I would like some home buying advice.............

[Murder after Midnight]

Hey guys what do you guys think of this place......based on the photo's how much in resto would i be looking at?

18181 Hamilton Road, Detroit MI - Trulia

[SMWS6TA]

From the pics it looks ok. Hard to tell in some pics. The bathroom and kitchen would be major concerns for me. Both are dated, the bathroom very dated. Both those are expensive as hell to remodel. The floors are easier to restore vs the 2 others I mention. You can have them sanded and resurface.

The golf course may be an issue for you too - noise compliance = no loud hot rods, HOA's & ppl playing in your back yard. Pro - you may be able to play for free if your property is against the course. Worth looking into.

Other concerns for me would be:

Heating - how's it warm the house, insulation of the house, source for the heating element (oil, propane, electric) each has it's pro's and cons and pricing.

Home owners insurance - how much for the area.

Schools - Good schools = good communities.

Security - some divisions have security, most don't. next to a golf course you might.



THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN STRESS when your ready to make a bid you hire a home inspector to look it over. Don't let the realtor hire one. They answer to the person paying. So it is worth it for you to know what exactly you are getting. Be there if at all possible to walk through with the inspector. Ask questions and take notes. He may find that the roof is in need of repairs, or the shingles are due in a couple of years or water pipes need fixing. Stuff like this gives you power in negotiations and lets you walk away if it's too much.

[Murder after Midnight]

From the pics it looks ok. Hard to tell in some pics. The bathroom and kitchen would be major concerns for me. Both are dated, the bathroom very dated. Both those are expensive as hell to remodel. The floors are easier to restore vs the 2 others I mention. You can have them sanded and resurface.

The golf course may be an issue for you too - noise compliance = no loud hot rods, HOA's & ppl playing in your back yard. Pro - you may be able to play for free if your property is against the course. Worth looking into.

Other concerns for me would be:

Heating - how's it warm the house, insulation of the house, source for the heating element (oil, propane, electric) each has it's pro's and cons and pricing.

Home owners insurance - how much for the area.

Schools - Good schools = good communities.

Security - some divisions have security, most don't. next to a golf course you might.



THE MOST IMPORTANT THING I CAN STRESS when your ready to make a bid you hire a home inspector to look it over. Don't let the realtor hire one. They answer to the person paying. So it is worth it for you to know what exactly you are getting. Be there if at all possible to walk through with the inspector. Ask questions and take notes. He may find that the roof is in need of repairs, or the shingles are due in a couple of years or water pipes need fixing. Stuff like this gives you power in negotiations and lets you walk away if it's too much.

Thanks man.......

[Zinergy]

Pictures really tell you very little about the details and work that will need to go into a house. Look it over, if you like it, put in an offer contingent on an inspection. After the inspector shows you the results you can demand that certain items be fixed or lower the offer and try to fix them yourself.

God damn houses are cheap in MI.

[Zapper2003]

I dont know about out there, but around here the home inspectors are a crock of shit. It might cost you some more money, but hire a builder, a plumber, and an electrician to come look at the mechanicals. I wouldn't let one of those desk jockeys come look at a house just to let you know the lights all work.

[Zinergy]

I dont know about out there, but around here the home inspectors are a crock of shit. It might cost you some more money, but hire a builder, a plumber, and an electrician to come look at the mechanicals. I wouldn't let one of those desk jockeys come look at a house just to let you know the lights all work.

Desk jockey? When you are constructing a property or home there are inspectors who check over the electricians, plumbers etcs work. Often times they are guys telling the construction workers they did something wrong or not up to code. Their job consists of them going home to home inspecting all items, whether it be for a sale, new construction, a bank purpose or to see if the property is vacant. Sure they have a desk but a good expierenced inspector knows more than a worker about what needs to be done and what is good. There are plenty of good inspection companies around here. You just want the vet not the year at the job rookie. Plus are you really going to call around to multiple companies to have an employee from each one come take a look at different areas of the construction? That cost some money and be a good amount of work.

[Zapper2003]

I'm not knocking the code inspectors, but there's one home inspection company in particular in our area that goes into homes and then points out trivial shit like poor lighting in a room, or an upside down electrical outlet. They're a real pain in the ass and miss the obvious stuff.

[GTP231]

Don't even get me started on the inspectors out here in DE. So many will say what the realtor wants since they're getting a kick back...
Also with an as is any list of issues may not mean much with bargaining. Our house was as is and the only things we could get handled were things that impacted getting a mortgage

[0rion]

Just going by what I read on the news I'd be looking for a home in a different city. That being said I bet it's one helluva buyers market there. That house even here would be a damn sight more than $130k. These other guys covered everything pretty well. You're gonna put some work and money into that house. If it were me I'd look around for something a little more turn key but I hate doing home repair kinda shit. I would imagine with the market the way it is you wouldn't have too much trouble finding something that needs less work. You can tell that house has sat empty for a while too.

[wileyCoyote]

advice; get title insurance... research the neighborhood, check if it's a flood zone, and save money for "rainy day" repairs (hvac, water heaters, etc..)

[KahanaReef]

God damn houses are cheap in MI.

That is what I was thinking! You couldn't buy a 1 bedroom condo out here for 130k

[35th-ANV-SS]

Isn't Detroit going bankrupt? How will that affect home values in the future?

[theorangeguy]

that house would be $500k easy down here...hell, $650k would be low...I'd buy that in a heart beat...

Are all the bigger houses in Detroit priced this low???????????

[konigandy6]

Ahhh... the ole Detroit mansions off Woodward. Beautiful homes, but the neighborhood has gone to shit. I drive through there a couple times a year just to see some of those houses.

Look at the property assessment from 2010... damn.

[theorangeguy]

Ahhh... the ole Detroit mansions off Woodward. Beautiful homes, but the neighborhood has gone to shit. I drive through there a couple times a year just to see some of those houses.

Look at the property assessment from 2010... damn.

thats sad...I guess the outside world really does not realize how bad that city is right now.

[konigandy6]

Per capita... highest crime rate in the USA. Not necessarily that neighborhood, but you're pretty damn close to the rest of the cesspools.

[Spikito]

Damn, I need to move up there, in Texas my 1100 sq ft 2 bedroom 1 bath wood frame house was 100k, lol


But then again....thats in detroit

As far as this house goes, I think I'd pass simply because it needs work, unless you're willing to do some work, otherwise I like it.

Doing floors isnt bad, those appear to be old oak slats, theyre about 3/4 in thick. if you look at the edge near the wall you can see if theyve been sanded much, as long as they havent, you can sand off 1/16th stain and varnish and theyll look amazing, you could prob do that whole house for $1k yourself, take about a week if you really got on it.

Kitchen needs a new counter top, but I could live with everything else.

Bathroom is def old, but sometimes thats ok, you dont want an old house with one modern room. But I'd tile the whole thing, floor and walls, just do sub-way tiles, its an age-less look, prob $1500 for that bathroom.

As far as financing goes, under some circumstances, you can get the work appraised by a contractor, and the seller has to come down that much, but you can still get the asking price financed, so youll have cash to get the work done, but I think that only applies to foreclosures, and every state is different.

But thats a lot of house for 130k, even in detroit, but I saw a few on there that were less and were as nice.

[SMWS6TA]

Isn't Detroit going bankrupt? How will that affect home values in the future?

Property values will continue to go down the

[0rion]

Yep but if you can make a living & have job security you just hope it rebounds & property values recover. You'll be sitting pretty.

[35th-ANV-SS]

Hope doesn't sound promising...