S/O HOA Communities

[mrodgers]

HUGE difference between Springfield and any of the surrounding suburban towns (way more than a square mile). It's a craphole with a lot of crime and not very good schools.

And I didn't say I hated the house I posted, I think it's cute, but it does need to be gutted and completely redone inside. You'd need to put a lot of money into it to make it livable.

That one particular house posted, yes. That is a total renovation job. None of the other houses need anything to live in unless it's a choice you make. If you have $150,000 budget for a house, you don't make the choice of buying a $400,000 house just because you need to be in the best of the best of the best.

 

[mrodgers]

Same. I grew up in a 1000 sq ft 3bed/2bath ranch, which felt like enough room for a family of four. My grandparents on both sides raised their kids (2 on one side, 3 on the other) in 1000 sq ft 3bed/2bath ranches. Those aren't "starter homes" in my mind. They're just ordinary houses. But these days, they do tend to be marketed as starter homes or "perfect for downsizing".

How nice that would have been to have 2 bathrooms with a wife and 2 daughters, LOL. I swear I would make sure I asked everyone 3 times, then I would go in and within 5 seconds, there'd be a knock on the door, "Dad, I have to go to the bathroom."

I remember one time, I go in there and start my "activity" again, after asking everyone 3 times. As soon as said "activity" began, a knock on the door, "I have to pee!" I hurry up and stop short of said "activity" and open the door and she says, "toooooo late." and now I had a mess to clean up, LOL

 

[soccerdad72]

That one particular house posted, yes. That is a total renovation job. None of the other houses need anything to live in unless it's a choice you make. If you have $150,000 budget for a house, you don't make the choice of buying a $400,000 house just because you need to be in the best of the best of the best.

Did you skim over the part when she said Springfield was full of crime and had crappy schools? In other words, two of the primary reasons why a similar house might be double the cost in a different town nearby.

 

[luvsJack]

It is cute and I'm all for keeping the historic features, but its still needs at least $100k put into it. Probably more.

Let's see, I would have to add a a/c, paint it and strip the wall paper and paint. The floors, well, I can't tell if that is real wood, if it is restore, if not replace to real wood. The floors with linoleum--that would have to come up and either restore wood underneath or replace to wood. Of course, kitchen appliances. And the garage door would need to be replaced or removed. It would be important to me to keep it as original as possible.

The houses local to me that are in the historic district, all have to be redone with the era the house was built in mind. We knew a young couple that bought one and just replacing the shoe molding took months because they had to find replica of the original in the house. But they did all the work themselves and tripled their money.

 

[mrodgers]

Did you skim over the part when she said Springfield was full of crime and had crappy schools? In other words, two of the primary reasons why a similar house might be double the cost in a different town nearby.

I didn't skim over. So what I do get is that because you work in that general area and can only afford $150k, you should go to the individual area that is massively more expensive because, well it is just more desireable and the heck if you can afford it. The comments are alway 'that is what houses cost' and I see a lot of houses cheaper. What should be the argument is houses I particularly desire cost $XXX, not that there isn't anything else around.

My area has $20k houses in town. In.town is certainly not what I desire. So the search expanded and there are $90 homes, $150 homes, $300 homes, $750 homes. We didn't buy what we couldn't afford because the $300 homes were beautiful. We searched until we found what we could afford. Median home price I think is $284 here. Those are substancial large homes and are unaffordable for the median income of the area and there are plenty of sub $150 homes, even under $100 and you don't sit on your high horse because painting rooms or over time you put new flooring in because you think you deserve the huge perfect like brand new home so go spend $2000 on the mortgage on your $3000 income.

 

[soccerdad72]

I didn't skim over. So what I do get is that because you work in that general area and can only afford $150k, you should go to the individual area that is massively more expensive because, well it is just more desireable and the heck if you can afford it.

No, you find a house (or condo/apartment) within your budget reasonably close to where you work that is in an area that you would prefer to live in.

 

[kiddo76]

HUGE difference between Springfield and any of the surrounding suburban towns (way more than a square mile). It's a craphole with a lot of crime and not very good schools.

And I didn't say I hated the house I posted, I think it's cute, but it does need to be gutted and completely redone inside. You'd need to put a lot of money into it to make it livable.

