Avoiding the Money Pit

A66276vmhyh On a cold and dreary day back in February, I posted about houses of the big and little screen; one that I neglected to include (which, paradoxically, was the movie that sparked the idea of the post in the first place) was the 1986 comedy classic, The Money Pit, featuring Shelley Long and an oh-so-fresh-faced Tom Hanks. I started thinking about the movie again recently after talking to a friend about her own house.

The house sounds like a dream. Located in St. Paul, in an area close to freeways, green space, and shopping, this 1930s two-story stands on nearly an acre of wooded land, on a street that dead-ends at a golf course. Original woodwork and rare ladder doors throughout, the house has 2,000-plus finished square feet, five bedrooms, a full unfinished basement with concrete floors, a three-season porch on each floor, four parking spaces in two small garages, and is nicely set back from the road, allowing for an uncommon amount of privacy. Lovely!

Unfortunately, the cons significantly outweigh the pros in this particular scenario. Purchased just before the apex of the housing boom ten years ago, my friend paid a lot for the house—far more than comps can justify now, especially considering the single bathroom to service all those bedrooms. The garages are falling to ruin, the basement floods monumentally after rain, the air quality is bad, and ice dams in the roof led to mold in one of the walls, which led to spendy remediation. The beautiful wooded lot needs a significant amount of tending, and all the creepy-crawlies (ants, mice) who live out there like to come inside when the weather begins to turn colder. Saddest of all, my friend purchased the home as a project for her and her husband to work on over the course of many years; a few years ago, she became a widow.

In hindsight, she readily admits that the house was too much for them to undertake then—in terms of financial commitment, as well as the time and effort needed to overhaul an old house like this—let alone for her to manage now, by herself. The moral of the story: While emotion plays an enormous part in buying a home, keep your wits about you. Consider your own skill level and ability to complete projects well on your own (be realistic!), then consider the amount of money you want to invest in hiring out repairs and upgrades. And for goodness sake—have an inspection done! As with all aspects of deciding to purchase a home, striking the right balance between logic and love, personalization and stewardship is the key to making a smart investment.

When you’re looking to buy a home (especially if it’s your first!), assess your needs before you begin looking, and stick to that criteria. We can help you get a game plan together, too—contact us to get started!