What would YOU do with this MANSION? (Photos included!)

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What would YOU do with this MANSION? (Photos included!)

Brandon TurnerPro Member
Investor · Maui, HI · Member since 2009 · 13k+ posts · 3k+ votes

Ok - so I got a phone call from my lead website. This guy wants to sell and get out from the house. My assistant looks it up on the county website ... and WHOA ... it's an old Lumber baron's mansion. 4500 square feet. 8 bedrooms. 5 bathroom. Basement apartment, servants quarters on the 3rd floor, etc. 

Structurally - the house is fine.Condition actually isn't bad - except it's DATED. Electrical has been updated, mostly. But it looks like something straight out of Downton Abbey. 10 foot ceilings, multiple staircases, drawing room, fireplaces in several bedrooms, amazing crown molding, etc. It's filled with a ton of old stuff (some valuable, most not.) And as I said... it's HUGE.

So... the guy inherited the house 10 years ago, and it's been vacant for a few years. He owes nothing on it.

So what should I do with this lead?! What would YOU do? 

(Fyi -  to gauge his interest, my assistant said we'd likely pay less than $200,000 for it, and he said that was no problem. And, as you can imagine, there are not really "Comps" for this kind of property!) 

So... thoughts? 

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Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
Moderator
Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
10y

For less than $200k I would make it my personal residence... or turn it into a bed and breakfast!

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  • Brie SchmidtBusiness Member
    Moderator
    Real Estate Broker · Chicago, IL · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 5k+ votes
    10y

    For less than $200k I would make it my personal residence... or turn it into a bed and breakfast!

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    18Reply
  • Jeremy Pace
    Contractor · Pittsburgh, PA · Member since 2014 · 885 posts · 359 votes
    10y

    @Brandon Turner convert to assisted living.  couldn't be too far away from the requirements.

    3Reply
  • Russell Naylor
    Colorado Springs, CO · Member since 2016 · 214 posts · 58 votes
    10y

    Flip potential, but difficult to gauge with no comps or an idea of a reno budget to update it.

    Seems a little big to turn into a rental in my opinion. Could do some work and section it off into a multi, but I'd personally hate to see an old nice home like that get turned into a sectioned off property. 

    Could buy, reno, and move in!

    0Reply
  • Mike Makkar
    Investor · Plano, TX · Member since 2014 · 188 posts · 149 votes
    10y

    @Brandon Turner, Some ideas!

    1. Student Housing

    2. Frat/Sorority House

    3. Bed 'N Breakfast

    4. Affordable Housing for a "select" large family (get some government funding)

    5. Halfway house

    6. Have it handicap-enabled and do a Senior Living (2nd floor may be unusable)

    7. Haunted House Attraction

    6Reply
  • Nicolas Chambers
    Investor · Bellevue, WA · Member since 2014 · 7 posts · 2 votes
    10y

    Rehab to a turn key house hack (duplex). 

    1Reply
  • Dawn AnastasiPro Member
    Rental Property Investor · Milwaukee, WI · Member since 2013 · 6k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    10y

    Doesn't a property have to be at least 10,000 square feet to be deemed a "mansion"?

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  • Colleen F.Pro Member
    Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
    10y

    Big old houses,  could be great, could be a money pit.   So many questions to ask, what is the zoning? 

    The highest and best use depends on zoning,  location and cost for conversion for the desired use. For me if it is in a decent area I would live there and make it a single family  converting some portion to a nanny/in law suite looking towards selling. Only though  if the area would support the final price as a single family.

    On a main road I would convert to an office environment, or rooming house if the area supports it. I saw a wonderful counseling center in an old home.  The waiting room was the living room/dining room and the offices were upstairs with a few in the downstairs area meeting accessibility requirements.

    Student housing like an international house could be one option but that would only be if a university is walking distance or easy mass transit.  A bed and breakfast if  it is in the right area and you pre-identify a buyer.

    One recent conversion in our town was a house like this to a funeral palour, I wasn't liking that so much. I also don't think assisted living is a good option since accessibility with all the stairs is an issue.

    Converting to a multifamily would be an option but it really is layout dependent. You would not have cookie cutter apartments, it is likely you would have units per floor and fire separation might be difficult as well as utilities.   this option is more cost and layout dependent.

    A store  if it is downtown?  With an upstairs apartment.

    0Reply
  • Jonathan Thrasher
    Grand Rapids, MI · Member since 2015 · 113 posts · 29 votes
    10y

    omg what a dream project!   As someone who loves old homes, this home deserves to be brought back to its former glory.   What kind of area is it in?  What level neighborhood?

    Don't change to much and ruin it's character and charm of a SFH.

    @Brandon Turner please please let me help on this project if you get it! :) 

    2Reply
  • Pat L.
    Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    Around here they break these 'old dames' up into condos & sell them for mega $$$ with high management fees attached.

    But I do like the idea of an elegant assisted living setup.

    We got this 6 bed 5 bath for $87k...its haunted but the current tenants love it & offered us $137k if they can get financing.

    3Reply
  • Frank Eimiller
    Rental Property Investor · Fond Du Lac, WI · Member since 2015 · 261 posts · 78 votes
    10y

    New BiggerPockets HQ? @Joshua D.

    3Reply
  • Elizabeth Schellhammer
    easton, PA · Member since 2015 · 45 posts · 19 votes
    10y

    excited to hear what you do with this project! Definitely keep us updated.

    0Reply
  • Brian Turnbough
    Investor · Big Spring, TX · Member since 2016 · 140 posts · 59 votes
    10y

    I agree with Brie, multi-use, bed and breakfast would be good for upstairs and event rentals first floor.

