# Renting, to owning. Questions



## Hookineyezz (Sep 11, 2008)

Alright I will give you my scenario. I am renting a house from my friends mother. House was built in 1956 by the grandmother, and lived in till she passed 4 years ago. I have been renting here for 2 years now. I basically cover the cost of the taxes etc, so the cost is not a burden on my friends widowed mother. She is now to the point where she wants to get rid of the house. She has her own house and had to go through an unexpectied passing of her huband. 

She has offered it to us, with I feel a decent price, but I know there are probly things that need to be brought up to current code. She wants to sell the house as-is, but I told her it needs to be looked at first, so I dont get screwed with 20K in issues that need to bring it up to code. 

I need to find out how much I am going to have to sink into this place to bring it up to code. That is going to determine on how I go about purchasing the place. She has offered me an outright sale, land contract, or a lease option with balloon.

The house is located in trenton. Where can I find an inspector, that knows current codes for our city? Or should I just call the building dept?


----------



## Jekart (Apr 27, 2006)

Just as an FYI - 5-10 old houses do not meet todays codes. You will not get a 50+ year old home to meet the current standards. There are provisions in the codes for such. Your best bet is to have the home evaluated by industry professionals (ie, builder, elec, plbg, mech) to determine the current state of the systems and determine if there are any potential or immediate issues.

Your local building dept typically will not do time of sale inspections. "*I*" would consult licensed contractors to inspect the home if you just want an evaluation vs. a private home inspector, but that is just my opinion.


----------



## The_Don (Apr 28, 2008)

If you want it brought up to today's codes your going to need a lot more $20,000. Your going to need a wrecking ball, a new house package, and a list of carpenters, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, drywallers, and insulators numbers. Chances are the footings don't meet today's standards either so throw in a concrete contractor also. I think your being unreasonable as far as updating goes, but there's nothing wrong with having an inspection to spot potential problems that you can bargain the price with.


----------



## sweatyspartan (May 24, 2004)

Jekart said:


> Just as an FYI - 5-10 old houses do not meet todays codes. You will not get a 50+ year old home to meet the current standards. There are provisions in the codes for such. Your best bet is to have the home evaluated by industry professionals (ie, builder, elec, plbg, mech) to determine the current state of the systems and determine if there are any potential or immediate issues.
> 
> Your local building dept typically will not do time of sale inspections. "*I*" would consult licensed contractors to inspect the home if you just want an evaluation vs. a private home inspector, but that is just my opinion.


 
perfect answer

bring in a team of trades to look it over for you and give them each a case of beer at teh end of it.


----------



## MSUICEMAN (Jan 9, 2002)

i think he just misspoke or didn't quite understand teh difference between code and just basic stuff that needs to be fixed.

like some others have said, have subject matter experts inspect the plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and structure... have them make the decision what needs to be done to bring the house up to a safe/correct configuration.


----------



## Hookineyezz (Sep 11, 2008)

I think I did mis speak, i should have said to bring it to occupancy. I live in trenton, and they are pretty harsh when trying to buy and sell a house. When my dad sold our house in 1990, if there was a tear in a screen they wrote it up. A crack in the driveway, cracked window, a cement laundry tub...Etc. I am not worried about the systems so to speak, those are being looked at...I already know we need a replumb (cast iron). I am more worried on what they will write up. Like do I have to replace half the driveway, the porch cause its cracked, stuff like that.


----------



## MPT (Oct 7, 2004)

I'm in Wyandotte and they've been doing their own inspections for a while. There are contractors that know the inspection codes and what to do. PM me if you want a #.


----------



## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

I'm sure Trenton has it's own inspector. And again I'm pretty sure she will have to get an inspection before selling it. I'm not sure if she will have to have it "up to code" before selling it or if that can be negotiated in the sale. You will have to have it "up to (city) code" before you can occupy it (C of O, cert of occupicy).
I own/manage 3 rentals (not in trenton) and have to deal w/city inspections regularly. Cited things can range from as minor as installing GFI's in the bathrooms/kitchen to as much as needing a new roof or drive poured.
Good luck.


