Knowing if a fixer-upper is worth your time and effort means knowing the safety of the neighborhood it’s in and whether the house features major issues.
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Typically, there can be quite a few deal breakers when it comes to fixer-uppers. What they are and how they affect you, though, generally boils down to two factors: the condition of the home itself and how safe its surrounding area is.
So, how do you identify these deal breakers?
The first step is determining the safety of the area. You can call the police department and ask them about the specific property and area and see what you can do to find out other statistical information about that area. Ultimately, safety is a relative term, so you have to determine for yourself if that area is one that you’re comfortable living in.
Secondly, you want to look at the entire home and search for anything that’s either really hard or impossible to fix. Foundations, for instance, are very hard to fix. If a home has a bad foundation, it might not be worth your while as a fixer-upper. That kind of repair could cost you tens of thousands of dollars, and it’s hard to get that investment back. It’s usually much more prudent to put that money into a nicer bathroom or a nicer kitchen.
Choppy floor plans and foundations aren’t worth your while to fix.
The third thing you want to look at is choppy floor plans. Choppy floor plans are very difficult and expensive to correct. In this case, you would be spending your money in a place that you simply shouldn’t. If you have to change a wall here and there, that’s fine; however, if you have to adjust the location of major rooms like the kitchen or a bedroom, you should seriously consider whether that is a fixer-upper you really want to take on. The cost alone in making those repairs would be exorbitant.
So, before making a decision about taking on a fixer-upper, ask yourself these three questions:
- Is the house in a location that you feel like you can work in?
- Does it have any sort of foundational issues?
- Would you have to change the location of any major parts of the house, specifically bathrooms or kitchens?
Stay tuned for the next part in my series about fixer-uppers. If you have any questions, feel free to email me or give me a call. I look forward to hearing from you!
