Before pitch up to buy a methadone hydrochloride - upper , turn over your accomplishment , sentence , and most timely , your loan program .
Does location still count most ? Should you remodel your domicile to suit your tastes , or for resale value ? Are starter home still a thing ? We all have plenty of questions about the ever - changing Earth of genuine demesne . In ourAsk an Agentseries , we ’re partner with experts atBetter Homes & Gardens Real Estateto suffice your with child head about determination , buying , and trade a domicile .
With some fourth dimension , money , and elbow grease , a fixer - upper can be apocket - friendly mode to make your dream houseyourself . But everyone ’s skill and power to transmute a theatre with potential into a move - in - ready menage is wide-ranging . Is buying a fixer - upper the right choice for you ?

Credit:John O’Reilly
John O’Reilly
For this installment ofAsk an Agent , we spoke with John O’Reilly of theBetter Homes & Gardens Real Estate Base Campabout what one should view before they signalize the papers for afixer - upper .
John O’Reillyis a genuine estate agent based in Richmond , Virginia . He sells all form of homes , from single - family units to condos to empty place ; O’Reilly has 26 years of material estate experience .
Ask an Agent: Should You Buy a Fixer-Upper Home?
The fact of the topic is , I ’d say more than 70 % of the market wants to bribe a house that they can move right into and not do anything . But a lilliputian swither equity is a good thing , if you have the talent to do it .
reckon on what case of loanword you get and what the sign needs , you may not have the availability [ to bribe a fixing agent - upper ] . If you ’re gettingFHA financingorVA funding , or some of those low - to - no debt requital programme , the appraisal is go to be a niggling bit tougher on the planetary house ; they have to make certain there ’s no broken glass or chipped woods or thing wrong with it . So sometimes , even though you might have some sweat equity that can be put into it , the loanword program that you ’re in wo n’t allow for it , because the house wo n’t gibe the criteria , because you ’re getting lower no down payment .
From a bank standpoint , the reason they have a higher standard is that you ’re putting less money down . So you do n’t really have any skin in the game . You have 3 ½% or 0 % down , you get into a house , and all of a sudden , it need a long ton of body of work and you start losing motivation — it ’s prosperous to walk out with no peel in the secret plan . So they ’re go away to make certain that not only do you qualify , but that the sign is in good enough shape that it does n’t mean any major mending will come back to bite you .
Still , I call up it ’s a outstanding opportunity to build equity right away . There are loan programs that can help you with some of the fixture and improvements . But I opine find something that ’s not perfect and making your own over clock time is beautiful .
This consultation has been delete for duration and clarity .