Are you looking for a new home? If so, have you considered all your options at length? More often than not, when picturing your new home, you envision a well-disposed, serene, neatly furnished and superbly designed dwelling.
How can you get exactly what you want in your new home? Should you go for a move-in ready or a fixer-upper? Well, it all depends on a number of factors including time, cost, and preferences.
Move-In Ready or Fixer-Upper?
In this regard, deciding on which path to take can cause quite the dilemma. On one side you have a well-designed and -maintained move-in ready home that can save you a lot of time and effort; while on the other you have an out-of-shape, dusty, renovation-hungry piece of property?
At first, the move-in ready option seems like the best, doesn’t it?
Before you dash for your pen and checkbook to buy that beautiful turnkey house that’s ready for to occupy, you need to consider this simple fact: a fixer-upper can be damaged, unappealing, and unpolished, but it still has so much to offer.
In fact, building your new home from a fixer-upper offers you opportunities only limited by your imagination. It’s probably the only option that guarantees you everything about your dream home down to the doorbell design.
So, as you can see, it is quite the dilemma. And that’s why you need to consider a few factors in order to ease your decision-making process.
A Few Factors to Consider When Choosing Your New Home
1. The costs involved
Buying a new home can be costly, but the costs involved vary with regards to the new home’s current state. A move-in ready house is always steeply priced; with little or no need for upgrades and renovations.
These kinds of homes are usually well-maintained, neat and ready for occupancy. Everything including the plumbing, heating & cooling systems, lighting, appliances, and so on should be working perfectly.
On the other hand, fixer-uppers are often reasonably priced, unless the piece of property is sitting on prime land. That’s mainly because of the renovation costs that you may incur in order to build the home into a livable space.
In some cases, the repairs and upgrades can, sometimes, cost you a fortune. It all depends on what type of repair is needed and how much of it is necessary. Let’s face it: a house that needs serious renovation, e.g. some foundation repair methods will cost you more than a house that only needs some cosmetic touchups.
But, it may be worth it in the end if you end up owning your custom-tailored dream home.
2. The time factor
Just how much time do you have? Are you in a rush to move into a new home or is time the least of your concerns? Well, for anyone in a hurry to become a new homeowner, a fixer-upper is definitely not an ideal option. Instead, you can opt for a move-in ready.
Fixer-uppers often require a lot of time for renovations, upgrades, and finishing. It could take months or even a year for the house to be ready. But, move-in ready homes only need a few hours or days for the purchase to be processed.
Therefore, depending on your time-frame, deciding on which kind of home to buy becomes a little easier.
3. Your preferences
The last and most important factor to consider is the kind of home you want. Let’s face it. Unless you are a billionaire like Bill Gates or Jeff Bezos, buying a new home is not something you can do whenever you feel like it.
On the contrary, your new home may be your residence for a long time. And because of that, you have to ensure you spend your money on a house you love; one that has (almost) everything you need; a place where you and your family will be happy living in.
And this brings us back to the main question; a move-in ready or a fixer-upper?
Looking at both kinds of home, it’s easy to see that both have their own set of perks and downside. But when it comes to meeting your ‘ideal home preferences’ only one option stands tall as the best – a fixer-upper.
Why?
Most move-in ready homes are often designed and fitted with standard layouts and fixtures. The fancier the design and fixtures, the more money you’ll have to cough up.
But, regardless of how fancy these homes can be, the odds of finding your dream home from the move-in ready home’s listing board are always so slim.
Some of them may fall close to what you want but, it’s almost impossible to find one that meets all your needs and preferences. So, why spend a fortune on something you like instead of something you love?
And that’s why, if you are keen on buying your dream house, then finding a fixer-upper is definitely the best move. Yes, these homes can be ‘needy’ in terms of repairs and upgrades, but at least they offer you the opportunity to customize your new home into something you love and are proud of.
At the end of the day, choosing whether to buy a move-in ready or a fixer-upper depends on the factors mentioned above. Making these necessary considerations will help you decide which option is the best fit for you.
Special thanks to: Granite Foundation Repair for providing us with this informative article.