Has anyone bought a fixer?

DH and I found a house that we absolutely love and could in the long term be our "dream house." It definitely has the bones of everything we are looking for, and we certainly couldn't afford if it was completely updated. It needs a ton of work. Has anyone taken on a fixer? How was your experience? Any advice?

We absolutely love it, but that movie "Money Pit" keeps popping up in our mind because who knows what we might uncover.

Thanks!

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

We definitely bought a fixer and it's not even our forever home. Happily we bought a house that was less than our budget, so we had the money to fix. Some things our inspector pointed out, some he didn't.

We've been in the house for less than a year and we've had to replace the ac, I still have to get the chiminey fixed, the hot water heater is going to die any day now, every room needs to be updated (paint, floors, etc), the to do list is lengthy. We're pretty handy, but obviously some of the repairs listed are not do-it-yourselfers.

The real question is - how handy/willing to fix things are you? How much do you need to outsource? Can you afford it? I think if it's your forever home and you can buy it with some money put aside for unexpected immediate fixes, you should go for it! Good bones are hard to find....

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

We bought a fixer. We bought in 2005 and spent the first year doing some major updates, new walls, new ceilings, electric, plumbing, windows, etc. We were lucky because my hubby did most of the work himself and knows people in almost every area...so we didn't have to pay too much labor.
We have been living here for two years and are not nearly done. We still have windows to replace and we are in a mjaor attic renovation right now.
We could and may plan to stay in this house [forever]. It is a great home, built well and in a nice neighborhood with good schools and a large property. It did in some way or another have everything on our "wish" list.
We love our house...but the renovations are slow becuase of $$$ and lack of $$$ to fix it up. BUT we are ok with taking it slow and making it our home. And it's fun. We like doing things to improve our home. It makes us wehnwe are done.

Good Luck!

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

We bought a fixer in 2003, and since then we've redone the kitchen, added a half bathroom, renovated a bathroom, installed new hardwood floors throughout the first floor, re-sheetrocked, insulated, plastered, carpeted, added a sliding door, replaced some windows, converted to gas heat, sided the house, new roof, and had a brick patio put in (among countless other small things that I can't even remember!).

Now we're going to be putting it on the market!

I love fixers because you can make them exactly what you want, rather than hoping you like other people's taste (and for a higher price tag). We lived here for all the renovations and honestly, it wasn't that bad.

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

SweetTooth bought a fixer last year and all the work they did was WELL worth it IMO. FM her for advice, etc.

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

we bought a total fixer in 2004. we did a ton of work just to make it livable. now 4 years later we are doing more improvements & we've been doing small stuff all along. thankfully we had no major surprises. Living under construction can be very stressful though & it makes the whole "new home" experience less romantic but not everyone wants or can afford a move in ready house.
I'd be happy to share pics or answer specific questions you have.
Good luck!

Re: Has anyone bought a fixer?

We bought a fixer-upper in May 2005. It had great bones and was exactly the style of house we wanted in the location we loved. The first year we had walls, floors, windows to fix, as well as major decorative work. We also put in a new heating system, ac, new driveway and fence. The next year we added a bathroom (which involved major plumming work outside the house), doubled our bedroom space and added a walk-in closet. We also renovated the existing bathroom, did new siding and a new roof.

This year we're planning some smaller projects. So far, we have spent approx. $150K. Yesterday, we had the value of our home assessed and it came in at $160K more than we paid for it. Given the current market and the fact that you rarely get $ for $ on renovations, we are thrilled with our investment.