Got a killer opportunity on this property 2 houses down from where my parents live. Its the last street in Buffalo before Cheektowaga/Sloan.
Little background:
Built in 1870
3 Bedrooms
1 Full Bath
Partial Basement
1 Car garage
1.5 City Lot Size
To the left is a parking lot for a Funeral Home so nice quite neighbors there, to the right is a “zombie” house. The owner passed away 3 years ago and the house has sat in limbo since (trying to also purchase as part of bigger plans 
)
It seemed to be in pretty bad shape when we first looked at it Nov 12’. The family wanted too much money. So we passed on the offer to buy. Then in January they contacted me and my fiance again and asked what we would offer. Made a good cash offer and 4 months of legal BS later we are Home Owners!!!
After the purchase and paperwork were finalized we were able to take out a Home Equity Loan to do the necessary repairs, since we are fully vested and own the home outright, bank couldn’t say no! Especially when it was last appraised for around $51k last year. (Dunno how that can be accurate but its what we were told and what the papers say)
Anyways I’m going to post some pics right now of what progress we’ve made, I am still looking for ideas for the flooring that is cheap and easy to install that isn’t carpet.
Here goes!
1st big issue was the back/spare room, it was originally an addition and had a terrible carpenter ant issue. Ended up having to tear out and re-structure 2 wall and some ceiling joists. This had a flat torch-down roof.
So we restructured the walls, installed a few new windows and had the roof done immediately. (The roof cost us more than the house :shoot:but was well worth what we paid for what got done!)
2nd big issue was that the back roof was leaking and the the other two sections of roof (two gables) already had a beginner layer of box car wood, yes 8x5/8 board then cedar shingles, then 3 layers of regular shingles. So a complete tear off and full 40yrd dumpster later the roof was done!
3rd big issue was the stairwell to the 2nd floor was completely unusable unless you were 4ft tall. You literally had to duck 2ft just to make it to the top landing. So we persuaded the roofers to add a dormer to make the stairwell usable.
And almost all finished.
Kitchen needed serious updates. Stove was from 1940… Got a plumber to come in and completely update the plumbing, new hot water tank and the works, we were able to save the original “farm house” sink for the kitchen.
Having the kitchen, basement, back/spare room and bathroom electrical updated. New breaker panel and whatnot. Got some good appliances on the cheap and the kitchens almost done.
Still have a lot to do, the living, dining, and all 3 bedrooms have no electrical whatsoever. Trying to find a cost effective and less intrusive way than destroying the walls (since it is all lathe board) to do electrical in these rooms. I’ve seen this track system that acts as a base board I may try out.
Any input or pointers are appreciated!!!
