Turning a double home into 1 large house?

Question

I have the opportunity to buy a double and turn it into a large home. The foundation can use some work on the inside, new windows needed and the desireablity of the neighborhood is poor due to abandoned homes, drunks hanging around and a neighborhood corner store nearby does not help. The past 3 years improvements have been made in the surrounding areas, there are a lot of abandoned homes nearby, some a fixed up and waiting for someone to move in, but there has been no sign of residential growth here. Would you say that to invest money into turning the home into something that would have far more value than the area itself would be a loss, or should I just invest and hope that things will improve enough to where the investment would be worth it? I am waiting to buy a home that needs no improvement at all, just move in!! What suggestions are there and does it pay off in the long run, will it cost more in the long run or should I just move into a home with no work to be done .

Answer 1

either you mean what most people call a "duplex" in chicago, which would be one apartment up and one down, or else what the rest of the people in the entire usa mean, one unit in back and one in front. well, if you mean the latter, you are really talking some big bucks as well as time that you may wish you never spent at all. reason? the unit in the front is separated from that in the back by a firewall: at least triple bricked. to go through that wall you must build up headers, which are not very eye appealing.

else, and worst of all: you say that something is wrong with the foundation. it needs a little work? a LITTLE work? if my client and i discover a cracked foundation on home inspection, i will walk my client out of that deal so fast that you couldn't say boo! a cracked foundation is the WORST THING IMAGINABLE: it will lead to a passal of troubles. only a foundation specialist can tell if it's truly cracked, or, if some patching just needs to be done to the walls. these things indicate a CRACKED foundation (which supports the entire structure, so you can see why it is so important): the floors on the first floor slope or buckle. when you open and close doors, you can see an angle of light at either the bottom or top of the doors, but usually at the top. only sometimes, the walls are beginning to blister. sometimes, if the frames of the windows are all helter skelter, that too indicates a cracked foundation.

based on what you say about the community, and its "occupants," but especially based on what you say you really want to do, i cannot recommend that you buy this place. and if you did, why turn it into a single family house? why not simply fix it up (if you even can) without spending an arm and a leg, then flip it? i mean, leave it as a duplex. fix it under section 8 rules so that it can be a section 8 dwelling. a lot of investors want them, although i scratch my head at why. another passel of woes.

you have to know that NO HOUSE will be one that you need not do a thing with. all pieces of real estate require maintenance and little fixes, or even just paint, to make it your HOME.

this is what i'd say to you if i were your buyer broker: think about your work schedule. if you spend more than 40 hours a week working (even if on a laptop on the train home), you are a tired person that just shouldn't be bothering with this at all. you DO need to go to your HOME, your place away from all the BS, to lay down your hat, sit back, eat, and relax. you will be far happier.

sure, it's good, only if you know what you are up against and how to obtain funds for improvements, whether they be major or minor, to invest in an upwardly mobile community. (i did it and made a killing, a long time ago, but i had to put up with theft, burgleries, druggies and drug dealing while the area was undergoing change and all others were afraid to invest like i did there). but i don't think it hit the location you are talking about now. and in a buyer's market, will it be worth the improvements you describe, particularly, making it into a single family house, for you to bother with it? will you get your money out of it? do you know what you must do, legally, via the voice of the city, in order to change a duplex to a single? you have to pull permits based on all sorts of stamped drawings. you have to hire contractors to do code work.

one more thing: it is NEVER a good idea to invest money into turning the home into something that would have far more value than the area itself! never invest more than the market will bear. if you lived in southern CA, where everyone has a pool, you build a pool. but you don't even bother erecting a removable pool in chicago, where they are not used often. the buyers remove them because they want a yard.

write to me if you have a specific question, at my email provided here. i do not think this is your best bet, sorry.

Answer 2

Forgive me asking but I want to be clear. Are you saying there is a duplex that you can make into a single family home? Or are you saying there is a doublewide that you can make into a single family home?

Risk is all yours. Hopefully you're paying cash. If there is too much work and little growth a lender may/may not furnish you a loan. Never know though. In the long run you may wind up with a true diamond!

Answer 3

Personally, I wouldn't invest in the house. The foundation is a huge expense, in itself to repair, the neighnorhood is bad, no movement in new growth, etc......... I really don't believe you would make a profit on this place.