Posted on 05/13/2012 12:49:41 PM PDT by MacMattico
Hi, My Dad passed away a few years ago and my Mom, it has recently been determined, needs round the clock care so must go into a nursing home. My father's Grandmother, then single due to her husbands death, bought this home in 1902 (I have the original deed) after having to sell their farm and lived there, renting to boarders to make money. She later saved up to buy another home and rented out rooms there during the Depression, all on her own. When she passed away, each of her daughters were given a home, which they fixed up to be family homes for themselves and obviously their families. When my Grandmother passed, (my dads mom) the house went to my father and mother. I grew up here. The house the other sister got was sold in the early 70's when she passed away, and is now ugly apartments. I'm torn whether or not we should buy this house, or sell it to pay for my mother's nursing home care to any old buyer. The house needs A LOT of work, but ours is worth at least double to triple so if we sold the one we live in now we'd have cash (and our own sweat equity) for repairs. Her house is actually a bit bigger square footage wise, which is good. It's on a nice quiet street but not near the water like we are now, except when the creek in back floods! My kids are iffy on the subject, but I think because of it's present condition. My husband says he doesn't care where we live, he was moved around so many times he doesnt form attachments to houses. Maybe I shouldn't either. What do you guys think? We'd also have to get a new pool or the kids would kill me!
that’s scary
People are going to find a shortage of housing and will be forced into government subsidized housing. Maybe that is the whole point of those bullshit regs.
Buy it.
You are going to build a pool in a back yard that has a creek that floods?Really? Do you have ANY idea what a night mare you are creating? It is far more likely that house will go up in flames during a renovation accident than anything else. Sell it and get a turn key house. Which would you rather have, time to experience life with your kids, or fixing up a old house lying to yourself thinking your kids will value the time money and effort you poured into it?
You're asking a bunch of people who you don't know, and never will, to tell you how to run your life/finances. If you take someones advice here, and you wind up 'going south', don't ever say :"I didn't want to do it, but one of my Freeper friends named 'boogaloo-betty-from-boston' said I would make a killing by selling that house and living in this one, (or, whatever) and now I've lost the house, my IRA, my bank account and I have to pay the EPA a $76,000 fine because the creek rose 4 inches when it flooded after a freak storm in South Dakota."
Now, I'm going to give you my (like I know what the hell I'm talking about...DUH) advice, for what it's worth: "Go see several real estate persons and your banker to ask them. {{When you go see them, NEVER go right after they open or right before closing time.... first thing in the morning they're still sleepy and trying to eat their McMuffin and you're interfering. Right before knockoff, you may get the brush off because they are thinking of trying to get away to beat the traffic and make it across town to the day care to get the kid before it rains.} Also, sit down at your computer and surf the net for financial advice.".
Just another dummy talking here. GOOD LUCK.
One last thing: don't ask advice from someone who is apt to make a profit/commission off of your decision. That's kinda hard to do, but try......
Her house is being sold because she has to go on Medicaid to pay for the Nursing home. They (NY Social Services) will take the profit from it and put it towards her care. Medicaid kicks in when the house money runs dry, her only real asset. Social Services claims that if we purchased it, they would have us get an appraisal and they would get an appraisal and we’d negotiate from there, it keeps them from having to do a lot of work if we just say “Here, take her house.” It seems they get stuck with a lot of houses that are sitting empty. Essentially we’d be buying my mother’s house from them!
Thank you. I’ve prayed and cried but now the real work of cleaning out the house, deciding what to do, etc starts. I saw my mother today and she seemed well. Looked better then she has in years. She wants nothing from the house, because she says is just to hard to think about not going home. It’s tough for her because many of her needs are physical, she’s still mentally very sharp so she is well aware of what’s going on. I offered to have her live with us but no one is here 24/7 to deal with bathroom needs and I can’t lift her to bathe her or do so many other things for her. It really tears at my heart.
But the home I live in now was built in 1867, so what's another 20 years?!
Of course it took forever to get the one we live in now into the 21st century! Husband said never again, but now says it's up to me. My parents did have some work done about 10 years ago, but still...
I sleep in the room my mother’s mother’s father died in. So I don’t think that’s weird.
It is basically a forced NY Medicaid sale, but they claim they would make us a deal after we each got fair appraisals so they wouldn’t be stuck with it.
Often people spend a lot of money to fix up a house to improve the quality of their lives so they don't make a strict investment decision. My advice is to buy a house in good condition. Let the previous owner make the overinvestment. It will save you the hardship of living through remodeling. It will be a better investment in the long run. You can go the fix it up route and save out of pocket cash, but you will have to invest a lot of your time to do the work.
That’s how we got the one we live in now!!
Thankyou, I am lucky. I’m sorry about your dad and losing your home.
No problem. Vent away. I have a sister who just wants to know what’s in it for her— doesn’t care where we “stick mom”, just what will she get out of it.
Is she going to be able to prevent you from buying, should you choose to??
To be a little clearer: the home will technically be sold to pay for her nursing home care by the Social Services/Medicaid people, but my mother still holds the deed at this point. I am her Power of Attorney. My siblings think it would be nice if I kept it in the family and will force me to cook Christmas dinner every year which I do not mind. Social Services claim they have a backload of empty homes taken for Medicaid/nursing home treatment so if I am interested they are willing to negotiate after we each get our own appraisals. I will definitely have it inspected structurally and in every other way possible. I will not pay the appraised value— I’m not that sentimental and know homes taken by NY have sold for much less because they don’t want to deal with them, especially winter heating and snow removal. The creek in back is at least an acre or two away and has never flooded to anywhere near the house, and has been dredged (is that the word?) within the last ten years and has not flooded sense, even when Rivers all around did. The home is not in a flood zone. It is in a residential neighborhood but with no homes directly behind because of the creek, which makes it nice. I never realized back neighbors could bother me until we moved to our present locale, an old house we fixed up. If we can get a decent price for our home and buy my mothers from the state for a low-ball price, we could end up with a low to no mortgage if structural things are not horrible. These are modest homes people, I’m not rich and don’t have money to throw around but I wondered what my FRiends thought. I can understand those of you that say Get Rid of the hassle and possible money pit. But if it is structurally sound, and livable right now (my mother was there until December) we could sell our present home at lower then market value if we had to and pay cash for my moms I believe. We worked our tails off, mostly my husband, to gut this house and make it nice, building a lot of equity in the last 15 years. But this house doesn’t feel as much as a home. As I said further upthread I spent a whole night cleaning my mothers house and even being alone their felt the warmth of home. I will definitely crunch the numbers and consult lawyers. I consider myself logical and that’s why I keep questioning if my judgment is only based on sentimentality. The kids would have the same schools and friends. If the home is structurally acceptable, even if we have to make electrical/plumbing or even foundation repairs we could live with the cosmetic issues for a while. My mother likes the idea because it would still be in the family. The dining room has a neat tin (I think tin) sealing with crown molding just waiting for my paint brush. We’ll see what the state has to say. I won’t hold my breath, if anyone will screw you over it would be NY. My mother has finally settled into the nursing home, but I can’t relieve the stress of dealing the whole situation. Thanks everyone for the advice.
Foundation, framing, termite check (very important!) and have the wiring checked to make sure it is up to code.
Is it city sewage or septic tank?
Providing that the bones are still good then I am going to say go for it. Yes I know, I am a sentimentalist. But there is nothing wrong with that.
A connection with the past gives you something that is not tangible but it is there.
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