be done. Good luck and keep us posted.
1William is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:42 PM   #11
MrGoat
2025 TitaniumYM Pledge Member
 
MrGoat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Real Name: Goat
Location: Southwest Florida
Watch: 16613
Posts: 6,071
G- if you’re financing, the appraisal is gonna have to come in for at the very least what you’re financing. If the house is as bad as you say it is, this may pose an issue.

I hope it works out for you and reach out to me if you’ve got any questions or need to bounce ideas off someone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MrGoat is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 10:45 PM   #12
MrGoat
2025 TitaniumYM Pledge Member
 
MrGoat's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2020
Real Name: Goat
Location: Southwest Florida
Watch: 16613
Posts: 6,071
Quote:
Originally Posted by 1st amg View Post
Looks at it this way. They don’t make dirt anymore. If you’re happy with the location, neighborhood and proximity to things of value to you, then your decision was the right one.
Get a bin on closing, and just start tearing everything out yourself with some labor hands helping. Pay them cash. Gut right to the studs, tear the floor and planks completely. You will finally get to the shell of the entire structure and start with a fresh new plan. Post pics of this project from the moment you get the keys here and visit the thread with updates. There are loads of members here who are in the industry or specialize in something such as flooring, drywall etc. good luck!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, the only thing you can’t replicate (relatively cost efficiently) is land. I urge everyone to buy as much as they can stomach to own, it’s only going to go up in value.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
MrGoat is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 11:46 PM   #13
brandrea
2025 TitaniumYM Pledge Member
 
brandrea's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2013
Real Name: Brian (TBone)
Location: canada
Watch: es make me smile
Posts: 82,315
I didn’t buy a fixer upper, but we built our first home. We were the general contractor and did quite a bit of the work ourselves.

Things I learned:

1. Allow for at least 20% more than you budget.
2. Allow for things to take longer than anticipated.
3. Embrace changes to the plan.
brandrea is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 8 May 2025, 11:57 PM   #14
George H.
"TRF" Member
 
George H.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2023
Real Name: George
Location: NY and FL
Watch: Rolex Datejust
Posts: 72
Projects? Oh Yes!

I own 15 rental units as that is my job other than being a teacher. So I have done more renovations than I care to even type. In short, my first home was at 21. It was a side-by-side 2 family in a small village. It was project after project. The other renter was an old lady who just paid and paid to stay. Once my side was fixed and she eventually moved I renovated her side.

Sold the property for a nice profit and bought another fixer-upper. This time a single family home of 1,600 sq ft was so bad you could not even get a mortgage—
$50,000 cash deal. Turned into a COMPLETE and I mean COMPLETE renovation.

Everything except the framing and foundation was a renovation. All new electrical, plumbing, drywall, insulation, flooring, appliances, kitchen, bathroom, siding, roof, garage and driveway. Basically $130,000 later it was a brand-new house. Sold for $298,000 with no realtor. Lived in that a couple of years and even got married and lived with my wife there. It was not our dream home but my wife saw an opportunity to buy a 5-unit Victorian home that did not need too much. So once again we rolled over our money and now this new home had income potential and "Only" needed $85,000 in work (Water heaters, HVAC, Roofs, and our unit we lived in needed a gut out) Fast forward to just a couple of weeks ago we completed our dream home build! A new construction 3,500 sq feet home in a beautiful community with a pool and clubhouse, golf course, sidewalks, and street lamps. Finally no projects! Oh wait now the wife wants a pool...

Best advice.... You will 99.9% of time go over budget and you need to be flexible on time. Expect the unexpected and prepare for the worst!

Last edited by George H.; 9 May 2025 at 12:07 AM.. Reason: Projects? Oh Yes!
George H. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 9 May 2025, 02:16 AM   #15
Ballzzz
"TRF" Member
 
Ballzzz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2017
Location: NY
Posts: 2,545
Quote:
Originally Posted by daniyo View Post
In the end it’ll cost more than you budgeted, take more time than you anticipated, and be more tiring/manic/stressful/draining than you ever thought… but the end result will be worth it and when you’re literally living in your hard work, it’ll all be worth it. Remember, it’s a marathon and not a sprint!
^This is a fact, ask me how I know^
__________________
Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction. - Albert Einstein
Ballzzz is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10 May 2025, 10:12 AM   #16
Fleetlord
"TRF" Member
 
Fleetlord's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2013
Location: Vain
Posts: 6,151
Old homes are money pits. If you can’t be your own contractor or unless love getting ripped by contractors out to get your $$, don’t bother.

A buddy of mines slow shower drain in an older 50’s built home is a cool $30K repair…maybe more..

Add new roof, climate control, kitchen, pool…paint!….blah blah blah. It never ends
Fleetlord is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10 May 2025, 10:50 AM   #17
~JJ
"TRF" Member
 
~JJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2012
Location: Chicago
Watch: explorer
Posts: 2,396
1) Decide what you really want since there’s a huge lifestyle difference beach town (Traverse City, St Joe, Caseville vs Oxford, Holly county living or further north) vs country acreage living.

2) Huge difference in putting lipstick on a pig vs needing a new foundation and everything along with it… one you can jump in with no experience and be successful with grit and the other is going to need a huge chunk of change and specialist.

3)Projects take a ton of time (years), $$$$ and are very stressful, but very rewarding at the end. So make sure you picked correctly in step 1 so you stay for awhile.

Good luck!
~JJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
 

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

OCWatches

Wrist Aficionado

Takuya Watches

OystersJubilee

DavidSW Watches


*Banners Of The Month*
This space is provided to horological resources.





Copyright ©2004-2025, The Rolex Forums. All Rights Reserved.

ROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEXROLEX

Rolex is a registered trademark of ROLEX USA. The Rolex Forums is not affiliated with ROLEX USA in any way.