Buying A Fixer Upper & How To Make It Work

Looking for the most cost-effective property options? Trying to save money while still investing in a lovely home for yourself and/or your family?
Taking the journey of renovating a fixer upper property can be rewarding and exciting. You would have more opportunities to really make it home – to bring out your character in your home and reflect your own style. It’s not just real estate, it’s an artistic project. Renovating a fixer upper is one way to make your dream home a reality or to add value to your property. However, it’s important to know what you’d be getting yourself into. Investing in a fixer upper, and all the TLC work that comes after, can be a huge leap of faith and a lot can go wrong. Projects like this can drain you of time, money and energy.
But don’t despair! If you know the challenges of renovating a fixer upper, then you can prepare for them. Detailed planning is at the core of every successful housing project so as long you’re careful, precise, prepared and have done your research. It can also be helpful to get professional help from architects such as us! In this article, we’ll explore the advantages and disadvantages of fixer upper properties, some basic things to consider for planning, how to prepare for renovations and what kind of help is available to you.
Advantages & Disadvantages of Fixer Upper Properties
First, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of fixer upper properties to give you a balanced evaluation of this type of housing project.
Advantages
1. Affordability
Houses that need work are undeniably cheap. They can be much less expensive than homes that are ready to move in. This is great for your budgeting needs. You can also get more space for the value of your money if you opt for a house that needs work.
2. Freedom of Choice & Creativity
Renovating a home gives you the chance to really make it yours. You can fully customise every aspect of your home’s interior design, and even exterior design if you have the budget. This is where your fixer upper project becomes more like an art project. You can bring your dream home to life, from choosing room layouts to design options such as walls, floors and furniture. You choose everything.
3. Control
When you’re in charge of building up your own home, then you can do it according to your own budget, time and needs. You’ll be able to take charge of the project, choose your own contractors, decide what features you want your home to have and even give DIY projects a go if you feel up to it to save further on budget.
4. Location
Your open-minded approach to searching for a property that is not perfect gives you more options. This will unlock more locations for you. Buying a fixer upper house can get you into a desirable neighbourhood that you might otherwise have never been able to afford. Buying a fixer upper can be an investment in home location as well as the home itself.
Disadvantages
The advantages might have you excited for your fixer upper project. But before you go rushing into anything, it’s important to consider the challenges as well so you can prepare for them.
1. Unexpected Costs
There will always be a risk of potential costs that could show up later or catch you by surprise. Even when inspecting the home before you buy it, there may be hidden issues that won’t show themselves until after you’ve moved in. Major issues can be expensive, such as electrical problems, water damage or fixing general wear and tear. Finding problems like this can cost significantly and set you back years in your renovation projects.
2. Impact on Daily Life
Renovations are big projects that take time. Having work done on your property, whether it’s moving furniture, knocking down walls or building extensions, can make your home almost unliveable. Living in a pile of rubble can really impact your daily routine and decrease productivity in your life. If you’re doing the work yourself, you’ll have to invest a lot of energy and time into your building projects.
3. Financial Needs
Renovations can be a consistent expenditure for years, depending on how much work your property needs. You’ll have to keep investing in renovation projects. You might have to make sacrifices, save money and cut down on leisure costs in order to fund the renovation projects on your home.
Tips For Planning
There are things you can do to fully prepare yourself for moving into a fixer upper and mitigate the stress, costs and time.
The first thing to do would be to evaluate your budget thoroughly. Figure out how much you could spend on the property and how much in renovations. Have a rough idea of a plan ready and research to make sure that you can make it happen. You should be thinking of this before you even start looking for properties. Make sure you prepare yourself for the risk of unexpected costs. If you’re planning to tackle DIY projects in order to save on costs, then consider if you are qualified or skilled to do the work yourself.
When looking at properties, make sure you thoroughly inspect the premises for any problems the seller might not be telling you about. If you need to, get professionals to check the house for issues like mould, structural damage, plumbing, electrical faults, etc. This will help you mitigate the risk of unforeseen costs popping up later so you can just crack on with renovating the house.
Regarding renovations, it might also be beneficial to plan a timeline and prioritise specific projects. Plan in advance what you’ll do and which contractors you might use to help you. Research your contractors to make sure that they’re trustworthy.
How Architects Can Help
If you feel overwhelmed by the size of the project, then you don’t have to do it alone. You can eliminate a lot of stress and pressure by teaming up with a qualified architect who has the expertise to help you coordinate and organise your renovations.
Professional architects like our team here at Tye Architects, can take care of so many aspects of the project for you. As well as provide you with advice at every step of the process, we’ll also ensure safety precautions, legal regulations and high quality of the work being done on your property. Architects will handle communications with the contractors to make sure that you’re getting a high quality service from a reliable tradesman. This includes overseeing the construction site and checking all work being done meets legal and safety standards.
We can help you put together a realistic plan, carefully taking your budget and personal preferences into consideration.
There’s a lot more that we can do for you here at Tye Architects. Above is just a few examples. To find out more about how an architect can help you, and for a professional evaluation of whether a fixer upper is for you, then get in touch with a member of our team, you can give us a call on 01525 406677 or you can fill out our online contact form.