Buying a Fixer Upper Home

One of the best aspects of purchasing a home that needs some TLC and work to turn into a livable house is that it really doesn't matter what the current real estate market is at the time, you generally can get a great deal on the house.

Many people buy fixer-uppers and flip the houses to resell for a profit. We've all seen the television programs that highlight these types of buyers but not every home in need of fixing is one that is purchased for a flip and profit.

Many first time home buyers prefer to buy fixer uppers because of their extremely low price. You obviously need a much lower down payment and in some cases can actually end up paying cash.

No matter how you look at it you can often find some great deals if you're willing to either pay for the additional costs of having someone else do the fix-up work for you or, your best bet, put your own sweat equity into the home and making your own repairs.

There is a sense of complete accomplishment when you take a home that needs work and create your dream home out of it or at least your almost dream home. You can find ways to work with others and barter services; perhaps you can do great plastering and painting work and have a friend that's an electrician so you could help each other.

You can also find small father and son teams that will do work for cheap and even cut you a deal for putting your own time and help into the projects that you need guidance on. Of course you have to be careful when hiring out others to help you because you can often get what you pay for in the case of a great deal also.

There are also times when you can work on certain areas and then, depending upon how your life is and how things go, live in the home as you work on it. Basically, a fixer-upper can end up being a lot of work with an even bigger sense of reward.

Benefits of Buying a Fixer-Upper

• Fewer Buyers looking in the market of fixer-uppers.


• Cheaper prices for a home that can later be worth more, whether you're reselling it or keeping it for your own.


• Satisfaction of creating your own dream house.


• Ability to learn as you go along with repairs; whether you do them yourself or work alongside others.


• A great starter home for young, adventurous, and confident people who can put the time, money and effort into creating a beautiful masterpiece from a home that obviously is anything but at the time.

What Are The Best Houses To Buy For Fixer-Uppers?

Not all fixer-uppers are created equal if you're thinking of buying to resell. If you're buying or your own place to live in you simply have to love it and be able to view it with all the repairs and updates you can provide to make it yours. If you're buying it with thoughts of reselling it then you'll want to make sure of a few things that help make it easier to sell.

• Most people want 3 bedrooms on average; although 2 bedrooms are sellable most want 3 or more.


• Most buyers prefer more than 1 bathroom.


• The neighborhood is very important and obviously if you're thinking of reselling your fixer-upper you want the neighborhood to be one that is easily sellable.


• Design is important - meaning the layout of the home should be one that keeps in mind accessibility and real life use.


• Don't forget that along with fixing up the inside you have to do at least minimal work on the outside also.

Keep in mind that buying a fixer-upper can be a great way to get the house you want without having to come up with all the money at once. You don't always have to buy a house to resell but you can also use the house as your first house to start with and upgrade within a few years.

The best part of it all is that you can get these homes at a great bargain price and often end up, even with the work you have to put into them, come out with a home worth much, much more in the end.