This topic doesn't really fit anywhere on here but I'll give it a go. A year or two ago, I was looking at houses to buy in my area, mostly driving around town. I was looking on the internet for lower priced houses. There was a house $85,000, 4 bedrooms, 1 bath, two stories, a basement and a tower. It is unfinished inside and built in the 1980's. Looks like the house is made of concrete. I saw pictures, inside and out and not nice looking. On the market for quite a while. I think this was built by someone who planned to live there waiting for the end of the world. What do you think?

Who builds a house in the 80's and doesn't finish it?

Hi Cat
I would need to know more about the house before entertaining any thoughts of buying the place. Concrete walls sounds odd to begin with. Concrete can be cold and damp if not done proper. I wonder if the site might be contaminated? Odd a house would sit unfinished since the 80's and never finished or sold. If someone dies, the estate liquidates the assets. Makes no sense at all to me.

Yeah, it does sound very strange.

I especially wonder what you mean by "unfinished inside." Is it really JUST bare concrete walls, two stories high? Is the bathroom fully functional?
Does it have real floors, or just concrete again? Are there cabinets in the kitchen, or just a couple of pipes sticking out where a sink can be added?

A solid masonry construction CAN be very positive, very valuable. Not if it's literally bare concrete, though. If it's brick faced concrete,so that it looks like something other than a prison from the outside, that's not too bad.

But completing the interior of an "unfinished" house can be VERY costly, especially if you aren't going to do it yourself.

Wait, there's only ONE BATHROOM, FOR FOUR BEDROOMS??!!???

BIG yikes.

Could be any old reason it sat there..it is only going to get tougher
to sell as time goes by..and that seems a wee high for an unfinished unit.

There was a house (bunker) that sat here in town, right on the ocean
for years and years, never used/finished then one day it was razed.

Still nothing there.
Go figure ;-)

Yeah, I wondered about having 4 bedrooms and 1 bathroom. I saw the inside and nothing looked painted. I don't get it.

I am an Australian Builder cabinet maker be very careful of getting mixed up with concrete houses,no pun intended If it has been built badly it is almost impossible to rectify.Regards John

Thanks, Bolts. I did buy a house, a little over a year ago. Things are going good.

Quote from Deep Rising
"You mean we're all gunna die because you messed up on the math?"

Ran out of money.
Got divorced.
Someone died.
Lost their job.
Entered witness protection / left witness protection.
MIB reference - They went home.
DOT COM crisis
Went to live at grandma's house.
Went to live at kids house.
Lost a battle with a porcupine...nah, just kidding... I don't think they lost a battle with a porcupine.
Got fired from Redi-Mix Concrete Co.
Savings .... and .... Loan.
All their stock was in BetaMax.

Yup,

Those anomalies in the community are always curious!
I'm sure the razing is coming when the county finally moves on it...
My ex in laws gave their house back to the bank (on Lake Minnetonka) and it sat there on prime real estate for twenty years... then suddenly the house was gone and Two Mc Mansions went into that space, in just a few months! I can't say what went on behind the scenes??

Normally houses that sit like that have so many repairs it is best to level them and start back over...

It all depends on the structure and if it is worth fixing up in the end or will there be more issues down the road..

Normally it is handyman that will take on such a task and that is if they get it really cheap in order to make it worth wild in the end..

I love looking at houses... I'm really interested in that kind of house. Someone local here bought an old church and flipped it into a home.

I am a builder and I would run from a house made entirely of concrete. Too may issues could pop up, electric, plumbing, (exposed conduit) insulation, waterproofing, cracking ect, ect. And I would beat the ranch that the building is not up to local code and that was the reason for the stoppage. If you buy it YOU are responsible for bringing it up to current code and that could be vey very expensive.

If the price was right I would maybe buy the land and bulldoze the structure, if it was in a area I liked or had profit potential

Unless you really know what you are buying, I would stay clear.

I agree green. This house is on the market for a long time

i would have to see pics and maybe blue prints to tell ya if its for survival or not

but there are a lot of houses that have towers up here
granted more you cant even get up to <shrug>
more for the eye then anything
and a lot of turit's i think they are called around here as well

4 bedroom 1 bath sounds like $450,000 + up here , could be a lot more all depending on where the land is <shrug>

To me, it looks like a place to live but not a home.

i think in different terms. perhaps someone wanted to start a cult and have a place that police bullets wouldn't penetrate. Then, maybe that someone got arrested for robbery or murder and never got out of prison to complete the project. Possibly a secret military practice house that never really got okayed by Congress. one bathroom is plenty if you are using 3 of the 4 bedrooms for weapon storage OR to raise chickens and pigs so they won't be seen by neighbors. The possibilities are truly ENDLESS.
and in all of these cases the tower would be invaluable to keep watch over the neighbors or to retreat to in case of attack. yes - to the right person it would be worth $85,000.
Cat, you were real smart to pass it up ! proud of your sensible decision :)

you need somewhere that feels nice. after all you have to live in it. the place is cheep for a reason, you can bet on that. I agree with green. good advice.

It did seem like a bomb shelter house. I wonder if someone bought it.

Sounds a wee Bates Motel-y.