When we buy houses in Kansas City, we sometimes take on houses that scare off other cash buyers.
We were looking through some house files from 2012 and came across this gem. This was a house that had a great story and while we don’t have a lot of photos, we hope we can describe things as we go.
Yes, we buy houses in Kansas City and this one on 62nd Court was no different. It was one of those areas that came with the “Kansas City Address but Raytown Schools Sign.”
We found this one on MLS as a bank foreclosure and no one was willing to buy this house as it had some really scary attributes.
As houses go, it was a basic house that had been lived in. It needed some updating, but overall the house was not in too bad of condition. But it had some huge issues that the average home buyer or even investor like ourselves were afraid of.
Mold in the Basement
Ok, so there was no mold. But in the unfinished basement, on a bat of insulation tucked into the wall, there was a patch where the insulation had been wet at one time and it had a spot of mold. Simple fix, replace that bat of insulation. Problem solved.
Foundation Issues
We looked this house over and had a structural engineer look at it, we could not find a single foundation issue anywhere. There was a concrete “wing” wall that came out the side of the foundation at the back patio to hold back the yard. It had some exposed rebar. Not an issue, we just patched it.
Garage Floor Caving In
Ok, this one looked scarier than it was. It was not a structural or foundation issue. You see, foundations are poured. Houses are built. Garage floors, driveways, and sidewalks are poured separately. They are not attached to the foundation. In this house, there was a lack of support under the garage floor and some of the sidewalks in front. The simple but costly fix was to break them up, remove them, bring in some gravel and other soil items for support. And repour.
Deck Was Unsafe
The original deck that was attached to the house had never been maintained. It was riddled with dry rot and was just not safe. Again we had a simple, but costly fix to replace it.
Retailing Wall Was Collapsing
This house had a very steep backyard over the community drainage area. Was very similar to all the houses on the street. This particular house had built a retaining wall to build a flat yard. But it was built out of railroad ties and they just don’t hold up over time. This took an engineer, a foundation guy, a bunch of calls to the city, and then we brought in the huge man-made concrete boulders and stacked them across. This is where the majority of the renovation costs came into play.
Renovations on the House
The rest of the house was basically fresh paint, some new carpet, some light fixtures, and some updates to the kitchen. All in all, it turned out great!
Here are a few of the after shots – note these are scans of scans of scans so not the best photos, but all we have left today.
