Home Staging Tip #15: Buying a Fixer Upper
Fixer-uppers can be diamonds in the rough, or they can be huge money pits that swallow up all your hard-earned dollars. You will have a better chance of making a success of it if you purchase wisely and know what you are getting into.
What you find will depend on how you plan on using the home after it is renovated. Considerations will either be to flip the home, live in it, or rent it out. Each of these uses will give you a better idea of how much you will want to invest in the property after it is purchased.
As I was thinking about this subject I began looking at before and after photo’s on the web. When I saw this article by a couple who bought an investment property to “fix-up” and then rent out, I fell in love with their project and the end result. They did an amazing job without a huge budget. They returned this home into a single family dwelling by simply reopening up a wall and returning an upstairs kitchen back into the original bedroom, upgraded the kitchen and freshened up the paint. You can judge for yourself what an amazing transformation just those few items can do to a downtrodden old house.
We have talked extensively about curb appeal in previous articles because it is just that important. Take a look at the simple fix to the front entrance that not only offers terrific curb appeal but addresses safety issues as well. It is so simple yet beautifully effective. Note the single change of a column to the left of the front door that transforms the entire look and defines the entry; Black iron railings complete the look and takes care of the safety issue. I have also talked about the miraculous changes a can of paint can accomplish, especially old brick.
Moving inside, the couple decided to keep the basic foot print to keep costs down and upgrade the spaces to make them more functional. Starting with the kitchen, you can see how they used the same footprint but managed to make this room more functional and modern. They reopened the wall by the stairs to reconnect the kitchen to the rest of the house to accomplish the single family dwelling. Isn’t it amazing what these few changes accomplished?
The worn carpet on the stairs was removed and a fresh coat of paint added to the risers. Once again, paint to the rescue! The upstairs kitchen was removed and the room was returned to its original function, an adorable, roomy bedroom with lots of closet space. To keep costs down for this room the couple installed a durable carpet which is a perfect decision for a rental property. They could have ripped out the laminate floor to see if the original wood floors were still there but that would not have been a cost effective exercise given the problems that could present and added expense to either restore the wood floors if they are still there or trying to match up the woods if they found that new wood floors were necessary.
One thing we all look for when buying a home is space. When buying a fixer upper this means you are going to get more house for less money. In the industry we advise not to buy a little shack without land but this is not so true in Key West. Many times the house or lot next door comes available too! Small homes are in demand and good rental properties are scarce. So throw the industry advice out the window. If the house has good bones, it should be a good investment.
So what made this the perfect house to take the plunge? It needed work so it came at a good price; it is sitting on a good sized lot; it has terrific bones to work with i.e. good solid construction; it is in a good location; many of the tasks could be performed by the do-it-yourselfer to save even more; AND the new owners knew that they were going to rent out this property which helped them with their renovation investment decisions.
Looking for a house with good bones for an investment? Give Royal Palms a call and let them help you find the perfect house.
Information and photos provided by Liza Graves.
Has this information been helpful? Give us your feedback. Let us know if there is a topic you would like for us to address. Need the assistance from a professional Stager? Contact Vicki Grant, CEO of Grant Home Staging Services, grantstaging@gmail.com or (305) 394-9201, staging and renovating Key West homes since 2009.
