It all depends on the property. Many times house built around 1900-1920 are in the best locations close to the city center. Houses built then that are still standing were well built and normally close to the city center. Is it worth anything? You must go to the flipping formula. acquisition cost (cost of property, cost of money, closing costs)+rehab(deferred maintenance and modernization)-after rehab value-expenses(realtor fees, buyer closing costs if appicable) = profit. Just plug the numbers into the formula. cost + rehab -final value- expenses = profit. Just plug the numbers. I can tell you that being built in 1900 if it had not been updated and modernized over the years the rehab costs would most likely be through the roof so if it is not in a great neighborhood I have a feeling there may not be much profit on this one, but with the limited information provided a detailed analysis is impossible. Thanks for the post and have a great day!
@James S. I agree with Jamie.... it depends on the property. I've seen houses that were only 10 years old that were built very poorly and in serious need of repairs and others that were more than 60 years old in very good condition. I know that some people use the age of the house as a weed-out tool but you can't make a determination by age alone. Run the comparable sale numbers and then go see it. It's the only way to know for sure.
property is 5 minutes from small city in ohio other homes aren't as old that are currently on the market two forclosurs near between 30 k and 45 k renovation is 15 k to 20 k house MLS value is 65 to 68 and their asking 24 k
Definitely, and you would measure the worth as you would any other property. Homes from 1900 and even earlier are common in my part of the country -- New England. Run comps by pulling actives/solds from similar properties in the last 6 months. If you have no nearby comps, you can take comps from properties outside of the area and make adjustments based on the location of the properties.
@James Swyers: you need to find out the city requirements as far as Point of Sale inspection and Escrow. Then see whether the property is REO, HUD or anything else related to Uncle Sam. In Ohio, you can check local comparables on the county auditor site; this takes time and patience.
The most accurate way to run comparables is use the mls. If you are not real estate professional you will most likely not have access to the sold data which is what you need. The most important characteristic is always location. It depends on the neighborhood and some change street by street. You can always use the assessor which is available to the public, but the problem with that is the information is sometimes incomplete, incorrect, and there is no way to determine condition. This is a art and one you must learn to be successful and it is difficult without access to sold data on the mls. Thanks for the post! Good luck and have a great evening!
Consider Queen Anne, Victorians, the so-called Craftsman style - - these are premo properties when rehabbed appropriately. Two type of rehabs, by the book restorations or modernization. Forget fix-n-flip, and understand the buyers for this market before you start.
findcompsnow merely pulls the Zestimate, and the comps it uses aren't very accurate. tread carefully using these values.
Chad, what are you talking about? I just looked up their comps for a particular street, and got six pages of nearby SALES results (not Zestimates). What's inaccurate about actual sold prices?...
Propane heat is a deal killer up here esp with negligible insulation. Maintenance costs have been very high for some of ours & the need for a new roof will be VERY expensive.
We find that they sell & re-sell fast but comps are all over the place depending on acreage & ancillary buildings.
Apart from that they are beautiful classics but need a lot of ongoing TLC.
to Chad's remark... Findcompsnow.com pulls from more than just Zillow, I think. I think it is an aggregator of several sources.
That being said, the best way to determine value is to pay for an appraisal. If you don't want to spend that money in the early stages not to mention the wait time, "quickie" sites are good to get you in the ballpark. If the numbers on one of those put you in the ballpark, then you can look at a more sophisticated method for dialing in value.
The point is you can spend your life trying to find the perfect comp method and never do any deals. The proverbial "analysis paralysis". Ultimately, a property is worth what someone is willing to accept and someone is willing to pay regardless of what source you use. You won't really know until you get in the game.
What I meant was that it gives you the Zillow value, and then it shows ALL properties sold within a certain distance of said property. These aren't all accurate comps since the sq footage, # beds, age, etc may not necessarily be in sync with subject property. So one should take care not to be mislead by these. That's all.
As @Account Closed, points out that it's a good starting point but not a reliable source for accurate comps.
if you need comps ask an investor friendly realtor. I am both a realtor and investor. I started out in the investor realm, then decided I should get my license. Now, I am happy to work with investors because after the investor fixes up the property, I can list it. A win-win.
There are three areas in St Petersburg FL, Kenwood, Cresent Heights, and Old Historic Northeast, (and Seminole Heights in Tampa) that have craftsman bungalows - many built in 1925 - that are being scooped up by rehabbers as fast as they hit the market. Once they're fixed up, retail buyers are fighting over them.
If you try to save as much of the house as possible - like the windows, doors, and fixtures, you'll do even better.
@Chad U., Oh, OK. But that's not how you phrased it. You said "findcompsnow merely pulls the Zestimate", which isn't what they do at all. Of course, no comps are REAL comps, because NO sold property is ever the same as the one being researched! Therefore, your above comment must apply to ALL sources of comp statistics, not just findcompsnow. Cheers...
I'm working toward a purchase on a 100+ year old home. As the first reply said, it's near city center (that's where the real value is for this one). Considerations I've found so far include: various layers of outdated insulation (mid-80's fiberglass stuff laid over old vermiculite), 1x2's nailed together to create 2x4's (but still relatively sound structure for the age), asbestos siding (needs a powerwashing and I've found it's totally OK, until it's time to rip it off or demoed), 1" galvanized metal water main is very old, electrical wiring that is visible is a hodge podge mess, there's an old gas pump on the site (not sure if tanks are still buried), real bad mold in bathroom, at least 3 layers to the foundation (that looks solid still), ugly old wallpaper, cigarette smoke smell, kitchen is a complete gut and remodel, nearly the whole home is. All that said, I'd take a solidly built 1900's era home over a typical 1950's home all day long.
Do your homework. When you go for the inspection, take a flashlight, clothes to get dirty, and hopefully someone with a lot of experience with old homes. Good luck!
I've got a 1904 house. It's not too bad. Wood doesn't really ever fail unless it's been compromised by cutting or moisture. You'll want to pay special attention to movement of the foundation and horizontal bowing. Basement walls hold back a tremendous amount of pressure.
Zestimates are always worth a good laugh for me. Zillow thinks a house I bought for $27k is worth $200k even though no house on that street has sold for more than $65k in the last five years! Moreover, the comps it suggests often are phantom sales that never actually occurred.