Yes, you couldn't pay me to live in Springfield, especially if I had kids. Springfield is inner city with gang violence, while Wilbraham is a lovely town with excellent schools. This isn't even comparing apples and oranges. It's comparing apples to cats.

 

[Moliphino]

Let's see, I would have to add a a/c, paint it and strip the wall paper and paint. The floors, well, I can't tell if that is real wood, if it is restore, if not replace to real wood. The floors with linoleum--that would have to come up and either restore wood underneath or replace to wood. Of course, kitchen appliances. And the garage door would need to be replaced or removed. It would be important to me to keep it as original as possible.

The houses local to me that are in the historic district, all have to be redone with the era the house was built in mind. We knew a young couple that bought one and just replacing the shoe molding took months because they had to find replica of the original in the house. But they did all the work themselves and tripled their money.

The roof on the garages, at least, looks to be in terrible shape, I can't tell on the main house. God only knows what the electrical and plumbing look like in a house that age, or the other utilities. I don't see if it has a well or if it passed title V, which would be a huge expense (city water is available in that part of town, but the house is predates the reservoir).

 

[kiddo76]

In my area you may be able to find a house for $100k, but it's going to be a gut job (like this). Your average starter home would be in the $250-300k range.

Even though that place needs to be gutted, it's a great deal for someone who has the time and money to put in the work. Just the lot alone is almost worth the asking price.

 

[Moliphino]

Even though that place needs to be gutted, it's a great deal for someone who has the time and money to put in the work. Just the lot alone is almost worth the asking price.

I agree. I'm a sucker for all the 1800's colonials around, but none of them were practical for us (zero reno knowledge, full time jobs).

 

[mrodgers]

No, you find a house (or condo/apartment) within your budget reasonably close to where you work that is in an area that you would prefer to live in.

But what I am referring too is people posting in these discussions of the outrageous housing prices of the area people prefer to live in that is not affordable because that is all there is, where in the same area there are affordable housing. Sometimes you just can't live where you prefer to live because you have to go to the area you can afford.

I didn't like being 30 miles from any town, but that is what was affordable with the property I desired and the budget I could afford. It was worth driving 30 miles to grocery shop because I had apple trees, peach trees, pear, plum, cherry, blueberry bushes, wild raspberries, wild blackberries, wild strawberries, and a garden that was larger than your big dollar houses and still had room for kids to play football or whiffleball in the yard (ended up with only girls and they didn't do that, but....) room for a playset that I chose rather than some entity choosing for me, room for a pool, and the allowance of working on my own cars for pennies on a dollar and the garage being a woodworking and mechanic home shop rather than spend thousands for a $100 repair. I didn't buy a $300,000 house on a $2000 income because I desired a fancy house I couldn't afford. It was not affordable.

 

[luvsJack]

The roof on the garages, at least, looks to be in terrible shape, I can't tell on the main house. God only knows what the electrical and plumbing look like in a house that age, or the other utilities. I don't see if it has a well or if it passed title V, which would be a huge expense (city water is available in that part of town, but the house is predates the reservoir).

I don't know. From the pictures the roof on the house looks fairly new or at least as compared to the garage. You would have to know the history of the house to know what the plumbing and electrical is like. It could have been redone 40 years ago and not need a thing.

My mom's house was built in the 60's and has never needed an update in the plumbing or electrical. So it just depends.

Unless there is a problem with well water in that area, my preference would be to leave it if it does have one. My MIL had well water for years and so did my grandparents.

The current owners just bought it in 2018 so chances are it was updated to city water long ago.

 

[kiddo76]

I agree. I'm a sucker for all the 1800's colonials around, but none of them were practical for us (zero reno knowledge, full time jobs).

Just realized it's on a 1 acre lot. That's huge for the area! For that price, I'm guessing you'll be dealing with asbestos and lead paint, a HUGE PITA in Mass. And if it's not on town water and sewer, I wouldn't be surprised if it needed a new well and septic.

My cousin is into buying homes, renovating them and renting them and reselling them in that area. There was one house he recently bought that we call "Murder House" it's so bad. I don't think even he would touch this house.

ETA: Texted this house to my cousin. He's actually checked it out and said "All it needs is some gasoline and a match".

