Why buy a fixer-upper when you can buy move-in ready? I’ll give you a reason. Heck, I’ll give you five.

But let me clarify. When I say “fixer-upper” I don’t mean the $50k dump that doesn’t have windows or a toilet and comes with a free family of territorial raccoons. I mean the house that’s dated, but not dated enough to be cool, that’s too ugly to be interesting, and that has a bizarre layout which makes you go through a closet to get to your kitchen. In other words, the house that’s just bad enough were you say to yourself, “Wait, what am I doing?!” but your friends and family can still smile encouragingly when they see your pictures.

So why should you buy a fixer-upper when you can guy move-in ready? Here you go:

1. They’re cheaper. A lot cheaper. Here’s an example based on homes in the Greater Richmond Area: 1,444 square feet at $89 per square foot (that’s the fixer-upper) versus 1,405 square feet at $171 per square foot (that’s the move-in ready house).
2. It’s a blank slate. You can do whatever you want! Change up the floors, take out a wall, paint the cabinets. You save so much a month on your mortgage payments you might as well have some fun. Plus, you’ll never be bored. There’s always something that could use a little TLC.
3. It’s fun! Don’t get me wrong, it’s stressful…but the good kind of stressful (is that a thing?). But mostly it’s fun. I found it crazy cathartic to take a hammer to the wall between the kitchen and the dining room, and the half-wall panelling in the kitchen didn’t stand a chance.
4. We bought our dream house. This kind of falls under the “it’s cheaper” category. But really, we wanted 4 bedrooms and we got it. We wanted a big kitchen and we got it. We wanted a laundry room and we got it. We wanted a front porch and we got it. Sure, it’s a little ugly now, but under all the orange linoleum, green wallpaper, and drywall dust is a diamond in the rough.
5. You can easily increase the value. The kitchen, for example: a coat of fresh paint, maybe add some trim, replace the appliances, put in an island, open up a wall…and it’s a whole new room. It’s fresh and modern. It’s a kitchen that makes buyers (or renters) say, “Oh, I like this….”

So there you go! Five reasons to buy a fixer-upper. Why did YOU buy a fixer-upper? Or are you gearing up to buy one? Tell me about it!

Best of luck!

SLB