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Thinking of buying a fixer home. Could anyone who bought a fixer home share their story on whether or not it's worth it in King County, WA? Are there any gotchas? How difficult is it for an immigrant first-time home buyer? TIA!! Edit: - My plan is to buy the fixer home -> get it inspected -> hire a contractor to fix everything (just making sure to restore and not remodel) -> then move in #fixerhome #seattle #wa #housing
It’s going to be a nightmare unless you are really handy and able to do a lot of the home repairs/renovations yourself. Which is kinda unlikely unless you used to actually work as a construction worker/contractor. Prepare for endless trips to Home Depot. Spending countless hours on the phone with contractors, haggling over price/quality/scheduling. I had to do all this. It was more stress/headache than I ever had to deal with at my job.
Are you prepared to learn? (Aka pay a lot of money to fix stuff you didn’t know about, and sometimes pay multiple times for the same thing)
Isn't it the case even if you buy a newly renovated home? I know someone who bought a renovated home for 1.5m and they had to fix their heating/cooling within their first year (even though it was a small fix, they had to find a handyman).
Take all the issues you’ll have with a newly renovated home, and then add all the ones that your fixer hasn’t had fixed because it’s not renovated.
It will cost you so much more than you think it will
Did you go through this yourself? If so, could you share how much difference in percentage was the expected vs actual price for fixing the house?
I bought the house with the expectation that I would fix it up over time, with a major reno 5-7 years down the road. In the first 2 years I think I was out around $150k for a new roof, heating system and miscellaneous repairs. Going to need foundation work at some point in the mid term future which will be at least another $250k. This was on a $2m property purchased on a 2.5% note.
Fixer upper looks nice on tv. Unless you have prior experience or great contacts, its tough TBH. Its very hard to find good contractors. Areas like Seattle, SFO is always at a crunch for good contractors (they are super expensive and cheap ones will make you regret it). Large projects need permits and depending where you are that can be a nightmare as well. Seattle permits were backlogged for 6mnths when I did my remodel in 2022. TLDR, dont do it
Be careful in todays market lender might not give you a conventional loan.
No, contractor fix everything will charge 2-3x the price you think you are willing to pay.
Not to be an ass but if you have to ask this question then it's likely a hard no... There's probably some example where it could make sense. But that scenario would be so obvious you wouldn't need this post.
Appreciate your input. That's also a valid point. I was just trying to see if even 1 person had ever gone through this and see what their experience was. But yeah it looks like a clear no at this point.
I've gone through it... Contractors are difficult to vet, difficult to work with, and a lot of it is relationship based. If you don't have that relationship it's either pay more or wait a really long time for the good ones. Homes always have surprises, materials are crazy still, and there's a lot of options that can be overwhelming for some. All said and done, what looked like a simple project can blow up on you and take out your budget. Add in a bad contractor and this gets worse...add in your primary home and it gets even worse. Paint, flooring, and updated light fixtures goes a long way on most houses. This stuff is easier and not a big deal. Can be done all at once or little by little.....and if you get screwed by a contractor for the most part you can do it at the expense of your time. Past that things get more complicated and difficult....
Big No. Unless you know very well what you are getting into. The cost of labor is very expensive and also be prepared to spend double the amount the contractor gave you. You will realize the costs once your start the work.
Got it. Thanks for your suggestion. Just curious, do you have any data point where you or someone you know when through this firsthand? Or is this your general understanding?
I have gone through repairs in my homes. Everytime I have started a fixer project, I have found more repairs than I have thought especially with plumbing and electrical
Don’t do it for practical reasons. Do it if you love the house, location, view, ambiance, etc. I am going through this right now. I am a female, single income. Bought the house in March, the inspector didn’t find a third of the issues that have since come up: mold throughout entire first floor and in crawl space, roof needed to be replaced, tree roots ingrown into pipes just to name a few. I am handling issues one by one, it’s not hard IF you love the house. Keep in mind several things: first, there are no contractors who do it all, you need to find contractors who specialize in specific areas; second, even you find a decent one, he may subcontract the work to someone else, third, during the actual work things come up all the time, make sure you budget for this crap. I still love it though.
Glad to hear that you are handling issues one by one. Would really appreciate it if you could share the following: - how much did you buy the house for? - how much was your estimated fix-up budget? - how much did you exceed? - how did you manage the fix-up cost? - did you pay out of pocket for the fix-up? Someone in one of the comments above told that I may not get a mortgage for a fix-up if it's too much.
No. We bought a house in excellent condition and there's already too much to learn and do. Can't imagine needing to do remodels and renovations on top of basic maintenance.