1 bed/ 1 bath 620 square feet built 1937

[Frugal Nurse]

I came off as condescending in my earlier post- sorry. If this is what makes you happy, have at it. It just seems like as a financial decision, buying a cheap house that has little resale appeal in an area with a poor RE market is a bit of a financial shot to the foot. But if you are looking at it from a pure happiness perspective, if you would be happy there, best of luck to you!

[haapai]

You haven't pissed me off. I always come off as a bit stern and I always hate fessing up to my income.

[midjd]

K for your honesty, Haapai.

It's one of those hokey things, but you really do "know" when it's the right house for you. If this one feels right... go for it. If not, another one will come along. Good luck.

[resolution]

Haapi, how handy are you with fixers? If you are going to stay in the distressed market I think the best thing for you to do is to research a lot about fixers and what is fixable. No matter what you do, you will need a reliable home inspector, but it will help if you can eliminate the ones that are not fixable before you have to pay someone to inspect. If you don't know a lot about it, hopefully you have a friend who is very knowledgeable.

There are a lot of old homes out there that have a good foundation and structure but just need new plumbing or electric or maybe some drywall work. Some have even been updated already and just need some cleaning or maybe some fixtures replaced. There are others that really should be torn down. If you are going to consider them then you will want to go through them with a list of what needs to be done with estimated pricing to fix up. Our house was a fixer and we have spent an additional 20% above the initial purchase price fixing it up. We have a friend that bought a fixer and he spent his entire fix up budget doing cosmetic fixes instead of structural fixes. That is resulting in additional damage from problems that were only partially fixed.

[haapai]

I may not have what it takes. My handiness is pretty much limited to wielding paintbrushes and pruning saws. I wouldn't spot three layers of shingles unless they were peeled back and circled with orange paint. I'm masochistic enough to live in the basement or the garage while putting up drywall but I really don't have much of a budget for major repairs. The odds of me concentrating on cosmetic stuff that I can do myself, and letting other problems fester are pretty high.

I peeked in the windows the other day and saw a lot of work that needed to be done and a lot of half-assed rehab attempts. The hardwood flooring was unsealed. The deck was unstained and unsealed. The paint on the molding and heat registers was a disgusting institutional green and badly chipped. The carpeting on the stairway was dirty and poorly tacked down. There were more walls than I had hoped for.

Unless this house has great bones and a solid roof, it may not be able to recover no matter who buys it or what kind of budget they have.

[resolution]

That is where research and inspections come in. Things like paint and carpet are the easy and relatively cheap stuff. Paint on the heat registers can be sanded off and repainted (we did this on a whole house of baseboard heating units). We just had the floors in two rooms sanded down and refinished last month for $700 (around 600sf). That was paying a contractor to do the work because we didn't want to do it. The stain itself was only $20 per gallon if we had decided to do the work ourselves, plus whatever it costs to rent a sander.

A good fixer for you would probably be a house with good bones, good electric and plumbing and crappy paint and carpet. If the house is the one with the poorly attached side room my worries would be more with the way the roof looks like it has holes or is coming off at the attachment and where the siding is coming off the house on the opposite side. Things like that lead to water damage and rotting supports. I am sure there is a bunch of other stuff to look for besides that and the electric and water, but I am mostly just along for company while DH looks at all that stuff. Thats where you need to research or find someone that can help with that.

[haapai]

It's not that grey shack. Even I can take a look at that picture and know that the addition has to go and that it's probably hiding damage to the wall or foundation next to it.

This is the one that's enchanted me.

www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/2076-Thorburn_Holt_MI_48842_M39428-55008

I suspect that there are a lot of people out there who could find an expensive repair or defect just by looking at each of the four pictures. The first pictures shows a broken railing on the deck and raises concerns regarding how plumb it is. The second picture shows the addition, but the flaw is probably not where the addition meets the roof but farther up on the roof. There's a mushy-looking spot farther up and there's something about the sealing around the chimney that bothers me. The third picture probably tells a story about the foundation work around the garage. The fourth pic probably screams that the deck needs to be removed or completely rebuilt.

I wish that I knew enough about building and repair costs to run screaming after just seeing the exterior shots.

[Opti]

I would think the property taxes are what they are in part because the property itself is 1/3 of an acre. The 90 foot frontage does limit future building opportunities
and thus resale for potential teardown but my guess is
the bulk of the property taxes are due to the property not the house hence unlikely to drop much whatever the sale price.


Only OP knows what is common in the area, but I would
expect a 1/4 acre or smaller lot size in general for that size of house.

[haapai]

Rick, I think you're talking about a property that I never felt the slightest temptation to check out. 1200+ SF built in 1900 on three acres is my idea of homeowner hell.

[Nazgul Girl]

I would suggest getting the Thorburn house if you choose between the two. It is more appealing, has a nice garage, altho I would watch that deck and that problem screen door and whatever else is going on beneath it.

[haapai]

But that would take the fun out of visiting realtor.com daily, like I've been doing. If I signed up for e-mail alerts, I'd actually have to sign in to my e-mail.

I think the perfect house for me just got listed today. After flirting with T-street, just under 800 SF, built in 1954 on a slab with new appliances and windows looks great! There's no carpet. The windows are small. Mature trees cast a heck of a lot of shade and a pine next to the garage may have to be removed. But the repairs and surprises should be minimal. The address is technically undisclosed, but between the map provided and the county property records I was able to figure out where it was in about 2 minutes and be outside it in 10.

[maka]

My husband and I live happily in 590 square feet w/ no yard or balcony or garage. We live in a city, so this is somewhat “normal,” but my point is that I would not consider 620 square feet with a garage and yard too dinky of a space for an individual. Every individual has different priorities, but for us, it really works.

A smaller home has the potential to save you money, so long as it’s bones (electric, plumbing, insulation, yadda, yadda, yadda) are sound. Less energy to heat/cool, less furniture to buy, etc. Since moving into a smaller home, I find myself far more conscience of my purchases—for every little thing, I think about where it will go, what I will get rid of to make room for it, if I really need it, etc. As a result, I am much happier with the things I do buy. I’m on a mission to do my part to save the world while living a relatively normal life and living in a smaller home has really helped with that. Plus you save time cleaning (this is my favorite plus!).

I think when looking at homes, especially smaller homes, you shouldn’t focus as much on the number of square feet, but rather how that space is used. 600 square feet can actually be far more livable than 800 depending on how the space is used. Our home, as an example, has substantial closest space (4 floor to ceiling closets), a large bathroom, and a single space that is the living/dining/kitchen area (no walls = more space). Our bedroom is small, but this doesn’t bother us because we don’t “live” in that space. There’s room for our bed, a chest, and a chair. Not sure what else I would need to put there. We also carefully chose furniture that didn’t overwhelm the space. I have friends with much larger condos in which I feel more cramped.

I 100% believe you can make a small space work. Based on what you have told us about your situation, I think it seems like a good choice so long as the bare bones of the house are sound. Best of luck!

[Deleted]

Maka,

I like your ethic. I know that if found myself single I would downsize considerably. DH came with a lot of stuff and would collect a lot more if allowed. Since I do the cleaning I have a different perspective!