Here are two more photos from the county assessor's website, in case they are helpful. Thanks.

It needs to be completely resided and reroofed so it looks like it's not some hodge-podge add-on mish-mash of a house. And that lower roof would have to be fixed so it was gone--that's what really makes it look strange. I bet you could easily do it for $30,000, and it would greatly increase the value of the home. Good luck.

You do not tell us where this house is…the asking price, the comps in the neighborhood, etc. AND your personal risk level. You say “selling” points are strong, but you do not say “buying” points are strong.

I would not consider giving you advice on investing in this property.

Hi Judy. Thanks for responding. The house is in Salt Lake City. I can handle the financial parts of buying and selling points and price, so I'm not seeking investing advice. Sorry for introducing that confusion. I'm looking for design advice on improving the home's esthetics. Thanks.

This looks like it was a saltbox style home that was added onto 3-4 times and both the front and back porches of the latter additions were enclosed. If this is the case then it may be advantageous to give up interior living space to restore the porches.

I do not think I would invest in that house for any price. You would be better off renting a decent place somewhere, or, look out of the area for a better house, like between Salt Lake City and Ogden....

Thank you for sharing your opinion. I'm thinking in terms of purchasing a sustainable dwelling: one that is a manageable size for maintenance and utilities, one that isn't beyond the needs of a single individual, one that I won't have to tear down or remodel extensively (wreaking havoc on the environment in the process), one that will help build up the community, and one that is close to where I work and play so that I won't have a long commute. I'll keep your thoughts in mind, though.

Exactly the type of ideas I'm wondering about. Thanks, Libra!

It's a cute, little house. I don't think the tutu all that bad--but if the house was painted in a color that didn't contrast with it as much, and new windows and doors (and gutters!) were installed, your eye wouldn't go right to it. And cleaning up the yard and doing some clever landscaping would help. And, as 'acroteria' pointed out, you could restore the porches to add charm--if it originally had them.

You may want yo check into the kind of siding on the house. From the pictures it looks like it could be asbestos cement. If you want to remove anything I would get it checked out first.

That is one cute house with a lot of character. If anything, I would direct finances towards building a proper garage and storage area with direct access to the house. Otherwise, I would concentrate on landscaping for privacy when all your usable outdoor area is so open to the neighbourhood.

Given your mindset, I wonder if you could present your home as a design project for one of the related degree programs at the University of Utah. It appears they have architecture, urban redesign, sustainability, etc. as offerings. You might get some incredible ideas to become your neighborhood's showcase. It seems to me $30,000 would go a very long way with this property.

A darker color will definitely improve the appearance. Even if it's only a façade along the side of the home, you could add a wrap around porch on the second story and replace the bay window with a traditional one to have room for a patio underneath it. Support it with brackets rather than posts- like a chalet.

Thank you very much, everyone, for your very helpful responses.

I think you could take off the tutu and add on a proper wrap around porch.

I think you could modify the tutu and add porch supports and decking or paving to make it a proper wrap around porch. The siding looks like old cedar shingle to me, which can be repainted and spot repaired. If it is asbestos shingles, then it is better to leave them in place if you can.

The depth of the porch is very narrow, so it would add functionality to rebuild it, and you may be able to reuse some of the materials. The flat roof on the side may be problematic., if you have the budget, but just a simple upgrade would improve curb appeal a lot.

I would get a really good inspection for it since it looks unloved and added on to over the years, and go with the inspector. And then get some specialty inspections, esp. roofing, heating and plumbing, than is normally more than a general inspector will do in the most general sense, and draw up a whole house renovation plan. I'm sure if you look around, you can find salvaged materials and whatnot to keep it green.

You might consider getting an older home than this even, built with good timber and with good bones. Could be cheaper in the long run than a mid-century (? could be older) house that jack built. Does look to have a big yard though. Some beautiful old houses are going for a song because they look terrible, peeling paint and all. Worth really watching the market and checking your options.

I think the chain link fence is the most unattractive part of the property. New siding, windows, doors, a few decorative trim pieces and a white picket fence would make this little place a knock out. This place is loaded with potential:)

I can't believe how many people are suggesting not buying this property without even knowing all of the details, or seeing the inside of the house.

Sometimes, it is kinder to just answer what the OP asks.

I would do Nothing with 30K and a few "handy" relatives to any property, especially on the exterior. If it's worth looking into, I would consider consulting with a local architect who specializes on residential additions and exterior refacing, but I have to agree that this piece of property might not be worth the hassle.

Wow, some people are so judgmental.

Did it ever occur to some of you that this is what the Op can afford? Maybe they know better than you what their handy relatives are actually capable of. Not everyone needs or wants to hire a "pro."

It sounds to me like the OP is aware of what they would be buying, and has given reasons why they are interested (not that they need to justify it to any of us.) why not respect that and not offer suggestions beyond their budget?

I think I'm in the middle of the road here.

As long as you're realistic in your expectations, bondiamaco, I think it can work. I agree with your values regarding this decision, but I wouldn't purchase this house if I couldn't live with its cosmetic issues. I think the red/brown version of this house is probably the best you can expect to achieve within your budget. If it's acceptable, go for it.

I agree with the pros that it will take serious money to truly fix the cosmetic issues here.

