Looking to buy an experiment.. err, House

[RobbMeeX]

So I am currently house hunting with my Girlfriend. We are looking to buy in the Atlanta area. Looking for either A:3/2 or B:2/1 then add a master suite and bathroom. I'd prefer a project house, whilst the lady would like a move in special.
I very much like the idea of having a very efficient house which will leave me saving in the long run (BUT also have a limit on initial funding). Having said that, I'd like to present my wishlist:
Radiant floors. Solar water heater a BIG plus.
Minisplit AC.
Solar power.
Metal roof, preferably white
Insulation. Roxul seems like its up my alley.
Rain collection. Preferable method of flushing the toilet. Watering the garden that we will have as well.
I'd like maybe some sort of a home network. I haven't quite worked out the specifics in my head yet, but I want it to do something.

I want your input on things I ought to add to my wishlist. Things that would improve upon my vision of a house.
I came from Ecomodder. If you need my to lean a motor, using high impedance injectors and then rebuild the exhaust for turbo, I can do all that. But when it comes to housing terms, specs, etc., I don't know what a soffit is (ok, just wikipedia'd it. Its the overhang piece). You get the idea. My Dad is a contractor and almost every house I've lived in was either built by him or completely renovated by him, so I have confidence I can handle such a task as improving my home.

So yeah, this is something of my introduction (or reintroduction, I've been reading a ton off this site). I need your help! Thanks

Robbie

[ecomodded]

I would stay away from the decrepit homes, Buy something that is done already or does not need a overhaul. That way you can concentrate on the mortgage and not house Reno's.

Then again if the house is cheap and your handy, factor in the Reno's and add it to your mortgage.

[randen]

If I may suggest I think it would be best to start with a clean sheet of paper. RobbMeex you may have several advantages here. You sound like you are young, You have some exposure to home building, You know what you need for a completely energy efficient home.
My oppinions here are well founded. My home that I built is very energy efficient and I couldn't have accomplished anywhere near the goal retrofitting the conventionally constructed home I previously lived in. However I did constuct in stages so everything was in place.

But my thoughts now are : I should have done it in the first instance so I could have enjoyed them over the first number of years. Some of the technologies have a long ROI return of investment and this is what you want to capitalize with. It seems to make more sense to pay for a little higher morgage that additionally bought you Solar PV, Solar hot water and a very tight house envelope with a warm floor and a roof you will never have to replace than to be paying those utility bills of which you have no control for ever afterwards.

While I do agree with Ecomodder the decrepit home is nowhere to consider to live in and try to fix er up to a net zero home. Todays economy may have ruthlusly provided some serviced good sized properties to push over the decrepit home and build a new net zero. Be selective on the neibourhood though.
Keep the foot print small. Keep things simple but effective to keep the costs down. example The slab concrete floor (heated) can be left natural or stained so no additional floor coverings (eg. tile or wood floor.) are required saving $1000s. Plan Plan Plan. Look for discounts, wait for insulation to go on sale. Maybe use some of the brick off the house you just pushed over.

That money you saved there can go into more solar PV, hot water panels that you'll never have to send every month to the utilities.

I think your timing is perfect. Building a different looking home with all the solar and metal roofing and windows with extra overhang dosen't make you a radical hippy, just dam smart. The price of the cutting edge technology is very competitive with conventional utilities. Being young and embracing all this pays huge dividens as time moves forward.

Good luck
Randen

[Exalta-STA]

Yes, I would stay away from houses that need lots of repair to bring into an inhabitable condition...oh and some houses used as meth labs are being sold cheap and man, those places are toxic..

Rob, good luck with the house hunt and keep us updated...you can post your choices here if you want

[RobbMeeX]

I'm not actually buying a "project". It will be my project. I'm eyeballing a currently lived in 2/1. No meth house. We can move in whenever we buy. We have 3 months left on our lease. Interesting thinking about a new build. I'll mull that over. I've got big dreams, but we'll see what actually pans out...

[randen]

Don't let the urgency of the lease running out "We have to find some where to live." To dash the plan. You can live anywhere. I've known people to live in a trailer while they are building. I lived in an area above a shop. It can be fun.

Randen

[RobbMeeX]

Wise words. I'm really questioning if the place I have my eye on is "the place for me". I want to be sure.

[RobbMeeX]

A month later and I had gotten totally excited about buying a house to realize that the last guy bought the house, put 30k or less into it and is going to try and sell it for 150K. I could do that... So I will. Sunday night after seeing a nice ****hole in a great location go for 80k, My GF and I realized we want to build our own house... out of a bad house. So today I looked at a two story that had been stripped of its copper (PEX time!), had holes knocked in the walls (Great for insulation), the whole upper floor had its walls removed (Easy remodel there!), and it had a bad roof (Great, its metal roof time!). Now this may not be THE house I end up with, but it has allowed me to use my vision to see what this house could be. I also now need to research 203k loans for renovation...
This thread I see will end up being my house shopping comment thread and I go through many houses until I find a winner. but please keep any comments coming!

[randen]

Good news Robbmeex

At least you won't be lining someone elses pocket for shotty work that might have been covered up for a fast flip. The 80K isn't bad for an ideal property in a good area. I wonder in todays market what low ball offer they may accept for a gutted house. That shell of a house is really not worth a lot. Think of the materials that show up to a site on the back of a truck. $10-$20k The expensive stuff kitchen, bathroom, windows flooring (nice heated ceramic/porciline tile) {skip that stain your new concrete slab floor}is the stuff you need to add to this shell.

IMHO you would be able to do a better job with a cleared lot. Maybe use some of the lumber out of the old house for interior walls of your new. You will be able to rough in the details for your solar panels that will fit your achitecture as you can afford them. Maybe as you excavate for your new foundation you can put the poly tube in your back yard for your Geothermal. Poly is cheap the hourly rate of the excavator is not. Replace all the services waterline sanitaryline while he's there to. In all likelyhood the waterline could be near rotted and too small and the sewerline nearly plugged. These materials are not expensive. Even if your going to renovate this may need to be done.

The difference of what you were going to pay and this one 150-80=$70k would have you in a nice new efficient envelope.

Renovating or building a house is a lot of work and a huge investment. You just as well should be working on THE HOME as just something to get you by. The end result it will be worth a whole lot more that a renovation. I can see your already thinking in the right direction . Steel,aluminum roof,12 inches of insulation 30 inch in the lowslope roof, New windows.

Take your time. Plan Plan plan, There are lots of deals in this economy to have.


Randen

[Daox]

How is the house hunt going?