Tag Archives: fixer upper

What to Look Out For When Buying a Fixer Upper in Maryland

With home prices beginning to rebound, more and more people are beginning to take the plunge into homeownership. In order to keep upfront costs low, many folks are realizing the benefits of purchasing a fixer-upper for their first home. While there are many benefits to buying a fixer upper, there are also some warning signs to watch out for to ensure you don’t get in over your head. Learn more about the red flags that you should avoid when purchasing your home.

Buying a fixer upper can either be a great investment or a total flop. Learn the red flags to look out for.

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Six Tips for Fixing Up an Investment Property

Investors everywhere are finding great opportunities in real estate, which is why investing in real estate has increased substantially over the past few years. Low-cost properties offer the opportunity for investors to buy low and flip the property for a healthy profit, if done right. There are a few guidelines for fixing up these kinds of investment properties in order to maximize their appeal to the buyer while maintaining a healthy profit margin. Finding the right balance here is key. Let’s talk about some strategies you can use when fixing up an investment property to maximize the margin.

Six Tips for Fixing Up an Investment Property

Do your homework on the neighborhood.

You want to make upgrades that bring the property in line with others in the neighborhood. If it doesn’t meet the standards of the average property in the area, you won’t attract buyers. The same goes for upgrades that are high above the standards of other properties in the area. A good example is the home’s cooling system. If window units are the standard in the area, you won’t earn back the money you invest in central air conditioning. On the other hand, if central air is the standard, anything less than this is going to turn buyers off.

Out of sight? Not out of mind.

While you’ll want to focus on making the house look as attractive as possible to the buyer, make sure to place the same amount of effort into what goes on behind the scenes. Plumbing, heating, cooling, electricity, and wiring are essential components of a home that you don’t want to skimp on. If any one of these systems needs work, the best thing to do is to hire a licensed contractor. This ensures the work will be done correctly and to code.

Give high-traffic rooms plenty of attention.

The two most used rooms in the house are the kitchen and the bathroom, so devote plenty of time and resources to bringing these rooms up to the standard of the market in the area. A good way to find out what similar homes in the area look like on the inside is to attend a few local open houses.

Sweat the small stuff.

With investment properties you want to make improvements that will return at least twice what you put in. Expensive upgrades like new windows aren’t likely to do this. But small upgrades will. Things like fresh coats of paint, new doorknobs, new cabinet pulls, and new faucets can help you get the return on investment you’re looking for.

Don’t forget the flooring.

If the flooring is carpet, it’s most likely seen the best of its days and is worth replacing. If carpeted floors are the standard in the area, then go with carpet. But, you might find there’s a nice hardwood floor underneath the old carpet that’s worth refinishing. Hardwood floors are always in demand, and refinishing an old hardwood floor can help boost the value of your home.

Boost curb appeal too.

Before a potential buyer even walks in the door, their first impression of your house will be of the outside. Put your best foot forward by cleaning the siding, mowing the grass, and taking care of a neglected landscape.

Source

http://www.frontdoor.com/real-estate/7-tips-to-fix-up-a-foreclosure-without-breaking-your-budget

What to do with Your Fixer Upper

What are your options when it comes to fixer uppers? The low price entry point makes it easy to do almost anything you want with your fixer upper. Here are a few of your options.

Move In

Home sweet home. It might need some work, but you can afford it having saved on the purchase price. You can give your new house a new life with some time and work, and the next thing you know your house will feel like more of a home than the other one you were looking at. It’s very satisfying to see your vision for your home come to fruition, and with a fixer upper you can start from the bottom and create the home you always wanted.

Rent

Another option you have is to rent the house for positive cash flow. Spend some time getting everything ship shape and then find a tenant. If you put the effort in, people are going to want to live in your house, and once you get a tenant, you start making back the money you invested.

Sell

The economy and housing market are starting to pick back up, so now is a great time to get in. Get the house in good shape and put it on the market. Not only will the work you put in increase the property’s value, it will attract potential buyers. The potential for gain from selling a fixer upper is very high, which makes it an attractive investment option.

If you’re looking to invest in low-cost properties with lots of earning potential, we can help. Gray’s Home Solutions has properties of all types across the state of Maryland. Contact us for a full list of properties. Even if you’re not looking to buy right now, you can participate in our sellers referral program. Here’s how it works. Send us the phone number and property address for a For Sale By Owner or vacant property. We’ll take a look, and if we buy the property we’ll pay you $250 as a thank you for providing the lead.

Are you interested in learning more about selling your home fast? Our ebook has a ton of great information for you. We also have an ebook with information on how to avoid foreclosure, available for download here. They’re both free, so give them a look. You can also connect with Grays Home Solutions on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and LinkedIn for more real estate made simple.

What Are The Benefits of Buying a Fixer Upper?

Thinking about buying a fixer upper? Buying a fixer upper gives you a few significant advantages over other property seekers and lots of options once the renovations are complete. Here are some of the benefits of buying a fixer upper.

Less Competition

A fairly high percentage of people who are on the market for a new home simply don’t consider fixer uppers as an option. They may be unwilling to make repairs or invest time into renovations. Either way, this means that there’s less competition for fixer uppers, making it easier for you to purchase one. Less competition also drives prices down, which means you’ll pay a lot less than you would for a new home.

Acquire Handy Skills

It’s up to you how much of the repairs you want to do yourself versus how much work you decide to contract out. For big repairs, you’ll probably want to hire contractors, but if you’re a handy type, you can easily take on small fixes. Learning how to do these kinds of repairs will help you if you decide to continue investing in fixer uppers in the future.

Post-Repair Options

Now that the repairs are done, you have plenty of options to choose from. You can live in your new home, which you paid a lot less for than you would have for another home in the area. You can rent the home for positive cash flow. Or you can even sell the home for a profit. Buying low lets you keep all these options on the table. Overall, while many shun the idea of buying a fixer upper, it’s actually a great investment, and depending on what you decide to do with the property, you stand to make a very nice profit off your investment.

Source

http://www.realtor.com/home-finance/homebuyer-information/facts-on-buying-a-fixer-upper.aspx?source=web

How To Turn a Fixer Upper into a Great Deal

Many people are quick to judge a house based on its appearance. And while it’s true that many of the homes we offer need some work done, it’s also true that behind a tired exterior, they have a lot of potential. And while others might pass this opportunity by after determining that they’d never live there after a quick glance, those who see this potential see the chance to make huge profits.

Here’s an example that shows the numbers really do add up. We recently had a home with an asking price of $50,000 and in need of repairs, estimated at about $30,000. Fixed up, the house was worth $190,000. We have private money which you can borrow for around 8%, which would allow you to make an interest only payment until the home was repaired and sold. Four months is sufficient for this process. This means you would have a $533 payment for 4 months, which adds up to $2,132. For $2,132, you could have purchased the home, directed subcontractors to do the repair work, resold the home, and made close to $108,000. Making over $100k in 4 months time with 8 months remaining in the year to live off your profits is absolutely a great deal.

Grays Home Solutions has nice homes in move-in condition for sale, and you don’t have to qualify for the loan. Just come up with a small down payment, pay no closing cost, no fees, and the home is yours. The rest is up to you. You can move in to the home, rent to others for positive cash flow, or resell for profit after the market has recovered. We find the deals for you, get you the financing, and you make the money. It really is that simple. You can contact us at any time to discuss a plan that will turn that fixer upper into success and wealth for you.