Tips For Buying A Fixer-Upper Home
Buying a fixer-upper home is becoming more common considering of the number of foreclosures across the country. Whether the home has been a foreclosure or not doesn’t really matter – there are still a handful of simple tips that can save you day, money and effort when buying a fixer upper.
Tip #1: Plan Ahead
Buying a fixer-upper requires more planning and thinking ahead than just buying a regular home. You will want to construct a list of renovations that will be needed and thereupon identify whether or not you have the expertise needed to do them yourself or hire a contractor. Things like removing carpet, tearing out walls and painting are all pretty simple to do – but other things like plumbing and electrical work are not so simple. Develop a plan of action as to what you can do and what you need to hire someone else to do. Keep in mind, for some kinds of repairs, you will need to get work permits from the city – so be certain to do your homework on that front too.
Tip #2: Find The Right Fixer-Upper
Not all fixer-uppers are created equal. Once you know who is going to do the work, next you can find the right house that isn’t beyond what you can handle with your skills and contacts. Check your local newspaper, banks and perhaps even talk with a few Realtors to find a list of local houses that are bank-owned and need fixing up. Remember – there are plenty of houses on the market that
Tip #3: Get a Home Inspection
Pretty much no matter what, there will be more going on with your fixer-upper than you will see at a glance. Whenever you buy a new home, it is recommended that you get a home inspection – but particularly when buying a fixer upper. A good home inspection will be able to tell you all of the needed repairs and soon after you can back into how much those repairs will cost.
Tip #4: Have A Budget
Without a budget, it is pretty much a given that you may end up spending too much money. Before beginning a fixer-upper project, you will want to decide on how much money is “worth it” on the project and still have a positive return-on-investment.
Once you have a budget, you will want to add at least 10% to it for “overruns” considering the projects never seem to go as planned. Just to be safe.
Once you have all four of these things done, soon after it is day to manufacture an offer on your fixer-upper. whether you have done everything on that list, soon after you are going to have a much better chance of finding the right fixer-upper project, buying it at the right price and getting the right projects fixed for the right price.
Which is what buying a fixer-upper is all about and makes it all worthwhile!
Orginal post by Justin McHood
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