Thank you for your response. We had two structural engineers come out and look and both said they weren't load bearing due to the large trusses that extended to the outside walls. the outside walls are load bearing. I honestly didn't believe the first one which is why we called a second one out. It is a tri-level so the bedrooms and basement are on the other side, nothing is above this level except for the attic/roof. I think most people want to remodel on a budget. We are fairly simple people so we aren't looking for everything high end and with my husband being a full-time pastor we don't make a lot of money. Maybe I shouldn't have included that in my original post. I don't even know what kind of money we are talking about here. I am just looking for a place to start. My family will most likely be helping us out. My dad built his own home and is an electrician so we have some others able to assist us. Ultimately, I am just looking for some ideas. I thought I might be able to get some traction here for ideas on a layout. Thanks.

DE and Cooks Kitchen - thank you for bringing up excellent points and for not being judge mental or condescending while you do it. I’ll try to address them point by point. DE- 1- I’ve had a couple contractors come look and any walls we’d like to take out shouldn’t be too hard. 2- There’s a mix, but yes, there are $450k and up homes in the area, alongside the $225k homes. On our street we have at least three that are $400k and up and one that for sale for $700k. 3- we don’t own the home, so no sale money. The homes we could buy other than this within our budget will either be a) not in the school district b) either not be enough house or not enough yard for us. We have to stay within this school district due to custody requirements, and it’s a high priced district. The yard is important because we have five dogs and a small yard will get destroyed and not leave space for kids stuff too. I’m totally happy with “regular” appliances and fixtures and I’m a good bargain shopper. My ex and I remodeled a large kitchen from the studs out ten years ago and only spent $7000. We did it ourselves, but my current husband and I can do most of the work past the framing and electric and plumbing too. Cooks- I’m absolutely not basing my opinions on value on the seller. I have done some real estate assisting and have several friends who are realtors (who will not be involved in the sale, thus have no financial interest) who are telling me to jump on this! The seller is in poor health and has already made $50k in rent off of me. She doesn’t want to have to do the minor repairs and cleaning that should be done to list it, although I think she would rather do that, but her husband really doesn’t want to and he basically told her she’s being greedy because between rent and selling it at 20k over what they paid, with very minimal investment, they will still come out $70k ahead. We will absolutely do an inspection! There’s no septic, so that’s not an issue. I don’t need a 50k kitchen. If we did that ourselves, without any wall changes, I can do what I’d like for $15 and be very happy. I’m not sure that my attachment is so much emotional, as it is that finding what we need in the area we need it is, within budget is darned near impossible. I detailed above in my notes to DE why. Also, we have a chunk of money that we have set aside that would cover a large part of said remodels. Doing the math, our monthly payment would be way lower if we purchase this house and pay cash for remodel (or even half cash half financed) than if we buy a higher priced house that gets us everything we want now and use that money towards down payment.

Hi all, thanks for the inputs and perspectives, definitely appreciate Y’all taking the time to help me think through this! I’ll post a picture of the downstairs layout when I’m at home And try to get a better picture with dimensions added. But for now I’ll speak a little more to the background: This home was built in 1977- it shares a wall (the right side) with ahome that’s the mirror image of it. In fact every home in this neighborhood is the exact same layout so character isn’t much of a concern here @cpartist. This is one of the cheapest areas to live in the city and anyone Purchasing isn’t expecting custom cabinets, high end bathrooms etc. that said 2 showers seems to be a huge perk just from talking to people in the neighborhood with family’s and their issues with the home. When I labeled master bedroom and bathroom, I use that term as the owners bathroom and en-suite, please don’t think of it as what a luxury master bedroom/bathroom might be. This is a modest home and will have modest renovations. It’s just the largest bedroom of the three. There is a closet in the bottom right above the stairs and it will still be a closet in the large bedroom- no plans to change that except to maybe add built in shelving in the future. @misecretary The furniture in the third bedroom represents an office/music room because that’s what it will be used for initially. It already is pretty small so I don’t want to make it any smaller Even if the hallway includes wasted space (Plus the added expense of moving the entire wall, that’s just how it’s set up now). @zannej thanks! Lots of good input and dimensions to consider. I’ll post more info tonight, the plumbing goes directly beneath the toilet. the kitchen is in the top right corner under the third bedroom. I have run this by my realtor as well, moving forward we’re going with a 2 bathroom plan. While I realize a big con means smaller living spaces and smaller bathroom, here is our reasoning for sticking to the 2 bathroom idea: 1- Useful now, trying to coordinate the shower use with people who get ready around the same time is Not convenient (that second bedroom will also be occupied) 2- Useful in resale -I’ve spoken with my realtor who has provided input based on this neighborhood and the type of buyer it would best market to - it seems most people who have kids in the home will greatly appreciate a second bathroom, from a utilization perspective not luxury space -This is a modest neighborhood and a modest starter home, anyone looking for luxury space and finishes would likely not be moving into this neighborhood Our scope is focused on adding a second functioning bathroom and keeping most of the footprint as close to what it is because a) added cost to make big footprint changes and b) we aren’t making changes for a forever home perfect layout, just trying to improve within reason and get experience (very likely we’ll be renting or selling within 5 to 10 years). There’s a lot of wishlist items that will have to wait (bigger closets new kitchen cabinets etc)

IMO Does this house have a basement? Families with teenagers sometimes like extra living areas - as you have mentioned. Since this is a smaller home, it may be considered a starter home, and therefore be more for families with young children. Depends on the neighborhood. Who do you see mostly in the neighborhood - young families with kids? families with teenagers? older couples? It's important to know who your customer will be. I'd get rid of the dining room walls (since there is already an eat in kitchen) and make that whole area (living/dining/kitchen) all open plan. (of course checking to make sure the walls are not load bearing). Since (like you say) this is not the largest house, an open plan living/dining/kitchen might be the best plan. The way it is now is all chopped up and makes for much smaller rooms. Moving the kitchen will be an expense, so I would leave it where it is - depends on your budget. Where the kitchen is now makes sense. You say you're thinking of "incorporating a second living area somewhere" - I don't know where you'll do that unless you are thinking of keeping all these walls where they are and having the dining room be that area. Are you thinking of adding on in the back? That will be quite an expense. If you feel comfortable visiting the neighbors, you might ask them how their houses are set up. Keep in mind that we are still in "covid land" and they may not want to talk with you anywhere but in the front yard. How much land you have around this property would make a difference. If you have a lot of room to expand, you could do so. However, a new footing and foundation would require money, permits, architects, construction people, etc. Again, depends on your budget.