Three Things To Know Before Buying That Fixer Upper

Getting onto the property ladder is tougher than ever. With rental costs spiraling each year, it makes sense to buy instead if you have a way of getting a deposit together, but the cost of moving and buying a house is a huge obstacle for many. One route into home ownership which saves many first time buyers is purchasing a ‘fixer upper’ property - a home that needs some serious TLC to bring it back to its former glory. Not only can this significantly lower the purchase cost, but it can also provide a huge amount of satisfaction seeing your home go from decrepit to designer! However, it is definitely a serious undertaking to take on a fixer upper, so many sure you’re assessing the property you're considering buying carefully to make sure it’s worth the financial risk.

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Check Your DIY Skills

First of all, one of the factors which costs a lot in a complete home renovation is labor. The costs of paying for contractors are a huge outlay, so work out what you could do yourself to save costs. If the house is structurally sound but dated cosmetically, you should be able to remove wallpaper, polish up floorboards and repaint yourself. For anything more drastic, you might need to call in the professionals, and that quickly adds up. Anything such as fire and water damage repairs will need careful attention to get your home up to standard again, and if you plan to do anything structural, such as removing walls to create an open plan layout, you’ll need to get it done properly by a qualified builder.

Price It Up

Having the vision to see what a house could become is a skill, but that only gets you so far. It’s a separate skill to be able to accurately price up the cost of a renovation project. If you’re really interested in a house, aim to get a contractor to do a walk-through with you before you make an offer, to weigh up the cost of any potential work. Be aware that they may not be able to be 100% accurate without detailed surveys as to the condition of the building. Any offer you make needs to take into account your costs in bringing the property back to a liveable standard.

Be Sure On Financing

You need to know from the outset exactly where the money is coming from to pay for the work you need. With funds to find for your down payment and moving costs, any savings you have will be taking a hit anyway. There are Federal programs designed to help house buyers finance the purchase of a property which needs renovation work that you can look into. Similarly, take the advice of a mortgage broker who will be able to scan the market for deals where you can borrow the purchase cost of the house plus a loan to cover renovation works in one go. Money can be an extremely stressful issue when purchasing a home, so understanding everything down to the pennies is an absolute must before signing on that dotted line.