Purchased the property next door to me 3yrs ago at a tax auction. By state law, had to wait those 3yrs before legally able to apply for a Tax Deed at the Probate Office.

The "Deed is done". The property is now legally mine to do with as I wish.

The derelict structure on the property has not been occupied for those 3yrs and virtually beyond repair with wood rot, leaks and mold issues. Previously when rented out, the house was known to have pest issues and some of the previous renters were involved with illegal activities and may have left residue throughout, with their cooking and all.

So, I'd like to clear the lot and have the property simply added to my homestead but I've never had a house torn down and lot cleared. I'd appreciate any comments, experience and heads up. Approximate idea of what to expect for costs too. THANKS !!! ... oh, and the structure is 3br appox 1500sqft, if size is a cost consideration.

The price is going to vary considerably depending on your location, how far it is to the dump and to get a back hoe there, and how much the dump charges per load. I'd suggest getting local estimates.

You can tell my the roof line that the house has major roofing and truss issues. Looks like it was a nice little house at one time, sad to see it get to that point.

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If you have a Habitat for Humanity or another group that builds houses, call and offer them first pick of anything they want to salvage.

The one I used to support here would remove copper pipes, toilets, showers, sinks, basically anything that termites haven't sunk their teeth into.

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Any hazardous material removal? Slab removal is often costly as well.

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
Any hazardous material removal? Slab removal is often costly as well.

No hazardous material that I'm aware of ... no asbestos siding etc. It has a crawl space beneath. Build date of 1940 according to tax records.

Around here you'd likely be in the $10,000 - $15,000 range, and the company you would hire would jump through all of the hoops and get the necessary permits.

The debris goes to various destinations depending upon the material, and they'd knock it out in a day.

You will be surprised at how short a time it takes. A friend of mine tore down homes for weeks using a massive excavator and HUGE dump trucks. It creates lots of dust and it is a good idea to wet things down a bit before starting if the weather has been dry. Since you live next door you will not want to use explosives.LOL

quote:

Originally posted by ZSMICHAEL:
You will be surprised at how short a time it takes. A friend of mine tore down homes for weeks using a massive excavator and HUGE dump trucks. It creates lots of dust and it is a good idea to wet things down a bit before starting if the weather has been dry. Since you live next door you will not want to use explosives.LOL

HA !!! ... and live too close to try and let the local Fire Department use it for training. Would melt my vinyl siding D'OH

As you stated that some of the previous tennants had participated in some illegal activities such as "cooking". If that is true then you have possibly entered a "hazmat zone" that can not be cleaned up without major complications. Best of luck with the removal. ............................ drill sgt.

quote:

Originally posted by drill sgt:
As you stated that some of the previous tennants had participated in some illegal activities such as "cooking". If that is true then you have possibly entered a "hazmat zone" that can not be cleaned up without major complications. Best of luck with the removal. ............................ drill sgt.

Neighborhood scuttlebutt says that "cooking" may have been going on but I can not confirm it. The wonky renters were into all kinds of stuff though, drugs ... and I think it was an underground half-way house for illegal aliens. There was lots of coming and going with short stays of folks who spoke little to no English. I think that's how they made a little money. And the renters were "run out" by a determined bail bondsman in search of one of them.

On the other hand, before the druggy squatters, and before the house got in such bad shape, there were solid good salt of the earth kind of people renting from time to time.

No one will ever live next door to me again. That structure is to be gone.

The city had some state demolition funds for derelict homes but all the monies have been allocated and my current choices are either continue to pay property taxes on a structure generating no income OR clear the lot and add to my homestead. I'm over 65 and qualify for a total property tax exemption on my homestead property. Haven't had to pay any property taxes on my homestead for several years now.

I would like the fire dept train on it- leaves u with less to send to the dump

quote:

Originally posted by stuffgeek:
I would like the fire dept train on it- leaves u with less to send to the dump

Good idea, but think I live too close to stand that kind of heat, with vinyl siding on my home and all.

quote:

Originally posted by Hobbs:

quote:

Originally posted by stuffgeek:
I would like the fire dept train on it- leaves u with less to send to the dump

Good idea, but think I live too close to stand that kind of heat, with vinyl siding on my home and all.

Not necessarily. When I was a volunteer, we burned some in pretty tight quarters. We just maintained a "water curtain" between the fire and any adjacent objects we wanted to save. Couldn't hurt to ask.

The company I work for has done a number of demolitions, in our area it is more efficient and cost effective to have roll off dumpsters cycled out. We always use an excavator with a thumb. It crunches up well and you can load the roll offs full. We would tear out the foundation and fill with clay, depending on what the owner wanted. I know rules vary from municipality to municipality and county to county in our area. I couldn’t speak as to price because dump fees vary so much. My best advice is choose a reputable contractor, there are so many shady dudes out there, it may cost a bit more but in the end it will probably cost less than someone who piece meals the job out. Dump fees are probably your biggest cost

FD would use it for cutting through walls and even roof.

Around here - old construction -the whole thing would either go into trucks with long old timber separated, or - newer construction - it would be taken apart methodically, and separated into 5-7 trash streams.

I bet a removal company could make money taking it away in one shot, dumping it on their property and separating from there in their own time.

Gas / water / sewer? There is a permit here for sealing a sewer lateral.

I like the habitat idea to let them strip the place, and was going to recommend looking into the controlled burn for FD training.

Please let us know what ends up happening. Looks like an interesting sort of problem to have.

Of course, you could also always take this route...

My neighbor tore down their house last year and was done in a couple of days, Beware the buried full propane tanks though!!!
IMG_20200302_161128_01 by Brad Sterling, on Flickr

IMG_20200226_115228 by Brad Sterling, on Flickr

If there is an A/C unit in my county you have to have a special permit and certified company to purge the CFC's (even if it doesn't have any) before demolition.

Demolish a house? Sounds like a fun project for a SIGforum get-together.

quote:

Originally posted by CaptainMike:
If there is an A/C unit in my county you have to have a special permit and certified company to purge the CFC's (even if it doesn't have any) before demolition.

No heat or AC. No water, gas or electricity either. There WAS a now long gone heat pump at one time. Gas company came out last year and dug up the service lines all the way on the other side of the street, in order to terminate service to this structure. I'd told a gas survey guy what my intentions were and then a couple of months later a crew showed up to terminate service lines.