Can A Fixer Upper Really Equal A Dream Home?

If you are keen to make the next leap up the property ladder only to be confronted by all sorts of homes that don’t do it for you, it can be easy to become deflated. Searching for your final destination, and settling for a forever home should be exciting. This is the place where you will make family memories, have years of fantastic Christmases and love watching the changing seasons. While this sounds a little sappy, your home really is where your heart belongs. It needs to be a place where you feel safe, happy and content. Making do for your forever home simply doesn’t cut it.

This is why more people than ever are choosing to forego the new builds and fully renovated homes to put their own mark on a project. Rather than forking out a small fortune and paying a premium for a home that is already coiffed and done, people are choosing to opt for the elusive fixer upper. Fixer uppers are often near derelict shells of buildings that need a lot of TLC to bring them up to scratch. However, with vision and a plan, you could turn a fixer upper into your own bespoke dream pad. Take a look at how you can create a dream forever home from a fixer upper.

Buy Well

Before you even consider your renovation plans, you need to buy the perfect fixer upper. Never purchase in an up and coming area, and opt for a region that is already well established. You must find the worst house on the best street. You can always renovate a home but never a location. Check out the property price forecasts and histories for any area that you like the look of. If they are always increasing even by a small margin, you can be pretty certain of outperforming the market.

Think about the sort of pad that will suit your lifestyle. If you’re looking to start a family in the near future, a one bed apartment doesn’t give you the necessary room to grow. A forever home needs to be spacious and give you the flexibility you need for the rest of your life. Think about your budget and get searching. Before long, you’ll stumble across a pad that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you think about what you can do to it to make it your dream home.

Basics

Before you get all excited and venture to kitchen showrooms and decorating centers, you need to focus on more boring and structural tasks. Firstly, you need to make sure your new humble abode is safe, secure and watertight. Windows & doors need to be replaced if they have no locks, are cracked or are leaky. You need to ensure that your roof is fit for purpose, replace any dodgy tiles and look into refelting if you spot any leaks indoors. Ensure that you make your building structurally sound before you embark on any renovation plans. While it might be a little tedious, you could save yourself a small fortune in the long run by doing the larger and more fundamental tasks early.

Planning

As a newbie renovator, you need a plan. Set up a spreadsheet and list every single job that needs doing from your large jobs like refitting a kitchen to your tiniest jobs like fitting wall hooks in the cloakroom. By doing this, you can work out an accurate and comprehensive budget. Always add ten per cent contingency as unforeseen problems always arise.

If you are planning on project managing the renovations yourself, you will need to be organised. Work out the tradespeople you want to work for you. The best are often busy so you may need to wait, but it will be worth it in the end. Go on word of mouth recommendations and look at trusted trader schemes. Try and manage your project so that multiple tradespeople can visit your property at once. This way, jobs can get done quicker.

Being organised means thinking with your head and not your heart, at least in the first instance. Make sure that everything is safe and sound before embarking on the more decorative aspects of your project. If you are undertaking an extension, consider leaving this to a professional project manager who knows what they are doing. Technical knowledge can be vital for major building work.

Decor

When it is time to go for your decor, think about the sorts of styles you love. Forget about looking at what is currently gracing the covers of the interior magazines and follow your heart. Trends are faddy and come and go. This is the home that you will be living in forever, hopefully, so think about the looks, styles and colours that you adore. If you want the ultra modern grey gloss kitchen, go for it. If you want a cosy country cottage style living room complete with wood burner, factor it into your budget.

Decor is a highly personal thing, so make sure you inject a bit of your personality into your rooms. Don’t opt for magnolia walls and biscuit carpets unless you adore it. Instead, think about venturing to vintage shops for some retro one of a kind pieces of furniture. Consider a feature wall, some wall art, and some upcycled chairs, coffee tables and lamps. With your take on interior design, you can craft a home that is unique.

While you aren’t renovating to sell, you will still have one eye on the housing market. Don’t keep the avocado green bathroom suite, and change this for a white equivalent. This is perhaps the only decor aspect that is non-negotiable. Everything else is your choice!

Buying a fixer upper is not for the faint hearted. The emotional and financial stress can become immense. However, come the end of the renovations, you will have outperformed the market and achieved your perfect dream home, fit for purpose and ready to live in for many years to come.