----------



## ih772 (Jan 28, 2003)

Don't go with a 'home inspector', they don't have to have any training or be licensed in the state of Michigan. Joe blow can say he's a home inspector without any experience at all. Have some skilled trades guys look things over for you.


----------



## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

You can have all the contractors you want look at it but it won't matter a bit as far as the C of O. Yes they may point out things that you will want to address as far as how much you want to pay for the house or even if you want to buy it in the case of something major but basically the only thing that will matter as far as occupying the house will be what the city says needs to be done.
We learned a long time ago that it doesn't pay to be pro active in repairing things before an inspection. They will always find something else and they might not have cited you on something that you did repair. 
Case in point: Before our last inspection on one of the rentals I thought for sure the garage would be cited as it was looking pretty rough (needed to be sided). It wasn't cited but yet some typical mold in the shower (from not cleaning) was.   I could have spent thousands needlessly to side the garage. Yes it should be done in the future but at this time when tenants are struggling to pay rent, which in turn causes me to pull from my pocket (if I have it) to pay the mortgage, I'm not about to spend money if the city doesn't tell me I have to.


----------



## popy (Mar 7, 2010)

FERG 06 said:


> You can have all the contractors you want look at it but it won't matter a bit as far as the C of O. Yes they may point out things that you will want to address as far as how much you want to pay for the house or even if you want to buy it in the case of something major but basically the only thing that will matter as far as occupying the house will be what the city says needs to be done.
> We learned a long time ago that it doesn't pay to be pro active in repairing things before an inspection. They will always find something else and they might not have cited you on something that you did repair.
> Case in point: Before our last inspection on one of the rentals I thought for sure the garage would be cited as it was looking pretty rough (needed to be sided). It wasn't cited but yet some typical mold in the shower (from not cleaning) was.   I could have spent thousands needlessly to side the garage. Yes it should be done in the future but at this time when tenants are struggling to pay rent, which in turn causes me to pull from my pocket (if I have it) to pay the mortgage, I'm not about to spend money if the city doesn't tell me I have to.


there it is there, nuff said!!!!


----------



## FERG 06 (Oct 6, 2006)

popy said:


> there it is there, nuff said!!!!


I agree w/you 200%! :lol::lol::lol:

I don't disagree w/having contractors look at the house. I sure wish I did. They might have pointed out some things that have cost me alot of $ in the past. But I've said to myself and my wife that if we knew then what we know now we might not have bought the house and it's been a good place to run my business out of. 

On a side note, anyone looking for some extra $ want to help me redo my bathroom? :evil: A full remod needs to be done including tub tear out and rebuild the floor. :help: With all my arthritis it makes big jobs like that impossble for me to do by myself. :gaga: Might have to just try to put the money away to hire it done.


----------



## jakeo (Sep 14, 2004)

Watch that balloon payment........I know it sounds good now but it can bite you.


----------



## Landsend (Dec 22, 2006)

One thing to point out, don't be alarmed by how much $$$ improvements will cost you. Just sayin', I stay on the up and up with my house and I am constantly spending $300 here, $200 there, $600 there...owning a home is expensive. I understand what you mean about making sure it is up to code, but you want a professional to come out and give you advice on its condition. Instead of thinking about how much it will cost you to bring it up to code/CofO, listen to what these contractors say will need to be done in the near future. For instance, the roof might not be a problem now, but he may recommend it be replaced in 5 years. The furnace may be fine now, but they will let you know the average life of that particular brand is 25 years, and yours is 22 years old. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, it will cost to bring it up to code/CofO, but be just as concerned on what you're going to spend on major items such as roof, furnace, hot water, etc. so you can determine if you can afford these major repairs within the next 5-10 years.


----------

