need house help. Any mortgage type people out there

[1sty]

I am in a bit of a stalemate with my current home.
The location is great, the land is really good for me but the house itself is lacking.
Problem is there are SO many things that need to get done, I really dont know where to start nor do I have the massive amount in cash needed to start it.
As an example, I need to address the space issue, The house is really walled off. I need to at minimum knock down the wall between the dinning and kitchen but this also includes adding an eat in counter which requires new kitchen cabinets, counter, flooring and all that fun stuff so it isn't going to be cheap.

I refinanced last year to a lower APR and have about 15% equity in the house against the appraised value back then. My worry is if I do anything now in refinancing, that appraised value will be even lower.

What options if any are out there in terms of loans to get some larger projects started?

Here is the Mod list:
Must have:
1. Open kitchen and dining room walls. This is not a load bearing wall.
2. replace kitchen cabinets
3. replace counters
4. get central air and get the two big ass holes in the walls fixed or made into windows. I have forced hot air (propane, so this is an easy install)
5. Need water radon treatment system.
6. rebuild the side deck, its falling off the house, wife wont even stand on it.
7.update the two bathrooms completely. They need vanities, mirror, and flooring.
8. Update kitchen flooring
9. Replace windows, they are old single pane wood casings that seal shut when they expand. And they leak like they were open 2".
10. Reside the house, its an ugly ass color and I think the previous owner did a DIY job as there is no tivek or any form of foam or wrap on the house.

Wants:
1. A garage which will require relocation of the septic tank which is right at the end of the driveway
2. move a wall between the two smaller bedrooms so they are the same size instead of one being 12x18 ad the other 8x10 (room is a damn prison cell) This is not a load bearing wall.
3. Move the front door so it doesn't open into the stair case.
4. Build a mud room between the garage and house, put a bathroom over this and change the current bathroom to a master bathroom.


If this were a different day and age, I would just sell the house but currently there is 30 house around me (within 5 minutes) for sale and most are asking near what I would have to ask just to break even and they have garages, although I have an additional acre of land.

I dont think this will ever be a house I will want to stay in long term (more then 5 years) so I figured I need to get started on updates that will make a more sell able house.

 

[Kain]

Are you willing to put in the labor? That combined with the discounts you can get on material, you'd save yourself an assload.

Honestly, I would do the upgrades now to sell at a future date. Obviously real estate is all based on location so this is a generalization, but you will not get the value now that you could during a bull market. I suggest taking your time as your budget allows, then sitting on it until the economy is chugging along again.

 

[1sty]

I can do the labor with supervisions as when it comes to construction, I am a complete meathead.

 

[The ManLaw]

one thing to also think about it is if you are wanting to sell in 5 years, do mods that are more neutral in styles. most of the things that you mentioned are pretty neutral in style, but you have to be careful with the little things like what color you end up with on your cabinets, and what style you do for your bathroom. since you said you have an acre more property than the people around you, it sounds like your house would make a great family house with older children, so gear your repairs and mods towards a couple in their 30's to early 40's.

as for refinancing, if you have 5 years left of staying in your house, i'd say do up your budget and see if you can take a personal loan for about 5 years for approx. the amount it would take to construct all these things. though that usually is a b**** and costs possibly more in interest, its one of those things i would rather go about doing that way so i know that that much is paid off when i go to sell the home. more money in da bank

 

[Lboogs]

It seems like your main concern is whether or not the value of the home is the same or has gone down. IIRC the appraisals are still good for 6mnths, no? If you have gone past that timeframe you can pay another $250-$300 for another appraisal, or have a drive by appraisal done to asses the current value of the house.

Once you know for sure the market value and your equity, you can proceed from there. If you have the equity why not take out Home Equity line of credit, or a Home Equity loan? Better than doing a cash out refinance, and dealing with all the closing cost and such. Evaluate your options then talk with your lender and see what the numbers would look like. Good luck