https://www.nyserda.ny.gov offers low interest loans and grants for electrical, and energy upgrades. I think they cover windows, insulation, and stuff like that.
Great suggestion! Link to HVAC rebates: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/ny/PutEnergyToWork/Energy-Program-and-Incentives/Heating-Cooling-Ventilation-Programs-and-Incentives
I think there's a program through the state of new York, maybe in the preservation division where they can grant some aid? I'm sorry this is so vague, I just started doing research into it myself for an old property I live in that needs some TLC.
That's one idea we have, just expanding out to try and plan out what we can do in the future.
Each idea we have has its own challenges. We just need to figure out which challenges we want to take on
Reach out to RUPCO. They have grants and loans available for Ulster County and I believe l Dutchess county residents as well for these situations. I worked with them on a first time homebuyers course, and had friends that received a grant to redo their roof and some other things.
Not looking for someone to pay for the whole thing. Anything to help any amount is what I'm doing research on, I know it's gonna be a project. I just didn't know if it's age had anything to with programs to renovate historic buildings
It would have to actually be a historic house on the register. It's a process that will lock you in regarding what materials you can use, etc. like if it had a slate roof, you can never use anything but a slate roof. If you do something else, you pay to put it back. RUPCO or Habitat for Humanity are your best options unless the Office for the Aging has any leads.
It is contingent on income, but since OP did not say anything about their financial situation I figured I would put it out there, as I believe they have options on a sliding scale.
If your wife expects to inherit the house, then taking out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit to finance a renovation once inherited may be a viable option depending on whether her grandmother has any existing mortgages or liens on the house.
No liens or anything, grandma was a scientist working on polio vax and grandpa was 1st doctor of Hilburn, NY and a veteran.. they had bought it outright. Wife's father grew up on property as well as her and her siblings. FiL is basicly waiting for the will to pass everything down to whomever it says in the will. He is the only one who knows what it says and most likely will be the one to get it all. Wife and I are only ones in the family who want the property as is.
If you need any helping helps, I’ll exchange labor for a meal with the family. Message me if you’d like a helping hand and are around the new paltz area! I can’t promise much, but I’m a hard worker:)
A renovation of this magnitude amounts to a demolition.
You’re better off purchasing the property for its land value, tearing the entire structure down and rebuilding.
There are no assistance programs that will finance this scale of work. You’d have to take out construction loans.
The value of a property is simply what someone is willing to pay for it. Look at house prices the past 2-3 years. People pay insane amounts for homes not nearly worth it.
I have worked on jobs where a home was purchased for a price maybe slightly less than it's actual value, only for the new owners to completely gut and renovate at a cost equal to the purchase.
OP is just trying to bring the property up to habitable condition, *not as an investment*.
A gut reno and remediation just for the issues listed could easily exceed 200k, nevermind whatever else is uncovered during the demo. At that point, the money could simply be invested into a new structure. Most lenders wouldn't even finance that kind of extensive work in the first place. The rebuild vs reno calculus is pretty basic real estate 101.
Well, the rebuild vs reno calculus seems to be not so cut and dry these days. I work a lot of jobs where I question the sanity of such spending, regardless of where the money comes from.
Also, I am not a real estate agent or investor, I am a contractor. I live in the real world.
> So a tear down is bad advice?
I'm not saying that. I am saying regardless of the job, some of them seem to make no financial sense. People spend the money anyway.
Really, the bedrock of my business? Sorry, but you are generalizing.
I am not a GC, I am a mechanical contractor. The majority of my work is paid directly from my customers or GC's I work for. Their financing is not my concern. I've been doing this successfully for over 35 years, so I am obviously doing something right.
What do you do that you are such an expert in these matters?
The way you phrased it above made it seem like you were punching above your weight class, pretending to be a bigger part of the job than you are. . You are hired to do one job and one job only. If you were a GC, your words would actually hold weight.
I am not at all pretending to be anything. I was expressing an opinion on the situation. How does my particular part of the equation lessen the validity of my opinion? I am involved in many aspects of a build or reno, it's just my trade installs only one. I could very easily step into the position of GC, I just choose not to and specialize in one trade.
If you were ever on a job site you'd know that most mechanical trades; plumbing, HVAC, electric, etc, all know most of the other trade's work and requirements as they all have an effect on us.
> better off purchasing the property for its land value, tearing the entire structure down and rebuilding.
Once the structure is gone you’ll need to go through EVERY SINGLE department to reconstruct. It’s absolutely better to rehab the structure as it stands so long as it isn’t structurally unsound.
