Free Historic Home. To do or not to do?

[Chris Nelson]

There is an investor building a 110 unit apartment complex in Downtown Wilmington in the historic district. Part of his deal with the city is that he will give away the historic home he owns on the adjacent property so that it can be moved and preserved. He said it would cost roughly $15,000 to move it. He is serious about giving it away. The home was built around the early 1900s. It's a 3br, 1ba with hardwood floors and typical historic charm. The downtown area in Wilmington has a bit of a stigma as a rough area but nothing compared to where we've lived in Baltimore or Dallas. Property values are fairly depressed but the rental market is very strong. It's a happening place and people want to rent here. We also happen to live downtown. I had the thought of offering to accept the home if he would be willing to finance the move and purchase of the lot. We really don't want to eat up all of our available cash on this deal and I'm pretty sure we couldn't finance something like this. Please send your thoughts and suggestions BP community!

[Aaron Montague]

I would be amazed if it only cost 15k to move it.  Maybe the move, and associated permits, will cost you 15k. 

Remember the other end of the move requires a foundation/slab, electric, plumbing and sewer connections. Then you need to have all of those things hooked up. 

Free doesn't always equal cheap :)

That being said, I'd treat this like any other investment. Can you acquire the entire house, move it and get it set up for 60k cash? If you can then get $1000+ a month in rent, then this is a deal worth looking at. If it's 60k cash and you are only going to get $550/month in rent, skip it.