How to Buy a Fixer-Upper

These are my favorites, if you can get a good deal! Be sure you check everything thoroughly before agreeing to buy a fixer-upper. Some young friends of mine were willing to pay more than $200,000. for a tiny, one bedroom, dump on half an acre. They did a little math and realized what a bad deal it was. Hopefully they'll find something better.

FIXER-UPPERS

Suggestion One

Get acquainted with the place. Find out what other homes in the area are going for. Be sure you are buying the entire thing from the same person or company. Don't get rooked into a second or third mortgage on a place that will require yet another loan to make it habitable.

FIXER-UPPERS

Suggestion Two

If it's the land you want and not the building, itself, make sure the property is able to support the sort of home you want to have there. Don't, for example, buy a piece of property on a steep slope when intending to move a triple wide mobile in. The cost of cutting a level patch the size of a triple wide would be almost as much as the land, itself.

FIXER-UPPERS

Suggestion Three

Remember, if you really want the place, it's worth a little elbow grease. Some friends of mine bought an old church to use as both their business and their home. The three story building was massive, indeed. They renovated the whole thing. Ground floor for the framing and painting shops, second floor for an enormous art gallery, and top floor for living quarters. They not only had to purchase all the necessary equipment to run the business, but make the bathrooms and entrances accessible to the handicapped portion of the public. Larger bathrooms, ramps, wider doors, they spent a fortune turning it into a politically correct business. Landscaping was another issue. The walk ways leading to the building had to be redone and have ramps and handrails. Indoors, the flooring (which was hard wood) had to be buffed and coated before it could be used. The entire place had to be painted, inside and out, and it looked like a masterpiece when they were done. The property sold, several years later, for more than a million dollars.

FIXER-UPPERS

Suggestion Four

Depending on the money you have to spend and the results you are looking for, a fixer-upper can be a great deal or a disaster. If you can afford the repairs without getting a loan, by all means, do it. If the size and price of the loan can fit your budget without being a drag on your finances, go ahead. However, if the expense of repairs and renovations will impact your finances, you might want to look at something with less "baggage." Besides the interior of the structure, don't forget the great outdoors. In a big place, especially, you should take measures to make the yard look as good as it can. A lawnmower is a necessity for anyone with a lawn. Trees, shrubs and flowers can add a lot to a new home. If all your cash in invested in the indoors, the outside can still look like a frightful dump. If you get a fixer-upper, make sure you don't neglect the aesthetics of the outdoors.