Should my mom just sell her house?

Question

My mom owns a 2 story 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom house. It need a lot of repairs. There are a couple of windows into the house were the bottom of the wall is crumbling, and several other areas were you can press the wall in about an inch maybe less. There is a small leak in the roof, and the area is beggining to sag, and when I stepped on it, it goes down like 2 inches. Some of the siding on the outside is bulging slightly, and one of the gourds is separating from the house. Also, there are several places on the bottom of the siding were it is just completely rotting. She did get a couple things fixed, but that was for free. The other stuff isnt going to be free. I keep bringing up that this stuff needs to be repaired, and that I'll pay for itz but she just gets flustered. I don't blame her. It's a big house, and it's so much to handle. My sister, and I were gonna move in to help fix the house up. I moved in a couple months ago,, and have been helping as much as I can, but I never noticed how bad this house was until I actually took my time to look around. I'm starting to think my sister isnt even going to move in. Back in September she said she was gonna move in December, and than March. I've just stopped asking her. I'm about to just tell my mom to sell it for what she can get. The longer she waits the more the value will go down.

Answer 1

A lot of Real estate investor will buy it as is for cash. We at "Boracina Cash Home Buyer" purchase house like your all the time. Let's know if we can help!

Answer 2

no idea - cos I have no idea

1) how much it will cost to repair

2) how much its worth now

3) how much it will be worth after repair

4) (and most important) can she or you afford the repairs even if it means getting a mortgage



If 1+2 is substantially less than 3 then its gotta be worth looking into 4 - if they aint then sell now



Only way you are gonna find out 1) is to get estimates for doing the work (then add say 25% for unforeseen stuff)

2) get a real estate agent to give you an idea (they will be also be able to give you an idea of its value after the repairs)



3) have a look around your area at the cost of similar houses that dont need repairs



BUT a lot depends on how long the repairs would take and what house prices will do between now and then



If it takes some time and they fall - better selling now

If they rise better doing the repairs



(and as you say the longer she waits the more 1) is gonna increase , and the more 2) is gonna decrease but in the short term (1 year) 3) aint gonna change much



(there is a big difference between renovations(improvements) and repairs "simplythefacts")

Answer 3

That "small leak" is causing intense structural damage, which costs tens of thousands of dollars to repair, along with the deteriorating other areas, this means the house has horrible water leakage issues. The roof and the walls should not be "soft". Water damage is incredibly expensive to repair. I had a cinderblock chimney that had water leaking behind it that soaked the house frame down to the sill plate. It cost me over $20K to fix it and that was a deal from my son, who is a contractor.



So, unless you have the ability to borrow and pay back tens of thousands of dollars, your idea of selling out right now may be the wisest idea. No point in spending, say $75K on a house to "save" it to sell because you will not get one penny back from the sale. You see, people EXPECT to buy a house that is not falling down from rotting, regardless what you paid to repair water damage. The roof and leaks should have been fixed when water damage was initially present to mitigate further damages.



Remember, there is a huge different in REPAIR costs than HOME IMPROVEMENT costs in conjunction as to what is actually an investment. Yes, you can recoup a percentage of home improvement costs, but a solid roof and walls is something that is expected in a structure, so it is not "added value". Added value that can be recouped in a sale is renovating bathrooms and the kitchen, putting down new floors and updating light fixtures and appliances. That is where you can get a better price for a house. But, to boast that you paid, say, $75K on water damage repairs does not bring up the value of the house. That is like saying you want more money for a car because it has a new heater. Heat is expected in a car.



You may as well sell the house as is and have the buyer do the repairs because if you do the repairs, it will not put any more money in your pocket. The house will be sold for it's value, whether the roof leaks or not, whether the window sills and exterior siding are rotting or not. It will sell with or without the repairs, but you will not receive any payback for the repairs, so why bother??



If I were you, I would sell it because it is too big and too much money for your mom to live in such a large house to begin with. Set her up in a ground floor condo or a small ranch home, if possible.

Answer 4

If she cannot afford the repairs, yes, she should sell it. She will have to list all of what is wrong with the house - what needs repair and have the list ready for the realtor (disclosure statement), since it is not an easy matter of one or two things. The longer she leaves some of those things in poor condition, the more they will deteriorate and the most costly it will be to repair it. So, yes, she should sell it and buy something more manageable.

Answer 5

With all those problems she isn't going to get a good price but there comes a point where the value of the house is falling so fast that it's time to cut and run.

Answer 6

With such serious problems, the house might not be salable at all, even "as-is" at severely discounted prices. Even practiced flippers will not purchase a home which needs $100,000 or more in repairs unless they can double their investment upon sale. And developers only buy tear-downs if the land value & neighborhood comparables make tearing down & building new & bigger can make serious profits.



You need a professional inspection to determine what needs to be repaired, replaced. And you need to talk to at least 3 good real estate agents to see if the house can be sold "as-is" or whether code violations will prohibit sale until all building, fire, health codes are met.



You know the place leaks, both structure & siding is rotting. You likely have mold in need of abatement. Depending on the age of the house, consider it likely you need professional asbestos abatement, too. That's in addition to a new roof, replacing damaged areas, replacing all windows, and more. Mom neglected too much for too long, and it sounds like a money pit if you can do anything about it all now.

Answer 7

If mom is living in her a large house alone and obviously does NOT have the financial capacity to bring it up to standard, then surely it makes sense for mom to sell up (probably to a developer who had do the work themselves), get what she can for it and then buy herself a smaller house she can afford to maintain

Answer 8

Where's your mom going to live if she sells it?



Let's say it costs $10,000 to fix, and she can get $100,000 for it now, but if she puts in $10,000, then she can get $120,000 for it. Therefore, it makes sense to fix it.



Have a realtor look at it and give you an opinion on whether to fix it up before selling it.



But really, where's she going to live?

Answer 9

It may be for the better in the long run

Answer 10

Before you sell, look at house prices in your area. If prices are rising, it is ususally worth keeping the house.

The repairs you mentioned are expensive because there is a lot of rot. Also where will you live? You either have to buy or rent somewhere else.