Contractor or what?

So.... while I'm recovering from surgery, its giving me way too much time to think about everything that needs to be done. So, my question is..... what kind of person can I hire to give the house a once over and tell me what all needs to be done so that I can get a plan together and look into possibly hiring and financing to get things done? I would need to find my mom someone else to live before I made any interior repairs, but I also need to find out a ball park figure to have all repairs done. I need to know if I want to continue to work on things or just sell it as is and walk away from it. I know that seems drastic, and maybe it is..... but I just need to be able to move on... either by repairs or selling. So, give me some ideas of what I need to do.
Thanks!

A home inspector would be a good start; the type you you hire when you are going to buy a new house. Explain to him/her that you are not selling you want a report for your own rehab purposes.

Then you can start calling the proper trades, electrician, plumber, HVAC etc. to give you estimates on the items on the list.

If you are looking at selling, call a real estate agent. He will have a good idea of which problems will really hurt resale price. He probably will have a fair idea of what it will cost to fix most of them, but he may or might not wish to speculate on pricing, since he is not a contractor. Also, if his/her ethics are low, he may prioritize items that will get the house sold quicker, rather than what gives you the best payback. But if you are trusting him to sell your house, you need to have a certain amount of trust in him and that he is doing what is best for you.

A home inspectors only job should be to do just that inspect the home, in most cases in most states there not suposted to be giving repair estimates.
That would be concidered a conflict of interest.
You already know about most of the issues, why pay someone to point out the same things you already know.
I've done exactly what your asking to have done a few times when the people where up front and honest about the bigger picture and they were willing to pay me for my time and also give me a chance to do any of the needed work in the future.
Time is money.
I have no issue with giving a free estimate on a job that the people are really looking to have done and are doing there homework and getting quotes on the job, but would have a real issue doing one for free just to help someone make a decision.

Make a list.

Obtain estimates with the understanding the dwelling needs to be market ready.

I have zero problem paying someone to do an inspection. I am aware of issues, the problem comes in that I don't know what is tied to what and also....
I hot one estimate to redo my grave to another room..... nothing fancy, like literally drywall frame, floor, carpet 16,000. There is nothing about this house that says 16k into one project is a good idea. I got an estimate to move washer and dryer to garage which is 30 feet. Water is already out there, I'd need electric for the dryer and then the plumbing to be tied in 4k. I said well scratch that.... how much to change the metal washer drain box (its severely rusting and needs new faucets $500. Got an estimate for siding and windows 17k. I've called a few places to give me an estimate to fix the sag but no one shows up. I do need to try to get an electrical estimate but trying to get my boys to move stuff so that someone can access the attic is like trying to pour frozen honey. Carpet will be another 5k.
I had one of them move my moms 2 totes from the driveway to outback a little bit ago and she had a cow.... theres alot of this stuff that I could do... but, considering I've had 2 rotator cuff tears in 3 yeara... maybe that's not how my energy is best spent. I also dont want to put money into the house if I'm going to lose it should I need to sell it. I've spent 17k the past 2 years and the only visible changes are shingles and no more trees. It's just super frustrating I currently has 72k in a house that probably wont appraise for 62k as is

And, I'm not 100% sure that I want to sell it. I've never been much of a person to run from problems.... but, that's currently what I wish I could do

Home inspectors in my opinion are nearly worthless. They exist to check a box for the lender saying the house is OK to lend on. They usually won't crawl under the house, or go in the attic. If you truly want to be informed on the mechanical and pest state of your house I would enlist the services of a plumber, electrician, HVAC contractor and termite inspector. Which may sound like a lot, but "home inspectors" are quite expensive, and an hour or two of time of each of these guys in the trades might measure up well for value. And they'll actually go look at the systems in question.

You have to look at your situation 2 ways. First from a monetary point of view saying what is the house worth, what does it need and what will it be worth. That’s the way a house flipper would look at it trying to make money and at worst breaking even.


Then you have to look at it as a person who also needs a place to live for you and your family. If you sell the house take a loss or break even you still have the burden of finding another place and starting the process over with all new unknowns.


If it is not profitable for you to fix things and stay above the water then it will also be a tough sale finding someone else that will want to try and do the same thing. You have the advantage of combining your housing costs into the big picture. That is good and bad as you also have the aggravations of trying to live and enjoy a home with all the problems.


I have kind of lived this same way on and off most of my life and when I sometimes had the time I didn’t have the money and when I had the money didn’t have the time. Looking at a bunch of problems as a whole just makes the whole thing seem insurmountable I get that. I know so many people that feel that same way.


