Buying a fixer upper
Ask many a home buyer about the type of house they are looking for and many will reply "We are looking for something we can fix up and live in (or resell). We like the idea of gaining some quick sweat equity." The classic "fixer-upper" home. Unfortunately, there is a bit of fantasy in the notion, though. First of all, there are many more fixer-upper buyers than there are fixer-upper properties. Second, the current thinking in many minds is that anyone can make a killing in the Real Estate market, which is not always the case. Third,
many buyers totally mis-estimate both the cost and the time involved in fixer-uppers, severely impacting (and in some cases destroying) the profit potential. Unless you are fully prepared to deal with the realities of fixer-uppers rather than the fantasies, it probably is a good idea to look elsewhere for a home.
This does not mean that there isn't equity to be gained (or profit to be made) by purchasing the RIGHT property at the RIGHT price. The important notion is to understand that there are several factors that will make the difference between winning and losing in such a transaction.
The Mindset
The first factor that must be understood is that it isn't going to be easy. The only people who think that finding, buying, fixing and selling a home is an easy task are those who have never done it. Those with any experience (even if only once) will tell you that it rarely is as simple as it appears. In general, it is best to assume that repairs will cost twice what you estimated, take double the amount of time and,when finished, the house will be worth less than expected. If you keep that in the forefront of your thinking, the chances of being burned are much less.
Foreclosure sales are often good sources for fixer-upper properties. A couple of resources that specialize in listings of those types of homes are and . All three of the resources above offer free trial periods to evaluate their services and search for foreclosure listings in the area in which you are interested.
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