    0Reply
  • Leon D.
    Investor · Chicago, IL · Member since 2012 · 190 posts · 85 votes
    10y
    Eight bedrooms sounds like a large home. 4500 square feet is not. My condo is a 4BR, and I'm around 3100 square feet. How's the neighborhood? I'd say probably leave it an SFR, just make sure everything's up to code. I think you might be surprised at the demand you could generate if you updated (as needed) electric, plumbing, cable/phone, HVAC, etc. A lot of times, it's the fear of these things that keeps price and demand low. Have the furniture and such appraised and sold, or keep what you like; clean, fix, update, and then sell that bad boy. The other ideas are all well and good, but require probable rezoning, permitting, licensing, ongoing inspections by several government agencies, and a willing operator that OK being tied to the place to begin with. Good luck.
    1Reply
  • Michaela G.
    Investor · Atlanta, GA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    Oh, I'm so jealous ;-). I've done about a dozen Victorians and love the character. They don't build them that way any longer. 

    There are some agents that specialize in historic properties. Contact one of those (not your average agent) and they will know what kind of comps you can use. Historic homes are different and the right renovation/restoration will get much more money from the right buyer. But you have to keep the special character. 

    Don't tear out the windows. Yes, they're old and single pane, but they're a huge selling point, if the weights are rehung (if they've broken). You can add storm windows and that's historically acceptable.

    Check out the agents that had these listings. I bet they can give you some general ideas about value, if you keep it historically correct

    http://seattle.curbed.com/archives/2015/09/heres-10-historic-victorian-homes-on-the-market-in-washington.php

    3Reply
  • Daniel Hansen
    Real Estate Investor · Winston Salem, NC · Member since 2015 · 25 posts · 9 votes
    10y

    Real quick on the assisted living facility. My wife is a physical therapist for a nursing home. So when I asked if an assisted living facility was feasible in this home, she said it wouldn't pass the medical board in its current condition. It would need an elevator and a professional grade kitchen to start, and apparantly the living area needs to be a certain size and have a certain amount of windows. Plus you would have to convince a company to lease the home for that purpose. So, while assisted living was a neat idea, (one which I initially thought could work,) I dont know if you're up for all the trouble @Brandon Turner. 

    Frat house sounds cool. 

    0Reply
  • John Turner
    St Thomas, Ontario · Member since 2015 · 136 posts · 33 votes
    10y

    I would use its uniqueness to your advantage. Depending on zoning, turn it into a themed vacation rental. 

    Possibly look into the market demand for people looking to stay in older houses like this one. Some people really like them. I am one of them. Not sure if you are in a vacation area but airbnb has unique rentals on it.

    1Reply
  • Clare Cheney
    Wholesaler · Murrieta, CA · Member since 2014 · 6 posts · 40 votes
    10y

    Condos. Unless you could sell as SFR for enough to make it worth it.

    0Reply
  • Account Closed
    Investor · Honolulu, HI · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 1k+ votes
    10y
    Originally posted by @Brandon Turner:

    So... thoughts? 

     The obvious, http://braddstudios.com/2010/07/04/the-real-one-ey...

    They are reviving the series.

    https://www.google.com/search?client=ms-android-hm...

    Bob

    0Reply
  • Julie MarquezPro Member
    Investor · Skagit County, WA · Member since 2016 · 1k+ posts · 807 votes
    10y

    My first thought was to call Chip and Jojo and turn it into a bed and breakfast.

    https://magnoliamarket.com/stay/

    3Reply
  • Jay HinrichsBusiness Member
    Real Estate Consultant · Summerlin, NV · Member since 2014 · 45k+ posts · 66k+ votes
    10y

    @Brandon Turner  location location location.. were is it at.. all the above comments are nice but might not be any where feasible.. IE a frat house.. might not be a college within 60 miles etc.   So were is it at or at least what county and state.. that would give a better indication of HBU

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  • Jeremy Shepherd
    Rental Property Investor · New Martinsville, WV · Member since 2012 · 105 posts · 44 votes
    10y
    Sell it to Nicole Curtis
    1Reply
  • Matt R.
    Sherman Oaks, CA · Member since 2013 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
    10y

    @Brandon Turner Sounds cool. I guess if it is in the middle nowhere....hunting/fishing lodge? That piece on the far right in the last picture could be worth half the house. It is hard to tell but I would check that out. The frame for the painting on same wall....maybe was about a grand 40 years ago. So when I guy spends that on a frame we might guess what else of value inside. The rug in the pic could be 1000s too. 

    Good luck! 

    1Reply
  • Mary B.
    Real Estate Investor · Lansdowne, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 656 votes
    10y

    Assisted Living or B&B seems like the most cost effective avenue to take. That or ....if you really want to and can afford to be uber hospitable, donate it to a large military family in need. That could be a handsome tax write-off.... my coin.

    Kudos,

    Mary

    0Reply
  • Pat L.
    Rental Property Investor · Upstate, NY · Member since 2012 · 3k+ posts · 3k+ votes
    10y

    @Brandon Turner

    I just remembered that one of our previous tenants runs a similar home for State mandated assisted living elderly. She gets over $5k a month for 5-6 'clients' & has since bought & renovated an old home to accommodate them. 

    The home also has 3 small studio apartments where the 'help' pay to live-in.

    They bus the 'clients' to a daily workshop so her days are free & they only need to prepare breakfasts & dinners & the low paid 'help' take care of the bathing cleaning etc.

    A great system if you can handle that type of scenario.

    0Reply
  • Lennie Holland
    Superintendent · Gainesville, GA · Member since 2015 · 107 posts · 35 votes
    10y

    Sell it to someone one who wants to restore her to her former glory, so many people love old houses, of course that will depend upon location. 

    You like projects, you fix it up and make it your primary. Just think what you could make with that canvas and do you realize how many cats could fit in that house!! ha

    2Reply
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