free house....

I'm definitely excited because my hubby's aunt and uncle gave us there old Victorian 4 bdrm home....that needs tons of work. we wont have to pay rent or mortgage, but the home is need lots of need of TLC, such as it has no water we need to run a water line to the city water, the electric needs wiring, plumbing, walls, floors etc. we will be getting some help with this stuff and we need to see how bad of shape its in this spring. its doesn't have heat or air, the primary source of heat is a old wood fireplace, this wouldn't be a problem if my hubby didn't need knee surgery soon and cant really cut wood and drag it in. so my question is (if we bother to take the house) what would be the cheapest alternative for heating and air? we are not going to sink a bunch of money into this house but luckily my dad knows how to do electric, plumbing etc. and can get scrap wood, flooring, doors, and anything else we need ( he does maintenance for apartments). So another question is how should we go about linking the water line to city, cause someone told me that a if you know how to do it yourself then you don't have to pay anyone to but of course we have to take it up with the city and get zoning license etc. so does anyone have an estimate of the cost?

All of that can get super expensive.

Quoting *Super*Mom*:" All of that can get super expensive."

yea I know lol, we know of some second hand stores that sell home supplies etc. super cheap so we are leaning on that a lot, our big prob is the heating, air and water lines lol.

You should have it inspected to make sure the foundation and frame are structurally sound before you accept it or it will be a monumental waste of money.

Quoting Moon*Siren:" I'm definitely excited because my hubby's aunt and uncle gave us there old Victorian 4 bdrm home....that ... [snip!] ... to but of course we have to take it up with the city and get zoning license etc. so does anyone have an estimate of the cost?"

I don't know what your income is like but I'd check with your local Community Action. I know ours will do weatherization to your home for free. Also check with your local housing authority office and see if they have the CHIP program which will do up to $10,000 worth work for free or help you get low interest loans to fix up the home. Best of luck.

heating you can use simple heaters however that won't do you much good if the insulation is really bad the small heaters won't be able to keep up..samething..kinda goes for the air it would be window units probably 2 depending if you want one in each room or just the main rooms of the house. I don't know much about water lines though.

Have an estimator/appraiser come out and take a look to make sure its stable first. I would love to have an old house like that, right now we live in a 1930s farmhouse  . We had to have someone come out and run a waterline from the well to our house and it was a couple grand. I know that theres grants to restore old homes that people can apply for so i would try that.

How old is the house and did your aunt uncle live there before they gave it to you?

Does it have a bathroom or an outhouse? Just curious.

My landlords put in a central air conditioning and it was 6000, there house was built in 1902 and the wiring couldnt handle the ac so they had to get it completly rewired first. At my place we have a huge swamp cooler that cools the whole house really well

Quoting Misty Walls:" Have an estimator/appraiser come out and take a look to make sure its stable first. I would love to have ... [snip!] ... people can apply for so i would try that. How old is the house and did your aunt uncle live there before they gave it to you?"

An estimator/appraiser DOES NOT do this. They only tell you what the house is worth. You need a home inspector if you want to know what needs to be done or what problems you may find with the house. One that does infrared scanning would be the way to go because he will check out the insulation, wiring, and anything that you can;t see with the naked eye. They can be kinda pricey but keep in mind that you get what you pay for!!!

Quoting Love my 3 kids:" An estimator/appraiser DOES NOT do this. They only tell you what the house is worth. You need a home ... [snip!] ... and anything that you can;t see with the naked eye. They can be kinda pricey but keep in mind that you get what you pay for!!!"

Thanks i couldnt think of what they were called  

Quoting Misty Walls:" Thanks i couldnt think of what they were called  "

My husband has his own business for this so he gets calls all the time. You owuld be surpirsed at what you can't see that could be VERY pricey in the long run. I would seriously recommend an inspection especially if you are going to "fix it up". It will help you soooooo much in the long run. Good Luck OP!!!

Quoting Maria + Cory = Alexis:" I don't know what your income is like but I'd check with your local Community Action. I know ours will ... [snip!] ... program which will do up to $10,000 worth work for free or help you get low interest loans to fix up the home. Best of luck."

our income is well non-existent atm, I will have a job this spring (they are building the facility still) so we are in the meantime living with family, my hubby's grandmother is going to help with our expenses and this wont happen til probably next year. so we can save for utilities etc.we do have the chip program but I didn't know what it was haha. we are on foodstamps. my hubby will have a job soon as well. but we are trying to figure costs and how to go about it since we do have ppl helping us its more than a possibility that we can get this squared away. but tyvm I will call them tomorrow and see what can be done.  

Quoting Misty Walls:" Have an estimator/appraiser come out and take a look to make sure its stable first. I would love to have ... [snip!] ... people can apply for so i would try that. How old is the house and did your aunt uncle live there before they gave it to you?"

All I know is that this house is very old. Its a Victorian and its more than 100 yrs old.

Quoting Nathaniel'sMom:" Does it have a bathroom or an outhouse? Just curious."

haha no it didn't, but my hubby's uncle built one and started the plumbing so we need to finish it. it had an outhouse lol.