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 One
of the most economical ways to purchase a property is to buy a
‘fixer-upper’ and renovate it to the style you want.
In truth, every home is a fixer upper because at one time or
another you will want to make a change to it.
However, some houses are more fixers than others.
An old friend once told me “If it’s not a fixer upper, it’s a
fixer upper”.
Before getting yourself involved in renovating
a house, make sure you know what you are getting yourself into.
If you are not sure of what a project involves, call a
contractor and ask for ball park figures on projects and what is
involved. For instance,
many kitchen remodels require you to leave the house for weeks or
even months. Resealing
hard wood floors may involve toxic chemicals that also require you
to vacate the house for several days.
Renovating a house is hard work, and while
books obtained at stores such as Home Depot and Lowes will help,
many projects will require the work of professionals.
Some projects, particularly if walls, electrical, or plumbing
are moved, require permits from the municipality.
It is a good idea to call the appropriate city hall to find
out if you need a permit for your project.
Despite the amount of hard work involved, if
you do it right you can achieve substantial savings in the cost of
the house. Some people
even buy houses, renovate them, and then resell them.
This is called ‘flipping’ and many books about this can be
found in your local book store.
 If
you do plan to sell the house in the future, you will want to pay
attention to the prices of other houses in the neighborhood.
Keep in mind that no matter how much you renovate a house,
you are still limited by the average prices of homes in that
neighborhood.
If you are renovating more for yourself than
for a future sale, you may find this method to be more economical
than building a new house.
Regardless of the purposes of the renovation though, keep in
mind that even small renovations require a lot of work and the house
may be uninhabitable for weeks or months at a time.
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