How much would it take to fix a smallish house up--that needs everything fixed?

$64,253.81

A lot.

Where I live, that isn’t really a small house.

If you can afford to call 2060SF small you can afford to fix it up.

it would of course depend on how much detail and the level of quality you would want. do you want marble countertops? or formica? do you want nickel plated, designer hardware in bathroom? or just stock Home depot stuff? do you want marble floors, real wood floors, Pergo, vinyl tile, linoleum, carpeting? the quality of the carpeting…..carpeting comes at all price levels. there are a lot of variables to answer your question.

Figure anywhere from $70–80/square foot at wholesale. On a room by room basis, budget $100/square foot.

Get 3 quotes for each major job. Research their reputations and pit them against each other for your business. Expect to spend in the 10’s of thousands but shop smart.

I second njnyjobs—You’re looking at a $200k job to get the whole thing fixed up.

Maybe another $50k for the roof.

Also depends a lot on WHERE you are. Contractors in Santa Barbara are a lot more expensive than, say, Pittsburgh.

Yes, the house is not really small, @missingbite—and is actually bigger than I need—so forgive me my labeling it small at 2000 sq. ft. It’s just not a huge house.

Thanks to @grumpyfish , @njnyjobs for the ballpark ideas—that was just what I needed.

If you feel that the property is too big for you, why not convert it into a 2-family house, where you can lease out the other half. You’re practically gutting the whole place anyway. . . . might as well get some income and/or tax break from it.

@hmm, interesting. But the house is not set up like that—all three bedrooms are on the second floor. And the downstairs is a straightforward living, dining room, kitchen kind of place. But the idea is good. Maybe with another place, though.

It depends on what you want. Do you want it completely re wired or do you want to update the outlets? Do you want ordinary plugs, rocker switches or some higher tech switches? Are you re plumbing the whole house or just the faucets? If you’re re plumbing, do you want copper or pex? Do you want the cheapest faucets out there or do you want nicer faucets? How nice?
Are you replacing cabinets? Do you want cheap home depot cabinets or custom cabinets?
Do you need new counter tops? Do you want tile, granite, Formica, or composite? What kind of product? Tile and granite prices can range wildly.
Do you need floor coverings? What kind? Wood, tile, carpet vinyl? What quality of product?
Are you going to totally paint? Do you need to remove wall paper or do other wall prep? How many colors? Do you want the walls and trim the same color?
Speaking of trim, do you need to repair or replace any trim wood?
Any mirrors or tub doors need replacing? How about light fixtures?
As you can see, the prices can range anywhere from a few thousand to hundreds of thousands depending on the scope of work you’re looking for.
My suggestion would be to call a few licensed contractors and have them walk the job with you. Tell them all exactly what you want done so they will be bidding apples to apples.
If you want to make it easier, you might take a trip to home depot to spec out things like carpet, faucets, cabinets, light fixtures etc. so they know exactly what they are bidding.
Good luck!

I live in a house with 1800 square feet on the first two floors, and it’s not small. Depending on what needs doing, and where you live—

Rewiring and new fixtures $10,000, replace plumbing and water heater $6,000. New windows, $25,000 if it’s an older home. Refinish hardwood floors throughout $14,000 bathrooms—$8000 each, kitchen $25,000, plaster repair and painting, $10,000. New roof and gutters$12,000, Energy efficient furnace and air conditioning $15,000. Landscaping, new walk, deck $20,000

The generally accepted definition of a small house is 1500 sq ft, so I wouldn’t call over 2,000 small.

In Northern California, the generally quoted rate for general make over is $150 – $200 per sq foot.

The answer above by @PandoraBoxx is close to the prices we have been paying to remodel our houses, except for the plumbing, which is probably closer to $12,000 – $15,000 depending on how much you need. We had to completely replace the line from the incoming water, to the sewer out to city hook up, and most of the indoor plumbing as well. Our kitchen make-over was only $20,000 including the painting, so it just depends on what you want.

My next project is to replace the furnace and air conditioner.

@YARNLADY

Do you do home remodeling with the bunny ears on?... I thought so.