I found an unfinished house in a good area for $25,000 including the land for which I can pay cash.
I was wondering how much it will cost to finish it. The house has walls only no roof, no plumbing and no electrical, nothing.
It is 1700 square feet.
Thanks,
Renat
Hi Renat,
Here are a few words of caution.
A house is left unfinished because a builder (or a homeowner), for whatever reason, walked away from it.
In his wake often, if not always, is left unpaid bills, liens or potential liens, good construction gone or going bad due to the elements, vandals, thieves, etc.
Get a home inspection by a true professional home inspector, an engineer, and an inspection by the local building inspection department.
Then get a ballpark estimate of building costs to complete.
Unprotected from the elements an unfinished home may have hidden problems.
The cost to finish building an unfinished house can be estimated just as if you were building a new home from the ground up.
Go to my "Getting Started" page, and using the "Cost to Build Calculator", plug in the answers to the questions. When you have finished, you will have an estimated (approximate) total cost to build or finish building that new home in your zip code.
Now, subtract (take out) those items on the estimate you don't need and/or want, and those that are completed. Voila! There you go!
Proceed slowly, get expert help with the purchase from a Real Estate/ Construction Attorney, or at least a Realtor, and make sure your offer to purchase has a contingency clause that allows you enough time to get all the information necessary to make an intelligent decision
Read my article on Buying an Unfinished House.
$25,000 may seem like a very good deal and may in fact, turn out to be.
Your mission is to make sure it is a good deal.
Good luck,
Carl