Should You Buy A Home That Has Seen Better Days?

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Are you looking at purchasing a fixer-upper? You could be viewing this as a home for you and your family to live in or purely as an investment opportunity. Regardless of your reasoning, there are a few questions that you will need to answer to determine whether this is the right choice. So, let’s dive right in. 


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Is It At The Floor?


If you are thinking about investing in a fixer-upper and a home that’s going to need quite a lot of work, then you need to make sure that it is being sold for the lowest price possible. The floor asking price is the lowest price that an owner will let the home go for. To determine whether the property is being sold for this price, you need to get it valued. You should then compare it to other homes in a similar condition that have previously been sold on the market. 


Can You Afford The Changes?

Once you determine whether the house is being sold at the right price, you need to consider whether you can afford to make the changes it needs. For instance, it’s possible that if it’s an older home there could be asbestos lurking in the walls. This will need to be removed to ensure that the home is safe for someone to live there. Asbestos is only an issue if it is disturbed but it’s still not something that you want inside the walls of a property that your family will be living in. 


You need to assess the home and determine whether it needs a major maintenance solution like a ceiling repair or just a new lick of paint. 


Is It In The Right Area?


You should always be thinking in terms of a future sale when you are buying a property. That’s true regardless of whether or not you plan to live in the home yourself. 


This means that you need to think about more than just the home itself. You need to explore whether it’s in a location where people will want to buy. If it’s not then you are going to struggle to shift it on the market in the future. 


Can You Get Permission?

Finally, there could be a reason why a home like this has been left in a state of disrepair. You might find that it’s difficult to get planning permission to complete work on it. If you complete research, you should be able to find out whether there have been attempts to renovate the home previously that have failed. This will allow you to assess whether this property is going to be worth your time. If planning permission is likely to be a nightmare, you might be better off avoiding the property completely. 


We hope this helps you understand whether buying a fixer-upper could be the right choice for you. If you approach this correctly, then it could be a fantastic investment opportunity. But there’s also the significant risk that it transforms into an unmanageable money pit. 




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