Old, dilapidated houses may not be everyone’s first choice for a first home, but to some intrepid homeowners, they can seem like paradise. With a low asking price and ample opportunity, a fixer-upper can be transformed into a perfectly personalized dream home for much less expense than turn-key houses. A fixer-upper can be one of the best real estate investments a first-time homebuyer can make — if he knows how to make it happy and healthy.
Neglected homes often come with more than their fair share of problems, but dedicated and savvy renovators will eventually own a stunning showcase. Whether you plan to flip your fixer-upper for a profit or hope to live there in style for the rest of your life, here are the five biggest steps for turning a dump into a dream home.
1. Foundation and Floor
The foundation is by far the most important structural element of a house. Without a sound foundation, walls will crumble, roofs will fall, and there will be very little left to fix up. Ideally, you will have a trustworthy home inspector assess the health of your fixer-upper’s foundation before you buy because there is precious little you can do to help a failing foundation save tear everything down and start anew.
Fortunately, there is quite a bit you can do to refresh forsaken flooring. Ultimately, your options depend on how long you plan to keep the fixer-upper as your primary residence. If you are flipping or renting the house, you may want to opt for flooring that is widely appealing and durable rather than beautiful. Thick, dark carpets, laminate, and large tile tend to fit the bill. However, if you know you will be staying put for a decade or more, it might be worth it to design your space to your taste.
Not all floors need complete renovations; often, perfectly good hardwood and concrete hide beneath decrepit carpets, and you can save money by refurbishing or patching instead of replacing.
2. Heating and Cooling
Though it isn’t nearly as exciting as designing and styling, you must examine your new home’s heating and cooling systems. Most fixer-uppers harbor ancient heating and cooling technology and it is more than likely that your home inspector will tell you that your system should be updated soon. However, you won’t be able to address a heating and cooling system’s needs without a more specialized professional in the HVAC field. It may be that your system only needs a little TLC to survive another few years, which means you can put off the monumental costs of new heaters and air conditioners.
3. Pipes, Pipes, Pipes
Now that you own a fixer-upper, you should get prepared to think about plumbing more than you ever have before. Though the concept has been around for millennia, our ability to include functional, enduring plumbing systems continues to improve. That means older homes tend to have older plumbing that usually hasn’t stood the test of time.
As a way to cut costs, past and present plumbers have used galvanized steel in pipes, and over time, these will corrode and clog, causing low water pressure, dirty water, and leaks. If you experience any of these difficulties at the sink or shower, you may need to replace some pipes. However, galvanized steel corrodes and bonds with copper, so replacing just a few trouble pipes could only make the situation worse. The only way to find out if galvanized pipes are your problem is to cut into your walls and investigate.
4. Curb Appeal
Whether or not you are keeping your fixer-upper for the long haul, you will want to increase the house’s value in any way possible. A fixer-upper isn’t always priced low because of structural problems — usually, a fixer-upper is so affordable because it doesn’t have the stylish flourish of turnkey homes. Professional flippers and real estate experts understand the supreme importance of curb appeal when it comes to selling a house, which means you should devote quite a bit of time to your home’s exterior appearance as well as its interior function.
Curb appeal is relatively easy to generate. For the most basic benefits, you should keep the yard trim and tidy, with clean gutters, uncluttered driveway. However, if your fixer-upper is a landscaping disaster, it might be wise to update the outdoors with new plants and hardware, including house numbers, mailbox, and lights.
5. Detailing
Finally, once you have the essentials secured, you can focus on the fun aspect of fixing up your fixer-upper: design. Again, your plans for using the house will determine what direction you should take with detailing. For renting and reselling, neutral wall colors and sturdy, simple furniture is best, but if you are fixing your home into your dream space, you should feel free to experiment with wild styles.
