People typically factor in the needed updates when pricing the house for sale. Ask your agent to do a CMA for you. It doesn't matter what they paid for it a year ago. All that matters is what the value is today.

Pluses: View, on the market now

Minuses: Not open floor plan (often cost prohibitive to change), needs updates (expensive), pool may be sliding down slope (VERY expensive).

How long has it been on the market? If it's been on the market for more than 90 days and has not sold that's usually an indicator the house is over-priced, flawed, or both (in a hot market that drops to closer to 4 weeks).

I'd recommend having a civil engineer (soils specialist) look at the pool before buying if the cracks are substantial. An engineer's report might cost a lot ($1-2K) but that's a fraction of what a major repair would cost.

Rule #1 in buying a house: don't take someone else's problem off their hands unless you know what you are doing.

The house is being offered as it is. "Retro, old-looking" will turn off some buyers and excite others to offer right away. A pool (even in excellent condition) will push some buyers away and attract some others. So long as basic functionality of the house exists, phrases like "dated" or "old-looking" are esthetic judgements.

Whatever is up with the pool could be a major expense, so it's worth getting an expert opinion (or two) of its condition. Otherwise, offer what the house is worth to you. The costs of fixing "retro, old looking" should be factored into your budget, not your offer.

"Because you want to make $100k in changes and updates, doesn't mean the house is actually worth $100k less."

Well said!

Thank you all for your comments. And I understand what I want to do shouldn't devalue the house. I just want to make sure I'm not overpaying based on old features that in most homes these days have already been updated. I also learned more about how comps work I think. So when a home was priced say a year ago based on recent sales, when they comp the home again this year it can be completely different and not just raise in value based off the timing of owning the home from that original value. If that made any sense LOL

We're going to visit the house again this week and my realtor has a person he knows who's been building houses for a long time to come and check out the things I have questions on to help us figure out if it'll be in our budget and doable.

Would definitely get a pool expert to look at pool.

Your agent should pull at least three recent comps for you and determine what the fair market value for the home is. Otherwise, you have no way of knowing.

"my realtor has a person he knows who's been building houses for a long time to come and check out the things I have questions on"

No offense to your agent or the "person he knows" but you serve yourself best by hiring your own house inspector.

First, a house inspector you select and hire does not have to address the ethical questions of finding a deal-killing issue and then keeping the "agent he knows" as a business associate and/or friend.

Second, such a person is a better inspector than most home buyers are, but someone who inspects homes for a living almost certainly will be better versed on issues like codes which must be met and perhaps even special issues like the pool. There also are certification standards for home inspectors. Even though certification is not a guarantor of doing a good job, an inspector who is certified has met a standard that an uncertified inspector has not.

If you want a brand new house, buy a brand new house.

We are still going to have an inspector and appraiser if we move on with the house. This is just to figure out if it is worthwhile to.

Unfortunately we can't buy a brand new house, due to the cost for a construction loan. You have to put down like 20% I think I heard? And then the VA loan may say that the house isn't worth what the builder is trying to sell it for and that mortgage would fall thru.

The new home is what you need to pursue if you want new home layouts and features. It will cost less in the end to buy exactly what you want up front.

You think financing a build is hard? You will have worse issues with trying to finance a renovation on an older home. Those projects would likely need to be all cash since you would not have enough equity in the home to get any kind of loan. And it will cost 2x what you think it will

As mentioned the first thing you need to do is get comps of what surrounding homes in the area sold for. Not what they're listing for.

Buying an older house that is in decent condition but just needs updating is the way to go. For example, my son just sold a house in a good neighborhood to a young couple willing to do the upgrades themselves. The house looked like it hadn't been updated since 1957 but the roof was new, the plumbing and wiring was all updated, etc. So the bones of the house were excellent.

If you do not have fixit skills do not buy a headache property where everything is going to be a problem. Look for a house that just needs to be "prettied" up.

I disagree with GreenDesigns in that a new house in your price range is probably not as well built as an older house.

I'm old fashioned, but I don't think anyone who can't put 20% down has any business buying a home. Save, save, save, and improve your credit rating!

I appreciate all the advice and will keep it in mind as we move forward in our home search. I personally have never put money down on a house or a car and so far haven't had issues with that, to each their own I guess.

have never put money down on a house

100% financing? I think we are not talking about the same things here.

I had the FHA with some grants, I don't recall putting any money down for my current home...

Edit: Oh wait sorry now that I think of it, I don't recall cause I didn't feel like I actually saved up for it LOL, I took my money out of my retirement thing. Never mind about house loans in that aspect, but cars! never! :)

ellusionz, it sounds to me like you need to consider a few things:

1. Current value of home- easy. Work with a buyer's Realtor, now. Get the comps, get the price evaluated.

2. Current condition of the home- it's not a bad idea to have somebody in the process who can help you "spit-ball" costs of both necessary repairs and improvements you might make. Of course, that won't be sufficient, but it just might give you a decent idea of what you're looking at, long term, with this house.

If it still seems worth it (as long as this isn't an "as-is" purchase), you can include "pending inspections" in the terms of your offer. Then you have a certain amount of days to get a comprehensive inspection done. I don't know your area, but most lenders- VA/FHA/Conventional- will require this as part of their underwriting process.

Then be prepared to walk, if it either seems more than you can "bite off" right now and/or will end up with a home that is overvalued for the market OR if the lender says "nope".

BTW: I totally get "view", as if it's stunning, then it's "beachfront"!

3. I want to strike the right tone on this, so as not to offend:

You seem to be in need of a bit more education re: the financial vehicles at your disposal, even what you've done in the past. That you didn't think about taking money from your retirement fund as a down payment on a home is a bit of a red flag. And "I'm guessing", "I've heard" is unnecessary. Get with your lender, and ask all questions until you really understand it all. And quiz your Realtor, as well, about how you, even if you're a pre-approved buyer, might be viewed in an offer/negotiation

You speak of a "we", so it's entirely possible that the "other half" is the driver on financial/lending side. So that, of course, can be a good thing. But there's no reason you shouldn't educate yourself, given the questions you have. Maybe the "other half" is all the resource you need. Just ask until you really understand.

Good luck, take care, and try hard not to get emotionally involved with this one place. When it's right, it'll be standing right in front of you and will be obvious.