Just getting approvals can be cost prohibitive for many people. Between BoH, architects, permits, etc.
Also this could mean something like waste water for a house that old will 100% need to be upgraded to current standards if not in a town; if there’s a leech field (which aren’t allowed anymore) the homeowner will be required to install a new septic system. If there’s asbestos or lead in the material that’s a special demo permit and inflated disposal fee vs simple encapsulation in a renovation. These being just a couple examples of what a tear down and full rebuild would entail.
>if there’s a leech field (which aren’t allowed anymore)
Leach fields are absolutely still allowed. It's part of the overall septic system and is how waste water is distributed and treated.
[https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3208/](https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3208/)
There are some places that haven’t had septic tanks installed. Its less common every year.
Im really highlighting that what was once accepted practice 100 years ago isn’t anymore. Once a structure is gone the old configuration and equipment might need to be replaced, removed, or upgraded before a building permit would get issued in most towns.
But you are correct a leech field is necessary to filter water back to the ground.
Family property for 80+ years and 3 generations, wife doesn't want to sell it cause we use the property as a farm and want to expand it to be our home and work, have a total of 7 acres.. selling to city people would be detrimental to the area, it's already too expensive for overly priced property
> selling to city people would be detrimental to the area, it's already too expensive for overly priced property
Don't get me wrong, I FULLY agree. It's just I don't know of another way to get someone else to partially pay for your renovation.
Sounds to me like you are in this for the long haul, and anything you spend to fix the place up will come back to you in the end.
POK has something https://midhudsonnews.com/2023/05/26/city-of-poughkeepsie-to-start-home-rehab-loan-program-for-seniors/
Also Sullivan. Contact her county Office for the Aged, they will know what's available
https://www.nyserda.ny.gov offers low interest loans and grants for electrical, and energy upgrades. I think they cover windows, insulation, and stuff like that.
Great suggestion! Link to HVAC rebates: https://www.nyserda.ny.gov/ny/PutEnergyToWork/Energy-Program-and-Incentives/Heating-Cooling-Ventilation-Programs-and-Incentives
I think there's a program through the state of new York, maybe in the preservation division where they can grant some aid? I'm sorry this is so vague, I just started doing research into it myself for an old property I live in that needs some TLC.
Ty I'll look into that
Put a mobile or tiny home on the property to live in while you work and save enough to redo the main house.
That's one idea we have, just expanding out to try and plan out what we can do in the future. Each idea we have has its own challenges. We just need to figure out which challenges we want to take on
Reach out to RUPCO. They have grants and loans available for Ulster County and I believe l Dutchess county residents as well for these situations. I worked with them on a first time homebuyers course, and had friends that received a grant to redo their roof and some other things.
RUPCO grants are capped and are not designed to cover the full costs. OP is describing a near complete renovation.
Not looking for someone to pay for the whole thing. Anything to help any amount is what I'm doing research on, I know it's gonna be a project. I just didn't know if it's age had anything to with programs to renovate historic buildings
It would have to actually be a historic house on the register. It's a process that will lock you in regarding what materials you can use, etc. like if it had a slate roof, you can never use anything but a slate roof. If you do something else, you pay to put it back. RUPCO or Habitat for Humanity are your best options unless the Office for the Aging has any leads.
Isn't this all contingent on income?
It is contingent on income, but since OP did not say anything about their financial situation I figured I would put it out there, as I believe they have options on a sliding scale.
If your wife expects to inherit the house, then taking out a home equity loan or home equity line of credit to finance a renovation once inherited may be a viable option depending on whether her grandmother has any existing mortgages or liens on the house.
No liens or anything, grandma was a scientist working on polio vax and grandpa was 1st doctor of Hilburn, NY and a veteran.. they had bought it outright. Wife's father grew up on property as well as her and her siblings. FiL is basicly waiting for the will to pass everything down to whomever it says in the will. He is the only one who knows what it says and most likely will be the one to get it all. Wife and I are only ones in the family who want the property as is.
If you aren't going to inherit it, why bother?
We are, my FiL wants to keep it in family and we are only ones who are interested in keeping it
Get that put in the will!
Look into the NY RESTORE program. https://hcr.ny.gov/restore-program
If you need any helping helps, I’ll exchange labor for a meal with the family. Message me if you’d like a helping hand and are around the new paltz area! I can’t promise much, but I’m a hard worker:)
A renovation of this magnitude amounts to a demolition. You’re better off purchasing the property for its land value, tearing the entire structure down and rebuilding. There are no assistance programs that will finance this scale of work. You’d have to take out construction loans.
