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Upper House Of Parliament

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After checking out the exterior of a home, the possible client then goes in and checks the interior. The furniture is regarded as accessories of a house, but it is the other crucial stable points in the house - such as the windows, roof, fencing, patio and porches - that provide the foundation and must also be taken a look at.

When it is a fixer-upper home, it is the seller's task to replace parts of the house that needs replacing. That may be costly but it is an investment that is wisely done and compensated afterwards.

Like the rule often applied in life, why let someone do it, when you can do it yourself?

1. Window

Check if the window needs repainting or new glass. If they do then make sure that the measurements are accurate so as to not waste time, effort and money in putting in newly-bought glass to the window's structure, only to find out that it doesn't fit.

Brush the glass clean to make it attractive for the possible buyer.

The difference between repairing to replacing the window is the acquired cost. If you are to repair the window, it would cost less than if you have it entirely replaced. If you believe that you have enough skills to repair the window yourself, then just get the materials and do the work hands-on. If not, call your nearest window provider and assist them by giving them the dimensions of the windowsill.

2. Roof

Now when you first see a fixer-upper house, check if there are leaks coming from the roof. Signs would be the stagnation seen on floor. Constantly wet floor that is resulted from the ceiling's drip would leave brownish or yellowish marks. These are found on the edges of the floor.

This is hard work if you are to repair it yourself and is costly if you have someone replace it for you. This is a job that is often left to the experts. Carpenters pretty much know the 411 on roof foundations and when they are called in, not only will they patch up the holes on the roof, they'll also check if the roof is infected by termites and other unwanted colonies that ruin a house's foundation in time.

3. Fencing

What's a good garden if fencing is blah? It helps to present the fixer-upper house at its finest, inside and outside. So from the windows to the roof, we head back to the garden and check out fencing.

This can easily be done on your own. Walk to your nearby handy-store and purchase the needed wiring that would highlight the garden. If the fences need to be painted, go. It's always better to get a new set - something that shows starting anew.

If you are replacing the fence on your own, check if the lines are straight and not crooked. One jagged area may be a turn-off for a possible buyer. It is all about presentation.

4. Patio

Everyone needs a place to relax. Patios can never be overlooked in a fixer-upper house. When repairing the patio area, check if the patio set is still usable. If not, replace them by buying new ones. Make sure that the design goes well with the room.

What is important in the patio is the atmosphere. You must be able to enter and unwind. Check if appliances have to be bought such as little centerpieces you could put on the table or vases for flowers. Candles are also an option.

Double check if the ventilation is alright. If not, then consider your options in revamping the room for airflow.

5. Porches

Just like the garden, the porch also needs to be checked out. The porch is the welcoming party of the entire house. A porch must be inviting for the possible buyer. Therefore, it is advisable that the texture of the porch is comfortable and relaxing. Some houses even have swings. It's always up to the owner what kind of porch he prefers. The important thing is the porch is one of the first things a buyer sees.

As mentioned earlier, repairing or replacing these areas of a fixer-upper house may be strenuous and costly, but who knows what the end product will result to? There's a possibility that you could sell the property double the price you paid it for or better yet, re-think of selling it and just keep it for yourself!

Upper House Of Parliament

In August of 2005, my real estate business partners and I were flush with cash. We had just made $45,000 from having just fixed up and then sold 2 mobile homes in St. George, Utah. The excitement of making so much money so quickly had gone to our heads. We thought we were invincible. We were about to learn the truth.

After the mobile homes had sold my partners and I began looking for another fixer upper that we could flip. I wanted to move up into flipping expensive houses, thinking that we could make more money that way.

I was aware of a foreclosed home for sale in Santa Clara. Santa Clara is a small town, just outside of St. George.

The bank had had the home had been for sale for about two years with no takers. It was a Santa Fe style, luxury home built in 2002. The home was 3000 sq. ft., had amazing views, slate tile throughout, a three car garage, 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and tons of upgrades throughout.

The home was unfinished and had never been lived in. It was clear that the builder had run out of money before he could finish the home and sell it. The kitchen was unfinished. The tile was cracked here and there from settling. The closets were totally unfinished. The yard was a jumble of weeds, mud and boulder sized rocks.

At the time that we looked at the home, St. George was coming to the end of an amazing run up in home prices, about a 1% increase in home values every week for months. My partners and I were aware that the market would slow down sometime in the future, but what we didn't know when we bought the home, was that the market slow down had already started.

Well, we made an accepted, full price offer on the Santa Clara home ($395,000). We made a full price offer because there was another buyer that was negotiating with the bank to purchase the home at the same time we were. We felt we could make money on the home and we wanted to make sure that we were the buyers the bank chose to buy the home.

We ended up buying the home for $395,000. We also financed our closing costs, bringing our mortgage loan amount to $400,000.

After the purchase, we invested $15,000 into fixing up the yard, about $4,000 into finishing the closets and another $6,000 in various other fix up / finishing costs.

We put the home back up for sale, almost immediately upon buying it, for $525,000. We truly thought it would sell quickly for this amount when we were done fixing it up. The home was for sale the entire time we were working on it.

After the repairs were done, the home sat on the market for months. The St. George real estate market had ground to a halt during the time we were working on the home. We ended up having to make about $9,000 in mortgage payments while we anxiously waited for the home to sell.

In March of 2006, seven months after the purchase, we were beginning to panicking because we weren't certain we could make anymore mortgage payments. We didn't want to lose the home and our investment, but the mortgage payments were eating us alive by this point.

We were forced to gradually lower our asking price until finally we had our asking price at $430,000. In March we breathed a sigh of relief as the home finally went under contract at this price.

We sold the home in April 2006. Our costs to sell were about $16,000 including the $12,000 commission that was paid to the buyer's agent.

Here's what the final tally on the fixer upper Santa Clara home was:

What we sold the home for????.???..$430,000

Fix up costs........?????????????.. -$25,000

Mortgage payments ?????????...... -$9,000

Commission paid?....?????????..... -$12,000

Closing Costs????????????......... -$4,000

What we paid for the home??????... -$400,000

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Total loss??????????????............ ($20,000)

We felt very lucky to have been able to sell an expensive home when our local real estate market was so bad. There are a lot of investors that bought at the top of the market who haven't been so lucky; people who are stuck with homes that they can no longer afford. These investors are wondering if their homes will sell before they lose them to the bank.

Strangely enough we are actually looking for another home to fix up. We are going to stick with mobile homes or condos and just rent them out. The lesson that we learned is that the less expensive the fixer upper home is, the less risk there is to the investor.

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Both Sarah Miller & St. George Realtor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Sarah Miller has sinced written about articles on various topics from Family, Home Improvement and Mortgage. The above article was written by Sarah Miller on behalf of a buzzing online community where homeowners easily and painlessly find the right contractor for. Sarah Miller's top article generates over 49500 views. to your Favourites.

St. George Realtor has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Sell Home and Real Estate. This content is provided by and may be used or republished only in its entirety with all links included. To sign up to receive weekly St. George fore. St. George Realtor's top article generates over 7480000 views. to your Favourites.

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