You have been looking for a house for months, and you have discovered that finding a home suitable for six people and at an affordable price is not an easy task.  But suddenly, one day, an ad catches your eye.  It is a five bedroom, four bathrooms, fireplace, big yard, and huge basement house at a great neighborhood and at an incredible price, however, the last line of the ad reads: “fixer upper”.

So, it’s ok. It’s too good a deal pass up. You know you can convince your family that this is the best option and you can all make some sacrifices to give the place a facelift and to imprint your family’s personality in it.

Many people have gotten into amazingly successful fixer upper projects and you can surely be one of them, however, you have to consider several things:

1.    Is the property worth it?
In order to clearly assess this, you will need a professional.  You can immediately see and feel when a property has potential, and if it does, go see it again with a good engineer, a quality contractor, and a top interior designer.  Why? Because some problems will be obvious, like an outdated kitchen or peeling paint, but the biggest issues, like rotted wood or old plumbing may not be, and only a professional with experience can tell you where to look to find the dangerous weaknesses.

2.    How much will you have to invest in fixing the place up?
If you are really into buying the place, get the professionals to give you estimates of how much the remodeling project will cost.  Add these costs to the house’s price and compare the total with the prices of other similar and better houses in the area.  For example, if the house is listed at, let’s say, $150,000, and others around the neighborhood are being sold for around $210,000, and the remodeling estimates you receive oscillate around $50,000, you definitely have a winner!

3.    Can you finance the fix up?
If you are buying the property with a mortgage, most probably the bank will assess the place based on its current condition, not its potential value once remodeling is done, so you may not receive enough money to pay for the fix up work.  You could research the renovation loan opportunities available in your city, but you will certainly have to work the numbers to make sure you can pay both loans without sacrificing your family.

You will certainly feel it. You will know if the place is ‘home’ even if it is a wreck.  If this is the case and this house is destined to be yours, don’t worry, it will be, energies will align and the right people will find you so as to make your dream a reality.

And if your precious future home is around the Seattle area, here’s your first sign.  Talk to a professional Seattle interior designer; there’s no one better to guide you in the right direction. With her help, you will experience what serendipity is all about.

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