Hellobee Boards

I haven’t done it but I wanted to mention the main thing that would worry me - lead paint! A house that age probably has lead paint (in some layer) so you would have to be very carefully with anything you’re doing disrupting that and throwing lead particles around.

Do you have reliable, trusted people you can hire to do the work?

I would if I didn’t have to live in it while the renos are being done. Also, will the two of you easily be able to agree on what you want done?

My mom & step-dad did a major reno a few years back and they had greatly differing opinions on how things should look. They both had to make a lot of compromises to get things done.

If you don’t have to DIY it, there’s no major structural issues, and you have the money set aside (vs going into debt), it might be worth it.

We bought a house that’s 40 years old (I know, not nearly the same age!), and while we love it, there’s so much money we might not ever get back. We’ve spent $35,000 over the past two years (and not on pretty things, but new HVAC, fixing rotten wood, new exterior stain, gutters, etc.). And now it looks like we might be moving in the next six months for my husband’s job...we are going to try to increase the sale price so we break even, but I doubt that will happen.

If I had known then what kind of money we would need to put into it, I honestly don’t think I would have bought it. We thought we’d be renovating bathrooms and replace carpet with hardwood, but we don’t have the money for that now. It feels like a heavy weight around our necks.

Our first house was a 1905 remodel that had been axed into apartment units and had serious foundational issues. We took a combination approach of using a GC for the structural and serious issues and DIY for the more cosmetic stuff. (For instance they had to replace the hardwoods in 2 rooms and we finished the floors ourselves). It turns out we are not DIY people and I would only do a historic reno again if I could afford 2x the top to bottom price quoted by the contractor. It’s always way more then the initial quote!

Make sure the 1980 addition is permitted and to code. If they get into the house and the inspector peeks at the addition and it’s not up to snuff...that could be a major anchor that drags you down.

I think renos can be great but they can also be budget and soul sucking and I’d give it some hard thought if now is the right time for you. And they are always more expensive and take longer than even the best contractor can estimate. We are doing what I call a gut reno “lite” right now. We are buying a renovated 1800s row home that is being done on spec from a local builder. So he is assuming all liability for the build...we just buy it when he’s finished. Is that an option in your area? We’ve been able to select a lot of finishes as well.

I was a fly on the wall for my best friends townhouse gut last year; it took nearly twice as long, cost 30% more, she was pregnant at the time...it was hell. They are happy with it now...but she says she wouldn’t do it again.

I think it depends upon the scope. There's a ton of old housing stock where we are at. We considered a 1930 house that needed a complete gut - amazing location and price but we just didn't have it in us to do what would be a complete overhaul that would take 18 months and require us to make SO MANY DECISIONS. We recently moved into a house built in the early 1800s. It does need some renovations but the scope is much more modest and they are mostly renovations that will add a lot of value to the house because they are very visible. Generally you add more value with visible renovations, whereas non-visible stuff can be a huge resource suck.

@bees_knees: We didn’t remodel a house but we built one from scratch - I wouldn’t do it again. It was a tremendous amount of work and energy and time and we only had one kid and weren’t living amidst the construction. But, plenty of people enjoy it. We did not. You have to know yourself and whether a project like that sounds exciting to you or dreadful!

@Petitduck: I don’t know what we were thinking!