 

[Moliphino]

I don't know. From the pictures the roof on the house looks fairly new or at least as compared to the garage. You would have to know the history of the house to know what the plumbing and electrical is like. It could have been redone 40 years ago and not need a thing.

My mom's house was built in the 60's and has never needed an update in the plumbing or electrical. So it just depends.

Unless there is a problem with well water in that area, my preference would be to leave it if it does have one. My MIL had well water for years and so did my grandparents.

The current owners just bought it in 2018 so chances are it was updated to city water long ago.

The current owners are a bank...

The only real issue with a well is if it needs to be replaced. Though we did have to install a radon aeration system at our new house a few miles away that runs around $5k.

 

[kiddo76]

I don't know. From the pictures the roof on the house looks fairly new or at least as compared to the garage. You would have to know the history of the house to know what the plumbing and electrical is like. It could have been redone 40 years ago and not need a thing.

My mom's house was built in the 60's and has never needed an update in the plumbing or electrical. So it just depends.

Unless there is a problem with well water in that area, my preference would be to leave it if it does have one. My MIL had well water for years and so did my grandparents.

The current owners just bought it in 2018 so chances are it was updated to city water long ago.

It's bank owned, so there's a good chance it's not even habitable in it's current condition.

 

[luvsJack]

It's bank owned, so there's a good chance it's not even habitable in it's current condition.

That depends on a lot. It could be uninhabitable or you may could move in tomorrow.

Was it foreclosed on? How long since someone lived in it? Were they restoring it? How did they get it.

I was just looking at houses in our town that were built around the same time. Now, I don't know what they would sell for up there, but here, even if you put $100,000 in the house, you could sell it for close to 300,000. (historic, restored and in a HORRIBLE school district--and that's on the cheaper end of a lot of those houses). So you would still make a good profit for restoring the old house. And it really could be a beauty.

 

[kiddo76]

That depends on a lot. It could be uninhabitable or you may could move in tomorrow.

Was it foreclosed on? How long since someone lived in it? Were they restoring it? How did they get it.

I was just looking at houses in our town that were built around the same time. Now, I don't know what they would sell for up there, but here, even if you put $100,000 in the house, you could sell it for close to 300,000. (historic, restored and in a HORRIBLE school district--and that's on the cheaper end of a lot of those houses). So you would still make a good profit for restoring the old house. And it really could be a beauty.

Knowing the value of property in the area, $85,000 is extremely low for a developed lot over 1 acre. It's been on the market for a long time. Someone interested in an investment would snatch this property up at that price, but no one has. Which leads me to believe there is not just something seriously wrong with the building, but also the lot itself. Just the land alone should be worth at least $50K, likely more.

 

[kiddo76]

I'm sorry I sound like a know it all, but I've recently inherited and sold 4 properties in this region...2 houses, a condo and one small (>10,000 sq ft) buildable lot. They sold so fast we never even had to list them with an agent. They are in a much less desirable community than this house. One of our 2 houses was in the middle of a gut job when we sold it and the other is habitable, but needs some serious TLC.

 

[Colleen27]

Knowing the value of property in the area, $85,000 is extremely low for a developed lot over 1 acre. It's been on the market for a long time. Someone interested in an investment would snatch this property up at that price, but no one has. Which leads me to believe there is not just something seriously wrong with the building, but also the lot itself. Just the land alone should be worth at least $50K, likely more.

Having worked with my husband on renovating older houses like that one in our area, my guess is it probably has some environmental hazard that makes both the cost of renovation and the cost of demolition prohibitive. Lead and asbestos can both make an otherwise attractive property virtually unsellable because the abatement costs make it impossible to turn a profit and make renovating it to live in far more expensive than simply buying a house in better condition.

 

[kiddo76]

Having worked with my husband on renovating older houses like that one in this area, it probably has some environmental hazard that makes both the cost of renovation and the cost of demolition prohibitive. Lead and asbestos can both make an otherwise attractive property virtually unsellable because the abatement costs make it impossible to turn a profit and make renovating it to live in far more expensive than simply buying a house in better condition.

That's what I'm thinking, too. There is no doubt that this house has lead and asbestos.