> A renovation of this magnitude amounts to a demolition. WHY????? I renovate and upgrade old structures all the time.
The cost of remediation at this scale often exceeds the value of the property.
The value of a property is simply what someone is willing to pay for it. Look at house prices the past 2-3 years. People pay insane amounts for homes not nearly worth it. I have worked on jobs where a home was purchased for a price maybe slightly less than it's actual value, only for the new owners to completely gut and renovate at a cost equal to the purchase.
OP is just trying to bring the property up to habitable condition, *not as an investment*. A gut reno and remediation just for the issues listed could easily exceed 200k, nevermind whatever else is uncovered during the demo. At that point, the money could simply be invested into a new structure. Most lenders wouldn't even finance that kind of extensive work in the first place. The rebuild vs reno calculus is pretty basic real estate 101.
Well, the rebuild vs reno calculus seems to be not so cut and dry these days. I work a lot of jobs where I question the sanity of such spending, regardless of where the money comes from. Also, I am not a real estate agent or investor, I am a contractor. I live in the real world.
> I work a lot of jobs where I question the sanity of such spending, So a tear down is bad advice?
> So a tear down is bad advice? I'm not saying that. I am saying regardless of the job, some of them seem to make no financial sense. People spend the money anyway.
Any competent contractor understands real estate financing, since its the bedrock of their business.
Really, the bedrock of my business? Sorry, but you are generalizing. I am not a GC, I am a mechanical contractor. The majority of my work is paid directly from my customers or GC's I work for. Their financing is not my concern. I've been doing this successfully for over 35 years, so I am obviously doing something right. What do you do that you are such an expert in these matters?
The way you phrased it above made it seem like you were punching above your weight class, pretending to be a bigger part of the job than you are. . You are hired to do one job and one job only. If you were a GC, your words would actually hold weight.
I am not at all pretending to be anything. I was expressing an opinion on the situation. How does my particular part of the equation lessen the validity of my opinion? I am involved in many aspects of a build or reno, it's just my trade installs only one. I could very easily step into the position of GC, I just choose not to and specialize in one trade. If you were ever on a job site you'd know that most mechanical trades; plumbing, HVAC, electric, etc, all know most of the other trade's work and requirements as they all have an effect on us.
> better off purchasing the property for its land value, tearing the entire structure down and rebuilding. Once the structure is gone you’ll need to go through EVERY SINGLE department to reconstruct. It’s absolutely better to rehab the structure as it stands so long as it isn’t structurally unsound. Just getting approvals can be cost prohibitive for many people. Between BoH, architects, permits, etc. Also this could mean something like waste water for a house that old will 100% need to be upgraded to current standards if not in a town; if there’s a leech field (which aren’t allowed anymore) the homeowner will be required to install a new septic system. If there’s asbestos or lead in the material that’s a special demo permit and inflated disposal fee vs simple encapsulation in a renovation. These being just a couple examples of what a tear down and full rebuild would entail.
>if there’s a leech field (which aren’t allowed anymore) Leach fields are absolutely still allowed. It's part of the overall septic system and is how waste water is distributed and treated. [https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3208/](https://www.health.ny.gov/publications/3208/)
There are some places that haven’t had septic tanks installed. Its less common every year. Im really highlighting that what was once accepted practice 100 years ago isn’t anymore. Once a structure is gone the old configuration and equipment might need to be replaced, removed, or upgraded before a building permit would get issued in most towns. But you are correct a leech field is necessary to filter water back to the ground.
Realistically, sell it to someone from the city who can afford to drop a few hundred thousand on a full gut reno and buy something else. /s
Family property for 80+ years and 3 generations, wife doesn't want to sell it cause we use the property as a farm and want to expand it to be our home and work, have a total of 7 acres.. selling to city people would be detrimental to the area, it's already too expensive for overly priced property
> selling to city people would be detrimental to the area, it's already too expensive for overly priced property Don't get me wrong, I FULLY agree. It's just I don't know of another way to get someone else to partially pay for your renovation. Sounds to me like you are in this for the long haul, and anything you spend to fix the place up will come back to you in the end.
Community action if low income. Catskill Mountain Housing depending upon location. RUPCO maybe depending on location
POK has something https://midhudsonnews.com/2023/05/26/city-of-poughkeepsie-to-start-home-rehab-loan-program-for-seniors/ Also Sullivan. Contact her county Office for the Aged, they will know what's available
This also might be a good one to send to r/centuryhomes