Well better to be shot down when in the beginning than to be shot down in the middle. The first is heart breaking and discouraging. The second is the same but the sense of failure added in. I've been there. My first house was in need of some TLC. I never imagined how much until we were neck high in debt, deciding which bills to fully pay and which ones to make half payments on, and realizing that the house would not pay off our debt without finishing it... So to get out we had to go in deeper. All said and done, it was a wash. We made the house look and function like champ. We probably lost money on the 3 year endeavor but I did learn alot about budget, remodeling, and how far I can be pushed before breaking.
I'm not saying bail just because it might be a tough road with the possibility of failure. I'm saying, see what you can do to make it livable, insurable, and if those can done and not break you and have the house be worth as much as you put into it... then the risk is not so bad. It's not necessarily a 100% remodel or bail prospect. There may be grants available, low interest loans for remodeling old homes, there might be deals on labor since the market is so bad... Look at Craigslist...
Chin up, Lincoln... You ~DO~ have an awesome trump card in all of your friends.
@Lincoln I believe that the value of your friends far outweighs most negatives to any move or investment. The right group of people helped us paint, build, and move and have continued to make our Detroit home what it is today.
Comments
Well better to be shot down when in the beginning than to be shot down in the middle. The first is heart breaking and discouraging. The second is the same but the sense of failure added in. I've been there. My first house was in need of some TLC. I never imagined how much until we were neck high in debt, deciding which bills to fully pay and which ones to make half payments on, and realizing that the house would not pay off our debt without finishing it... So to get out we had to go in deeper. All said and done, it was a wash. We made the house look and function like champ. We probably lost money on the 3 year endeavor but I did learn alot about budget, remodeling, and how far I can be pushed before breaking.
I'm not saying bail just because it might be a tough road with the possibility of failure. I'm saying, see what you can do to make it livable, insurable, and if those can done and not break you and have the house be worth as much as you put into it... then the risk is not so bad. It's not necessarily a 100% remodel or bail prospect. There may be grants available, low interest loans for remodeling old homes, there might be deals on labor since the market is so bad... Look at Craigslist...
Chin up, Lincoln... You ~DO~ have an awesome trump card in all of your friends.