Why You Should Be Buying That Fixer Upper

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It doesn’t matter whether you are buying your first home or you’re buying an investment property to let out – everyone seems to leave the fixer-upper homes on the side of the road. It’s always more tempting to buy that newly established house that’s been put together from the foundations up in the last year. Aspiring investors are those who usually like the fixer-upper houses, as do the flippers, but if you’re dipping a toe in the real estate world, it might never have crossed your mind to invest that way. Here’s the thing about fixer-upper homes: they’re a solid project. If you have the time and the budget, you can turn a fixer-upper into the home of your dreams.

Sure, some homes like this will cost you more than you expected them to, but when you’re hiring everything from a plumber to redo the pipes and a master electrician to rewire the whole property, the costs grow. You should always have a margin for extra budget if you want to fix a fixer upper up. Below, we’ve got every reason you should ever consider getting the fixer upper you’ve been longingly looking at on your street.

  1. It just makes good financial sense. No, really. You might think it’s better to get a house that’s newly built but sinking your funds into a house that you get to build from the roots to the tip? That’s a smarter plan. Flipping a house is going to cost a lot of cash, but if you spend your time buying a house you want to know it’ll be worth more once you’re done with it. If you’re doing it just to live in it, even better.
  2. It’s in a promising neighborhood. You know those neighborhoods that people tell you to avoid? Well, those aren’t always like that, so choose a neighborhood to buy in that is either already up, or on its way there. Buying a house to fix up is much better when you buy in an expensive and established neighborhood. You’ll spend more time building wealth and you can then sell it for more later on.
  3. It’s near the good stuff. Everyone wants to buy a property near all the amenities and if you’re lucky enough to find a house that needs fixing close to shops and schools, you’re in for a winner. The amenities on offer can add to the overall value of the house and this can make it a much wiser investment for you and your family. It’ll help you to build even more wealth and make it an appealing option if you do decide to sell it on again later.
  4. The fixes? They’re not always guttural. Not every fixer upper needs the foundations dug out and the roof replaced. The chances are that the house you’re looking to fix only needs some cosmetic patches. That investment will increase the value massively and it’a a good buy to find a house that only needs some minor changes. The flooring being replaced, a new bath needing installation – these are the minor fixes compared to replastering walls and filling in cracked foundations!
  5. You can implement a few trends. Open plan living is not just a sentence in a buzzy article; it’s a trend! You can bet that many homes are being built in a way that’s favorable to open plan living and you can achieve this with your new fixer upper house. The only thing that you have to remember when you’re ripping each room apart and making changes is that you don’t knock down load bearing walls. Otherwise, your fixer upper will be an even bigger project. You need to get a contractor in for this bit; they’ll mark the walls that are no-touch zones. 
  6. There are other properties in the street selling for more. One of the best things that you can do when you are fixing up a house is to get really familiar with the housing market in the area. This way, you’ll quickly learn how houses are valued and whether they are worth the time and money to invest in the first place. If you buy a house that could value twice the amount it is now, that’s a good decision. Your house value will be tied to others in the street – remember that.
  7. You’re legally allowed to. If you are in a place where the zoning laws allow it, you could knock the whole house down and start all over again. You might find a small home that’s priced low, do it up and then sell it for much more. It’s important that you are legally allowed to knock down the house before you do it, so make sure that your zoning laws allow it. 
  1. It’s a big house. Imagine seeing the shell of the house and knowing it has huge potential but the inside needs to be gutted out? Well, that’s what it’s like to choose a fixer upper of a house. You know that it’s a big house, and you can do so much more with it, and the sizeof the house will mean that you can later sell it on for more. A house with a bigger layout is going to appeal to a much bigger market, and you will have so many bids on it flowing through when you’re done.
  2. The house has potential. The curb appeal, the size of the front yard, the fact that the house is huge? All of these are massive pluses and should be on your list of things to tick off. If the house has curb appeal, you can make it so that your home looks fantastic after you do it up. Large windows and a front yard that has potential can bring in the buyers and you can make the entire house look stunning just on those features alone.
  3. You’ll have a lot of buyers. When a home has been customized and fixed up in the manner you’re planning to do it, you can bet that your buyer pool will be huge. You have to look for houses that will appeal to a larger pool of potential buyers, not just a house you would necessarily buy. These homes are going to take time, effort and money – and so it has to be worth it!
  4. It won’t take too much time to renovate. When you are fixing up something, it all depends on how big the job is as to how long it’ll take you. The saying ‘time is money’ is correct and the more money you spend, the longer it’ll take on the job. 
  5. It’ll be priced low. Most homes that require a lot of work are priced much lower than you think that they would be! You can buy a house that would usually cost way above market value for way under it instead, and it will make all the difference to your wallet. You want to have a house that’s well priced, especially if you’re going to be fixing up to sell for more later on. 

It’s structurally sound. If you want to fix up a house, you want it to be a fix up and not a house that you buy and have to demolish and rebuild. The costs of that would be much higher than you think and you’d have a much bigger job on your hands instead of just making the house look great and upping the value.

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Mia Guerra

Mia Guerra

Executive Editor at Chispa Magazine
Executive Editor at Chispa Magazine, Mia Guerra is a writer at heart. Regardless the topic, she loves to investigate, encourage, and ruminate on topics that can make us better people. Aiming to live a Proverbs 31 life, Mia is ecstatic to be following her calling with Chispa. At home she is her husband's sidekick and together they are raising a God-fearing family in Atlanta.

Mia Guerra

Executive Editor at Chispa Magazine, Mia Guerra is a writer at heart. Regardless the topic, she loves to investigate, encourage, and ruminate on topics that can make us better people. Aiming to live a Proverbs 31 life, Mia is ecstatic to be following her calling with Chispa. At home she is her husband's sidekick and together they are raising a God-fearing family in Atlanta.