I'm looking to purchase a house and contingent on FHA financing rules the existing detached 2 car garage is too far gone for a quick fix to make it legal again. I'm being told the only quick way to make it work is to tear it down.
It was built on a slab and closer to the property lines than current regulations allow. Tearing it down and putting it up again would mean I have a smaller (width) and shorter (height) garage than was there since it was grandfathered in. Plus it would need a a full foundation which requires a massive amount work and money on our end.
I'm trying to keep enough of the structure up so that it can be classified as a remodel and not new construction and that I'm not stuck with a 1 car garage with nearly the same land footprint.
So, one of my ideas is how to make it pass in an assessors eyes is to rip all of the walls with the rotting wood down, basically turn it into a car port, and finish it off after I move in. With a majority of the structure intact it should qualify as a renovation and not as new construction in the city's eyes.
Help me /diy/ I need my garage.
pic not related (i wish it was mine)
>>915112
just replace all the wood and siding except one wall then wait a few years and replace that wall if possible
your local laws my very considerably and no one knows because you did not post location
>>915124
it has to be addressed before financing is approved and the existing owners are too old to do anything about it (like deathbed old)
It's located in Massachusetts, it's not just 1 wall its the wood around the base of the garage. It's rotted because the previous owner just tossed his yard waste behind and against the sides. The roof also is about 3 layers deep.
Ripping it down means it would never be able to be rebuilt with the same dimensions or in the same exact location. I read that car ports don't get considered in the same fashion as garages especially when it's detached
http://portal.hud.gov/hudportal/HUD?src=/program_offices/public_indian_housing/reac/products/pass/qa
Definition of a Building: These guidelines should be applied in conjunction with the clarifications, as noted below, and in the Compilation Bulletin RAPID 4.0.
An individual building is any structure that has a contiguous roofline, a permanent foundation (including pier foundations poured to bearing soil and below frost line), is enclosed on all sides and has at least one utility servicing it such as electric, gas, water, or sewer.
The foundation is not considered permanent if the structure is for example, on skids, or if it is a wooden foundation whereby the structure might easily be picked up with a piece of equipment and relocated. Structures brought onto properties on wheels, such as a mobile home, are not considered buildings.
If a storage shed, garage, carport or other free-standing structure does not meet the definition of a building, do not inspect it as a building. However, if a Health and Safety deficiency is observed on the structure, it should be recorded as [Site], [Health and Safety], [nearest building], [Hazards], [Any Other - This Does Pose a Risk of Bodily Injury].
>>915124
This is how we get around the rules for how close you can build a cabin to a lake here. You buy an old run down cabin, and use one of the walls to build the rest of the new cabin on.
>>915112
>rip all of the walls with the rotting wood down. Good idea. But maybe you wont need to go that far. Digging all the debris away from the walls and off of the property would be a good start for assessing what it really is. Go around at the bottom of every wall and clear anything within 6 inches pull any weeds growing into the siding.
Appearance is a big part of it.
>3 layers of roofing
Have a big dumpster parked there and fill it/re-roof if it leaks. Plan on a re-roof anyways down the road.
>Plus it would need a a full foundation
Why isn't the slab suitable besides being closer to property line now? If it's not all cracked and that has lasted why change it, replace the boards lagged to it and wall studs, maybe it's just rotted siding.
>>915112
So what the outside walls are rotting out ? Can you not jack up the roof/rafter section after you cut it free and then replace the structural walls. Hell buy like 20 bottle jackets and then return them after you're done. Menards will take anything back on an in store credit return although Massachusetts might be too far east for menards to be around
>>915112
I have nothing to add, but please come back or update when you're done.
>>915179
>menards will take anything
Including the 2x4 studs that have bottle jack indentations on the ends of said 20 boards too.
>>915145
I'm reminded of a solution one of my uncles had. He bought an old cottage on a small lot for cheap and was told by the city he couldn't build a new home on this land (property line issues, plus it was close to a lake). To legally get around this problem, he was able to build a renovation onto the existing building (which become his new house). Once everything was finished and inspected, he quietly removed the old cottage without any legal ramifications.
>>915163
While that would help, I doubt that would sway the assessor from giving the garage a passing grade, which is what I need for the bank to pay
It is unlikely the current owner will strip off the roofing without major hassle, especially if there is more rotted wood under the shingles, honestly it would be a godsend if it snowed enough to cover the roof before the inspection period ends, but, given the warm weather we've had it's unlikely
If it comes down the city demands that it be rebuilt with a foundation dug below the frost line, the slab is no longer considered acceptable for garages in this city
>>915190
>especially if there is more rotted wood under the shingles
Man, my house and garage (which was on an alley and kind of run down) My house had cedar shingles first and 2 and 3 layers of 3 tab on top of it. The re-roof if I remember right was a full tear off and sheeting put down 25 years ago. No rotten wood under all that roofing.
Here is a shot of the roof
Here is the back, I need to go back to get interior shots during the inspection period
>>915232
lots of moss but I bet it doesn't leak in the interior. The end of a lot those rafter overhangs are toast though.
If the rest of the rafters are solid you may be able to double them up with new 2x4s complete with birdsmouth and overhang.. I don't know first hand how that would go over but would check it out. Then nail fascia boards across over the ends like it should be to protect the overhangs. Go full retard and put gutters on and a drain system.
Do you actually need a bigger down-payment to get the place is the question.
If in your gut this is the place then get the cash. Afterwords prioritize the renovations
>dumping money you dont have into property you dont own
>wtf are you even doing
>>915258
>If it comes down the city demands that it be rebuilt with a foundation dug below the frost line, the slab is no longer considered acceptable for garages in this city
Well that's the rub then isn't it?
It better be worth the effort or just move on. 6 months from now another place will come along and make you wonder why you wasted your time with this one.
>>915987
Pretty much fucking this.
>OP puts $15,000 into garage
>old people die before sale
>nephew comes and inherits
Or
>old people "forget" who OP is.
>>915112
Don't use a FHA loan; it's only setting you up to buy more than you can afford.
Honestly dude, a house in a city isn't worth it, there are a hundred houses in the same square mile you can get that could be better. The money is one thing, the legal loopholes are another.
Never put money into a house you don't own
Never sign a contract(like a mortgage) if it's not surely what you want
Something like this could be a life long commitment, and it could end with you screwed or with something you're not happy with. And what of you don't rebuild the foundation and it eventually cracks and the garage eventually collapses. There are more possibilities for things to go bad than for them to go good.
>>916131
>>917140
The we were qualified for way more than we are spending, the mortgage will be equal to what we play for rent.
>>917402
Oh it is definitely what I want. But what ended up happening is that we are just waiting for the appraisal, if it has to go they rip it down. If it slides by we get $2000 of the purchase price.
The waiting game begins
>>917409
I think that was somebody's dream house more than a few times.