You now have a place to live that I’m assuming has heat, is dry and is basically sound shelter. This might sound strange knowing all that needs done but if I were you I would pick one room in the chaos maybe your bedroom, and something you could handle the work yourself and make it really nice. Give yourself a spot to enjoy and regroup between all the other stuff.


It also seems all this is falling on you to accomplish and you have others more able but less willing to get things done. When I was 12 my dad had me painting the house and doing the yard work and anything else he could think of where I wouldn’t kill myself. There should be help from others benefiting from a roof over their heads.


Pick one thing after you have your personal retreat done maybe the laundry and make it a DIY project. You said you have water out there already even if you need to make longer hoses to get the water where you need it I would do it. If there is not a drain line out there I would make a hole in the wall and run it out to the yard behind. Half the people around here have their wash water watering the grass. It might not be kosher but it will get you by. Then there is the 240V power. Its not out of the realm of DIY to do this with the help of the guys here, but if not you can do some of it and hire someone to do the connections. No way should it be 4k to make a stab at getting it moved where you want it maybe $400.


Don’t give up. When we were redoing this place Holly’s granddad at 86 years old was helping. He is an old codger that has built a few houses in his day and mostly liked to boss me around, that I needed. He would say almost after every little change we made “Every little bit helps”.

That's a good way to look at it life speed! Thank you!

Bud... you are correct on many levels.... the boys (adults) can't seem to get past my mom (lives with me) and all of her stuff (hoarder). I have recently told them that they are forgetting the important part of the equation..... me and my happiness. It is super depressing to be in this house in general, not that it all hoarded, because it isn't.... but the dining room, screened in back porch that is a make shift room, and part of the living room is. Along with her cats and her lack of insight. She isn't well and I just can't bear the thoughts of kicking her out on the street. I wanted to make her last few years happy ones, but she is the obstacle in that. I'd like to have friends over, I'd like to have a dining room, I'd like to not have cat fur and flea stuff everywhere.... and I'd LOVE to have a clean house to just relax in.
Maybe your right though.... maybe I should 100% finish my room.... new windows, carpet and flooring in the 1/2 bath room attached to it. And just hope that her cats don't ruin it. I've been looking for a super cheap (<2k) mobile home for her to live in but that is proving to be impossible because of the cost to move them.
These are the worst things about being an independent woman.... when you need help, and people are used to you doing things, they think you're kidding and dont really need help .

Ok.... so I've been thinking about this all morning (I should be writing a paper for my college course). The 2 biggest "worries" I have are the electricity and the sag/bounciness of the floor. Its had a sag since I bought it, but I feel like some areas are worse. SO..... do i need a general contractor or should i go to a with a foundation expert? I might add, the only contractor I know is my former landlord, I can call him but I dont know if he does that kind of stuff. They do build homes and have alot of rental property.

Does your house have a basement? If so is it finished or unfinished? Is the house bouncy everyplace or just one of the larger rooms? Are the floors sloped one way or another or just flat with some bounce when you walk thru or jump up and down?


Again this might not be the proper fix or even the long term fix but basement or crawl space you could do some jacking and blocking and get the bounce out without getting into a big project with foundations and all that.


I looked at a house once to buy and in the garage the homeowner had placed 4 house jacking columns right where you would park the cars. There was a bonus room above being used as a bedroom and there in the middle of the room was a huge waterbed. I guess they got worried about the weight and would rather have the bed than a garage. Point is it was temporary but got them thru.


In my old house it was framed with hand cut beams in the basement and over the century one of the beams split causing a bounce in the floor above. I wanted a wall in the basement right there anyway so I built the wall against the basement floor with a wide bottom plate jacking the beam back up with a car jack and a 4x4. The wall is doing some of the holding of the floor the old beam the rest and the floor is still nice and solid 40 years later. It was not really proper but at the time I didn’t have two pennies to rub together and did what I had to do as best I could.

I have a crawlspace with dirt. Plastic down now. This is a crude pic of where the sag is and the bigger cracks. I'd say it about 2 inches lower at the lowest point maybe a little more. I'm guessing since I cant move stuff around currently. I know on the left hand livingroom wall where the hallway starts, I used to have a sort of desk there. The top of it touched the wall but the bottom of it did not. You can feel the floor bounce when someone gets to the opening of the dividing wall coming into the living room and walking toward the bathroom. Most prevalent when walking through the living room.