Bondiamaco, I think this house would look nice in a light color. I actually like the color it is, or maybe a bit darker. Take a look at siding in Lowes or Home Depot if you want to choose a color that is "in" to paint your house. You can even take a sample chip over to the paint department and get it matched.

Still not sure what everyone find so hideous about this house that they comment so negatively. I know a lot of people that would love to have that carport to shield their car from snow and rain.

Thanks, Handymam. I'm realizing that I probably just showed up at a black tie event wearing khakis, yet much of the input has been exactly in line with my inquiry. I posted because I thought this house presented some interesting challenges that would interest many here. We all have different budgets and design interests and needs, and no one is required to comment, and I'm free to consider or reject any comments. No hard feelings to anyone.

Indeed, my father is a schooled building tradesman, as are several extended family members that live in my community.

Houses currently in more glamorous condition are within my reach, but I don't subscribe to the mentality that newer, bigger, and more expensive are necessarily better and more fulfilling. I know numerous people who have built homes, lived in them ten years, and then decided to build a new home because they're tired of their "old" house. I'm more interested in building up existing communities and curbing the trend of urban sprawl.

I don't really understand the dogmatic statement that sure-footed homes with acceptable floor plans are not worth improving--it's sort of been stated like that's a rule. Food for thought for me. But if we only build new homes and improve homes of a certain class, aren't we setting ourselves up to have a lot of slums? This home is in an area that's beginning to undergo gentrification. Nonetheless, the "nays" have made an impression, and I won't make an offer to hastily.

Clarification-I'm not suggesting you can't do anything outside that specific look (the red/brown), just that the fixes you can make within your budget probably won't achieve an esthetic much better than that because proper roofing for the climate you're in will limit your choices. Personally, I think a modified version of that is a completely acceptable look, perhaps replacing the "tutu" with shed roofing, and extending it out to make covered patios.

Many ideas here. Click:

You aren't going to like this. Please don't think I am being judgmental, but the tutu does not seem to me to be the main problem here. Before doing anything I would have a certified home inspector come and inspect the property. The things I see are things like the uneven melting of the snow on the roof indicating lack of insulation and air leaking out, icicles forming on the eaves, possible asbestos siding which is so low to the ground that it is exposed to water and rot, you can't even see the foundation, deferred maintenance all around that can be indicative of other problems, a crawl space which might have more problems of it's own. Do you know anything about the mechanicals...the plumbing, the wiring, the furnace, the water heater, etc? There are tacked on rooms and roofs that can also be a future problem in regards to siding the house to make it attractive. Is the chimney for a wood burning stove or fireplace? The windows look to be cheap aluminum windows also. We too were looking for a small house in a good price range and saw many like this. We persevered and eventually did find a house that would not require us to spend a lot of money or labor trying to get it livable. It cost just two times your fix up price. I would bet you could too.

Their is a shake product called pelican bay that you can use to keep the current shake look of the house. With the size of the house you will take away from its curb appeal if you go with a clapboard siding. It will be maintenance free but will probably cost a pretty penny. I am not sure you need an entirely new roof, but you have significant ice dams in the back. Their could be a few causes of this, one not enough insulation in the article or too much ventilation and not enough ice and water installed. If the latter is the case that could be costly as well. If it's just the insulation you could get away cheap.

I don't know about installing vinyl siding of any kind. It might have two layers of siding on it already, and if it is asbestos, you need a certified contractor to remove it. I don't know, there may be some loopholes for an owner to do the work, like there is with lead paint, but you still need to be really careful and wet it down and take precautions to keep the fibers contained and disposed of properly.That old asbestos siding can last 80 years, so perhaps that is a project to save up for, and just get a good sprayer to prime and paint it for now.

If it is asbestos, it will complicate any major changes to the exterior, like changing windows and adding trim, and I wouldn't be surprised if it is lurking around the heating pipes or ducts or in flooring glue and such. As long as it isn't crumbling, you can leave it be or encase it to be safe.

Let's hope it is cedar and you can just paint to extend it's lifespan a bit. Vinyl in general is not as expensive as other siding options, but it is far less greener, has a shorter lifespan, can trap moisture unless a rain screen is installed, and outgass toxic fumes if it catches fire, and looks terrible if the building isn't square. On the other hand, it leaves the siding underneath somewhat intact and buys you time until you can afford to do something else.

There are DIY spray foam kits you might want to look at, and there is lots of DIY inexpensive and green weatherization videos by the University of Maine on YouTube that are very good, as well as instructions to DIY your own internal storm windows with wood frames and plastic with Mother Earth News and other sources.

The advantage of foam is that it seals as well as insulates, and with a building that has been added on multiple times, that is needed before you use other insulation--otherwise the air leaks and you don't get as much performance for your money. But if you make it really tight, then you have to find another way to ventilate for moisture and indoor air pollution. Just doing the roof, the sill and maybe around the windows (remove the casing) but not the walls could be enough for significant savings and less problems with ice dams, but not so much to start worrying about mold and extreme ventilation. Soffit ventilation may be a problem with the style of roof you have though.

Here's another house with some interesting roof lines:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/what-color-front-door-and-style-color-of-garage-door-dsvw-vd~444432

Still think the dark body color and high contrast trim are key to making it work.

If this house has asbestos siding RUN AWAY the clean-up alone will cost a fortune.

This was an old post from 2014...I wonder what the OP decided to do?