Choosing a home that needs a little work can save you money. It may also give you a little more time to make a decision, when the market is moving quickly, as it is right now.
Painting your home is pretty much the least expensive improvement you can make. And it has the largest return on investment of any improvement you can make. There are homes sit on the market, simply because they are of some horrible color and all it would take is a new paint job. Just because a home is dark brown, or the latest trendy bluish color, doesn’t mean you won’t end up repainting to personalize your new home anyway. Painting is easy and fast, you can do it yourself and save some money.
Pavement and lawn are the two things that always catch one’s eye. When you first come into a house you’ve never been before, you almost certainly pay attention to the grass, walkway, stones and bushes. These things are greatly overestimated. Growing a nice lawn would take you only a couple months and paving is not such a tough business.
If carpet is more than 10 years old, it almost certainly should be replaced. If the present owner replaces the carpet, just to make the home good-looking to buyers, they’re probably going to choose the cheapest option they can find. Wouldn’t you rather choose your own flooring, be it carpet or something else, that looks and lasts the way you want?
Replacing wallpaper is a little more difficult than simply re-painting, but not much more difficult. It’s definitely not a job that requires skill. It’s a relatively fast and reasonably priced fix that a lot of people are just do not want to do, and that is an opportunity for you.
Appliances have a lifetime, and unless they’re brand new you’re most likely going to have to replace some or all of the appliances in a home while you live there anyway – why not choose appliances you like? An old or ugly fridge should not cost a fortune. You may be able to work a deal for a payment for new appliances, or arrange for the seller to put new appliances of your choice in before you take possession. Just make sure your lender approves any arrangements not included in the listing.
Garage is an important part of the house, but is it really so important you’d overpay for it? Don’t be afraid to buy a home with old and poorly maintained garage. You can renovate it yourself and make a pool-club or a small gym inside.
You can spend a bunch of money on window coverings, but you don’t have to. You can replace window coverings very inexpensively. It can be done for about $40. But the windows behind the curtains are really important.
There are many arguments in favor of doing the updates of the home yourself – you get the end result you want, you save money, and you don’t pay interest through your mortgage on improvements. In addition, there is something really satisfying about enjoying the results of your own efforts at personalizing your home.
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